Anthropology 2 - What is the Soul (Psyche)?

I discussed in the last post reasons to believe that we have souls, and in this post I will discuss what the soul is and what it does. Plato, Freud and the Bible all describe three parallel and corresponding parts and functions of the soul, which we will describe here. Terminology and different languages can become confusing from this point onward, so we will from here on out, use the Greek word for soul, which is psyche, for these discussions.

Nous (Reason/the “Mind”)

Freud’s ego, is intellect, understanding, and reason, and is associated with Plato’s idea of the “mind”, or nous in Greek.

“So he [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.” -Acts 17:17

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” -James 3:17

“I believe that God has made me and all creatures. He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason, and all my senses, and still preserves them.” -Martin Luther in his explanation of the first article of the Apostles Creed

However, one cannot trust in reason above the Bible. Reason cannot understand spiritual things.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” -Proverbs 14:12

“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.” -Job 23:8-12

“I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him.” -Martin Luther in his explanation of the third article of the Apostles Creed

“Reason is a whore, the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but more frequently than not struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God.” -Martin Luther

“It is [the soul's] nature to comprehend not incomprehensible things but such things the reason can know and understand.” -Martin Luther, Commentary on Luke

So, reason is a gift from God that is a part of our psyche and it can be useful. However, it does not understand spiritual things and like all human faculties is in a fallen state so it can be, and often is, perverted to be used sinfully.

“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason-for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves-I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one's conscience is neither safe nor sound. God help me. Amen.” -Martin Luther, in his “Here I Stand” speech

Thymos (Conscience)

Freud’s super-ego is the internalization of societal norms, or we would say the conscience. It is also associated with the Heart and Plato’s seat of emotions, or Thymos in Greek. From the Bible, we learn that our conscience is God’s law written on our hearts.

“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” -Romans 2:14-15

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right....” -Martin Luther

Luther clearly teaches here that if you are think what you are doing is a sin, then you are sinning, whether or not that act, actually is a sin. That is, if you think something is against God’s will and do it, then your motivation is to do something against God’s will. This is clearly stated in the Bible, in the case of the one who has a weak conscience.

“Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” -1 Corinthians 8:8-13

This verse also states, that even if we have a clear conscience and the act we are doing is not sinful in and of itself, we may still be sinning, as in the case of making a brother stumble.

Next, the Bible clearly states that conscience is the law written on the hearts of all men, so that all have a concept of right from wrong, but the conscience still can’t understand spiritual things and can be defiled.

“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” -Romans 2:14-15

Titus tells us that the mind (or reason) and conscience are separate, and reiterate that they are both subject to our fallen nature.

“To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” -Titus 1:15

So, our conscience is a gift from God that resides in our psyche and it can be useful. However, like all human faculties, is in a fallen state so it can be, and often is, perverted.

Eros (Instinct/Intuition)

Freud’s id is basic instinct and desires. This is associated with Plato’s part of the psyche that drives appetites, or the Eros, in Greek. In the Bible, and other ancient cultures, it was associated with the bowels, loins, or stomach. We still do today. “Deep down in your guts.” The Latin word for bowels is viscera, which is where we get the term visceral reaction, meaning primal, animal, or instinctual.

“But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.” -2 Peter 2:12

That verse also shows that our instincts are in a fallen and corrupted state. The next verses show the loins are associated with the psyche, but separate from the heart.

“Desolate! Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale!” -Nahum 2:10

“Look, O Lord, for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death.” -Lamentations 1:20

So, we have instincts, which are separate from the part of us that reasons. Instincts are also separate from our conscience.

“‘Isn't what you call the Moral Law simply our herd instinct and hasn't it been developed just like all our other instincts?' Now I do not deny that we may have a herd instinct: but that is not what I mean by the Moral Law. We all know what it feels like to be prompted by instinct - by mother love, or sexual instinct, or the instinct for food. It means that you feel a strong want or desire to act in a certain way. And, of course, we sometimes do feel just that sort of desire to help another person: and no doubt that desire is due to the herd instinct. But feeling a desire to help is quite different from feeling that you ought to help whether you want to or not. Supposing you hear a cry for help from a man in danger. You will probably feel two desires - one desire to give help (due to your herd instinct), the other a desire to keep out of danger (due to the instinct for self-preservation). But you will find inside you, in addition to these two impulses, a third thing which tells you that you ought to follow the impulse to help, and suppress the impulse to run away. Now this thing that judges between two instincts, that decides which should be encouraged, cannot itself be either of them.

“Another way of seeing that the Moral Law is not simply one of our instincts is this. If two instincts are in conflict, and there is nothing in a creature's mind except those two instincts, obviously the stronger of the two must win. But at those moments when we are most conscious of the Moral Law, it usually seems to be telling us to side with the weaker of the two impulses. You probably want to be safe much more than you want to help the man who is drowning: but the Moral Law tells you to help him all the same. And surely it often tells us to try to make the right impulse stronger than it naturally is? I mean, we often feel it our duty to stimulate the herd instinct, by waking up our imaginations and arousing our pity and so on, so as to get up enough steam for doing the right thing. But clearly we are not acting from instinct when we set about making an instinct stronger than it is. The thing that says to you, 'Your herd instinct is asleep. Wake it up,' cannot itself be the herd instinct.” -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity