When In Our Evolution Did Humans Develop Souls?

Question

It has been proved by science that humans evolved from the same lineage as primates and if we go back far enough we evolved from the same source as all living creatures on this planet.

I would therefore like to ask christians/muslims just when in our evolutionary development did we gain souls which are able to go to heaven/hell?

If we actually had souls all along does that mean that all living creatures are able to go to heaven, including bacteria and insects?

ChristianConservative: You can rant against science but I notice that you are unable to give an answer to my question!

I am starting to get very worried! It appears that most of the people replying to my question believe that the bible is to be taken literally, ie. universe created in a week some 6,000 years ago as described in the book of genesis:

http://www.angelfire.com/mi/dinosaurs/earthage.html

Answer 1

I consider this a very interesting question, actually, because attempting to fold religion and science into a non-mutually-exclusive whole seems like a very good idea to me. However, I had not intended to answer your question, as, quite frankly, I don't have an answer.

Now, I've read the other answers so far and with dearly few exceptions, all you got was relentless preaching of either creationist-theist or evolutionist-atheist "truth" as opposed to actual attempts to look at the question unbiased.

So here's my feeble attempt after all:
"Soul" according to Buddhist tradition is in all animals - problem solved. But you don#t want the easy out, then, do you?

"Soul" resembling what it is said to be in Judaism/Christianity/Islam/other relgions following the one true god (if any), apparently requires a (not clearly defined) degree of self-awareness.

Neuro-sciences (which I'm totally clueless in) should be able to determine which region(s) of the brain are activated by acts of self-awareness; evolutionary biologists should then be able to answer when the region(s) evolved, giving what would seem the most likeley estimate for when "soul" could bond with/develop in flesh.

There's two problems with this, though:
a) Apes might have some or all of the relevant regions - thus having a (partial?) "soul", which wouldn't agree with religious dogma.
b) Non-hominoid brains are different, yet it's debated whether dolphins and elephants in particular show a rudimentary level of self-awareness. Where exactly does that leave them in terms of having a "soul"?

Answer 2

I'm an atheist, so technically this question is not aimed at me. However, I do have a theory, which until disproved may be as valid as anything else. Evolution is, as I understand it, the change of form to meet function - usually to deal with environmental challenges. It does not require any complex higher level understanding on the part of the organism of what those environmental challenges might be. Current theories on the nature of the universe include the idea that there are millions of dimensions. We were apes, living in a material world (to coin a phrase). Imagine if at some primal level, our physical evolution and deemed that we were ill-equipped to survive in a multi-dimensional universe. Perhaps the soul is just an extra sense, that allows us to connect on some extra dimension that goes beyond space, to everything else in the universe with that same sense. That would engender, in a creature without any conscious understanding of "the universe" in the idea of being made in the universal "creator"'s image, and possibly even the idea of reincarnated forms - certainly it would explain our sense of being connected to something bigger than ourselves. As I say, just a theory.

Answer 3

Things aren't that neat. That's what bothers fundamentalists of all stripes (Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, etc). They want everything written down in black and white, and there are tons of questions to which we don't have and will probably never have answers.

What is a soul? Does it spring full-blown into being, or is it gradually developed over a lifetime, or is it a construct we use to stand for something we are totally incapable of grasping?

We simply don't know. A lot of our fighting is fighting over metaphors. Not only do we not know the answers, sometimes we don't even know if the question makes sense.

There are a people who have made the Bible -- or the Koran -- into an idol, but the mainstreams of Christianity, of Judaism, and, I hope, of Islam, don't condone that.

Only God is true.

Answer 4

Soul just might be another fantasy.
Where is the soul located? What happens if you have parts amputated? If you lose a leg does your legs portion of your soul beat you to heaven, or does it wait until the rest of your soul is ready to go to? If a human egg is fertilzed they claim it gets a soul right then, so if it buds into twins do they only have a half of a soul each?
No. Souls are a nonsense concept.
I do not believe in souls, at least not as something we can have one of.

Answer 5

Souls are not like organs. The soul is a human concept of the congregation of all of someone's personal properties. It is made out of the connections in your brain, and all kind of chemicals flowing through it. In fact we are some kind bio-robots. The fact that we are differently evolved than other animals (we think ourself that we are more intelligent, but I can assure you that this is only a short term insight), especially our brains, doesn't make us anatomically much different than most animals we know. Other animals have not developed the brain and speech the way humans did in their struggle for survival over time, but other things, like sharks can sense electric fields and smell less then 1 drop of blood in a cubic mile of water.
We are not special. DNA research suggest all life on earth (including plants) has originated from one organism (most likely sponges or their ancestors), and that humans have been molds in the past. So in fact we are intelligent fungus.
There's still one part on my body where a mushroom is growing once in a wile ;-)

Answer 6

Souls are man-made concept because of our high intelligence compared to animals.Man cannot believe that you are born,you live your life and then die.Man must feel there must be something else,an Afterlife.Religion was born out of this concept.Of course I cannot prove this,just as religious people cannot prove the existence of God.It is all about Faith.Whichever way you look at it no-one will know either way until you die.

Answer 7

Genesis 2: 7

God breathed the breath of life into Adam and he (Adam) became a living soul.

A soul is you, a living breathing human being. Don't pick it apart and make yourself look unintelligent, you know? Do it God's way, not imperfect man's. Gees.

EDIT:

Why would we take the word of some imperfect man like you who is a non-believer. Don't be afraid for those who think intelligently and know what a soul is and that God breathed life into Adam and he became a living soul. The intelligent one's loyalty and dedication belongs to Jehovah God, not a ridiculer who goes off of his own thinking.

Man, I cannot wait until Armageddon. This sort of ridicule and those practicing their blasphemy won't be around anymore. Liars and without reproof. No more will those ones exist.

Answer 8

I wasn't aware of the existence of a soul. Obviously, we have a body, and part of that is the brain, and we have a mind, but there isn't a soul in the sense of something which lives beyond our death or goes on to an afterlife, which is fortunate because there isn't an afterlife either.

Answer 9

I don't think there has ever been any compelling evidence for the existence of the soul. I find the mind/body debate interesting, but I think there is overwhelming evidence that the mind is so effected by the physical that it can not be said to have an independent existence.

Answer 10

whether or not you believe in a literal 6 day creation, your argument is rubbish because evolution has not and cannot be proven. We are made with souls. I certainly have not descended from an ape, but you can act like you did if you like