The proposition that each living being, or perhaps each human, is animated or constituted by a unique, immaterial essence—the soul—which is the seat of identity, consciousness, and moral character, and which may survive the death of the physical body. It's a hypothesis about the nature of the self: Are you your brain, or are you a soul using a brain? This idea tackles the mind-body problem by positing a second, non-physical substance as the true "you."
Example: "When my dog died, the vet said, 'He's gone.' My child asked, 'Where did he go?' That question is the Soul Hypothesis in its purest form. The body was there, but the 'he-ness'—the personality, the love, the mischievous spark—had vanished. The hypothesis suggests that 'he' was a soul, a pattern of being temporarily housed in a furry body, and that pattern might persist elsewhere. It's not a fact; it's a comforting, profound guess about what we really are."
by Abzunammu February 2, 2026
Get the Soul Hypothesis mug.