The human soul through the prism of ethics

Abstract

One can only wonder how the science of psychology, which owes its very name to the soul, steadfastly avoids including the soul in its subject matter. Objectively speaking, it would be logical to expect the appearance of an ‘Encyclopedia’ on the concept of ‘soul’, where historical-philosophical, historical-theological developments, scientific and commonplace vocabulary would be presented. At the same time, the concepts of ‘generosity’, ‘cowardice’, ‘indifference’, and ‘callousness’, which are not part of the terminological apparatus of psychology, are natural to the ethical picture of the world. It is ethics, by its status, that is called to give sense to such vital subjects as respect, anger, sin, envy, responsibility, happiness, love, pity, doubt, prayer, trust, unselfishness, resentment, dream – which, in fact, are what fills the human soul. This is why the author sees an opportunity to build a multidimensional matrix of understanding the soul through the joint efforts of the humanists – ethicists, theologians, psychologists. On the basis of such joint efforts, the possibilities of worthy inclusion of a rational and conscientious person into the real world will be presented in a reasoned manner.