The Evolution of the Soul

Human beings have evolved from animals, and animals from inanimate matter; but what has evolved is qualitatively different from the inanimate matter from which it began. Both humans and the higher animals have a mental life of sensation, thought, purpose, desire, and belief. It can be argued that these mental states, while interacting with the body, are distinct from it: they are states of a soul. In this study, Swinburne examines the various parts of the mental life, the concept of the soul (both animal and human), and the products of the human soul--logical thought, moral beliefs, and free will.