Lets do some research: Ancient theories of soul

[Radres]

While it's becoming clear that souls will play a major part of the plot. It makes sense to make some research how our view of souls have shifted through the early stages of philosophy. i found this great link about the ancient theories of soul .

 

To see our perception shifting through some trade-off between life and dead to the three aspect view from Plato was quite interesting.

[Hormalakh]

Why just ancient theory? There's a lot on souls even in contemporary theology and philosophy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul

[Radres]

It certainly wouldn't harm to study our modern views about the soul but i always thought it's more appropriate to focus on our ancient views than the modern ones. (The war of the ideologies era is certainly interesting too) . it fits the setting more.

[Gyor]

I'd add that the Egyptians had a different view of souls then the Greeks, they believed the soul had five parts, the Ka, the Ba, the Shuet, the Ib, and the Ren.

 

The Canela tribe in South America believe when you die you become a ghost and when that ghost dies your reborn as a large animal and when that one dies, your reborn as a smaller animal, then an even smaller animal and so on it your like a fly and when that dies oblivion.

 

Some Northern Europeans peoples believed a part of your soul could manifest as an animal.

[Metabot]

Who says theories of souls in our world have anything to do wih those found in Eternity?

[Rostere]

Who says theories of souls in our world have anything to do wih those found in Eternity?

 

Most likely they will have, some real sources will probably be used for inspiration. Even if Obsidian would come up with entirely "new" philosophies I bet someone have already formulated those IRL.

 

So yeah, most likely the theories in PE will have something to do with those in our world.

[Azarkon]

I have the niggling feeling that the soul concept in PE is a thematic expansion of the amnesiac / resurrection device Avellone used back in PST.

 

Chris Avellone: ... The whole premise of the lore and the magic system is that souls get inherited, and then when you pass away the souls wait for a time and then come back to another body. The question is how much of your own behavior is being governed by your own free will or the influence of the soul inside you and all of its history? I think that can raise some interesting questions for both the player character and the companions.

 

There's that preoccupation with memory, past events, and the burden of reincarnation.

Edited October 23, 2012 by Azarkon

[Gyor]

Kabbalah and its concept of reincarnation gilgul? would be a great souce of ideas as well.

 

Here's the wikipedia article on the soul.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul#Socrates_and_Plato

 

My personal belief is that a person's individual soul is a reflection of the soul of the higher self or higher soul and that a higher soul can create or extend as many of these individual souls as it needs too, which remain connected to the higher soul, like branches on a tree sort of. The individual soul exists both in the body and as a part of the Higher Soul, but the higher soul exists seperate from the body. I also believe that the Gods too have a higher soul and that they too have individual souls like humans, the individual souls are what humans interact with during spiritual experiences, the higher souls of Gods (or spirits if you prefer) aren't accessible to humans. Just a personal belief, not nessarily particular Wiccan I guess, but still its my personal understanding of it. I also believe that the nature if existance including souls is at the foundmental level information and imagination, information being imagination in a static state and imagination being information in a state of transformation. Information inspires imagination and imagination creates new information in a cycle.

 

[.Leif.]

I hope Plato's theory of recollection is brought up at some point or another.

[FlintlockJazz]

I have the niggling feeling that the soul concept in PE is a thematic expansion of the amnesiac / resurrection device Avellone used back in PST.

 

Chris Avellone: ... The whole premise of the lore and the magic system is that souls get inherited, and then when you pass away the souls wait for a time and then come back to another body. The question is how much of your own behavior is being governed by your own free will or the influence of the soul inside you and all of its history? I think that can raise some interesting questions for both the player character and the companions.

 

There's that preoccupation with memory, past events, and the burden of reincarnation.

 

I think you're onto something there. We may be coming across the activities of our past lives and the consequences therein...