We've now established that, within us, there's a spiritual principle called the soul. Experience suggests that the soul and the body are inextricably linked. But does this mean that the soul dies with the body? Few beliefs are more popular than faith in the immortality of the soul. What's the value of this belief? Three kinds of arguments – psychological, metaphysical, and moral – have been advanced in its support.

Psychological Arguments

Psychological arguments for the immortality of the soul point to a contradiction between the nature of our faculties and the view that the life of the soul is finite.

First, consider sensibility. Not all of our passions can be satisfied by the things offered to us by experience. In fact, we're always on the lookout for ideal objects, and we allow ourselves to rest for but a moment on objects that only resemble the ideal. Poets have conjured up beautiful verse to describe this sentiment, this longing for the infinite, and we've emphasized it ourselves. But why would humans have such a compelling need to reach beyond the finite if we were condemned to remain enclosed within it? Surely, therefore, death imposes no limit on our sensibility.

Next, consider intelligence. Human beings need truth, search it out, and slowly build up their stock of knowledge – yet we're far from possessing all of truth. Indeed, the more we progress toward it, the more it seems to elude us.