MC Just Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 (edited) Do animals have souls? Can they go to heaven? I havent read much about that.. I know they have a spirit, but im not sure about the soul thing...Im talking about dogs in particular.... Edited January 2, 2005 by MC Just Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pio Nono Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 JMJ 1/2 - St. Basil the Great MC Just, In order for something to be alive, it must have a soul. This is because the soul is what animates matter and gives it life. Therefore, plants have souls, but their souls only allow the basic processes for life - they're called "vegetative" souls. Animals have souls that allow for life, as well as for basic psychological functions - senses, psychological programming, &c. - these are called "animalistic" or "locomotive" souls, depending on to whom you talk. Finally, humans have "rational" souls - these allow for the previous processes, as well as for rational thought. Only rational souls have the character of being eternal. Long answer short - no, "all dogs" don't go to Heaven. It's not because of their actions, but because of the makeup of their soul - it isn't the kind of thing that can handle eternal life. By the way, this is all asserted (up to the eternal life part) by Aristotle in the [i]De Anima[/i]; Aquinas carries it farther in the first part of the [i]Summa Theologica[/i]. Hope this helps. Yours, Pio Nono Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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