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Ideas for 'works', 'Autobiography' and 'Launching Points to the Realm of the Mind'

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2 ideas

29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / b. Soul
Nature binds or detaches body to soul, but soul itself joins and detaches soul from body [Porphyry]
     Full Idea: Nature binds the body to the soul, but it is the soul herself that has bound herself to the body. It, therefore, belongs to nature to detach the body from the soul, while it is the soul herself that detaches herself from the body.
     From: Porphyry (Launching Points to the Realm of the Mind [c.280], 1Enn9 2)
     A reaction: Baffling. What happens if there is a conflict? I suppose either party can cancel the bargain, but who wins when they disagree?
Individual souls are all connected, though distinct, and without dividing universal Soul [Porphyry]
     Full Idea: Individual souls are distinct without being separated from each other, and without dividing the universal Soul into a number of parts; they are united to each other without becoming confused.
     From: Porphyry (Launching Points to the Realm of the Mind [c.280], 6Enn4 39)
     A reaction: This sounds like Jung's theory that there is a universal subconscious which links us all together. Taken literally, I assume it is nonsense. As an invitation to acknowledge how much we all have in common, it is a nice corrective to liberal individualism.