Is a Person More Than a Physical Body? What Is the Mind? What Is Thought?

Introduction
Man 's fascination with what lies beyond his corporal
existence is a basic and intrinsic element of humanity . It is natural
for man to wonder the origin of his existence , purpose and ultimate
purpose . How does one 's mind work ? How does man create thought ? What is
the rationale of both ?
The greatest minds in our history sought these philosophical queries
not just to understand their function and development but more to
understand humanity and existence .
The Viewpoints
Studies of the soul , mind and thought have figure strongly in ancient
treatises . Unlike today , there was no distinction between what could be
examined scientifically and what was metaphysical . For a time concepts
of the soul , the mind and thought that could not be physical measured
were relegated to be esoteric (Hebding and Glick , 1992 .
Today , the investigation regarding these three concepts have regained
scientific interest as we realize more that human existence and
experience can not be boxed or strictly quantified .
Soul
The English word "soul " traces its etymology to the Old English
``sawol ' that in turn traces its meaning to a Germanic word ``seula '
that means belonging to the sea . Germanic mythology believed that
spirits or souls when not associated with a corporal form exist together
as part of medium resembling water (``Soul , 2006 .
The Greek and Roman philosophers Socrates believed that the soul was the
core of a person (Lorenz , 2003 . His student Plato likewise believed the
essence of the soul and considered it as the ``incorporeal occupant of
our being (``Soul , 2006 . To Plato , the soul comprised of the logos ,
the thymos and the pathos which all contribute to the stableness and
serenity of the soul (Swineburg , 1997 . Aristotle agreed with Socrates
and Plato regarding the basic concept of the soul but did not agree that
it was a separate entity : the soul represented the "first activity "
which is the source of ``second...