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Animals


MC Just

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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....

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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

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