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soul

n. the nonphysical aspect of a human being, considered responsible for the functions of mind and individual personality and often thought to live on after the death of the physical body. The English word corresponds to the Greek psyche, often also translated as “mind,” and the Latin anima, usually translated as “spirit.” The concept of the soul was present in early Greek thinking and has been an important feature of many philosophical systems and most religions. Some traditional areas of debate have included whether the soul is material or immaterial, whether nonhuman animals, plants, or seemingly inert natural objects have souls (see panpsychism), and whether the soul is individual, allowing the personality to persist after death, or whether it is a reflection of a universal “cosmic” soul. Because the existence of the soul has resisted empirical verification, science has generally ignored the concept, and those who adhere to materialism, positivism, or reductionism reject it absolutely. Despite this, the term survives in the general language to mean the deepest center of a person’s identity and the seat of his or her most important moral, emotional, and aesthetic experiences.

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Psychology term of the day

December 22nd 2024

time estimation

time estimation

the ability to monitor elapsed time. In operant conditioning studies using fixed-interval schedules, nonhuman animals can estimate the time between one reward and the occurrence of the next reward. In nature, time estimation is important for finding prey that emerge at a fixed time of day or season and is essential for navigation when sun or star cues are used (see sun compass).