Allegories of Soul-Body Relationship in Philosophy and Religion: Analysis and Comparison

One of the challenges of philosophy is explanation of the relationship between the soul and the body. As it is difficult to understand this relationship, various allegories have been used in philosophy to express that relationship. Allegory is one of the most influential ways of conveying deep meanings and explaining sensible affairs. Since the transcendental knowledge and trans-sensory notions lie beyond the reach of the human senses, allegory can play an important role in getting such meanings across. They are expressed from different perspectives as follows: 1) God Almighty-world relationship; 2) captain-ship relationship; 3) form-matter relationship; 4) architect-building relationship; 5) rider-ridee relationship; 6) bird-cage relationship; 7) tree-fruit relationship; 8) fetus-uterus relationship; and 9) light-shadow relationship. Some philosophical allegories are not strong and appropriate to express the soul-body relationship, while some others can express this relationship properly. Each of the above-mentioned allegories has a special feature and they are not the same in terms of power of creation. Some similes express the point of resemblance more accurately. The greater the point of resemblance between the tenor and the vehicle is, the more powerful the allegory will be and the smaller that point is, the less influential the allegory will be. Differences in principles and viewpoints affect the type of allegory. The analogy of the soul and the body to the tree and fruit rests on the principles of transcendent wisdom. This analogy is at odds with other views. Allegories, such as captain and ship, architect and building, and bird and cage are more compatible with the Masha (peripatetic) perspective toward the soul-body relationship. In each of these analogies, each one of the tenors and vehicles has an independent and separate existence and there is a contingent rather than intrinsic relationship between them. This idea has no place in MullaSadra's approach, according to which the soul’s belonging to the body is intrinsic to the soul and the soul’s existence rests on its connection to the body.A variety of allegories about the soul-body relationship have been mentioned in religious teachings, such as the allegories of word and meaning, soul and wind, gem and coffer, soul and thin cloth, environment and body, knowledge and action, piled up garment, and value and action.Each of the philosophical and religious allegories has common implications including: a) acceptance of otherness and duality of the soul and the body; b) originality of the soul in relation to the body; c) trans-sensory and metaphysical nature of the soul; and d) longitudinal relationship of the soul and the body. This paper explains and analyzes these allegories and distinguishes between the strong and weak ones. Among the main features of religious allegories is attention to the invisible, metaphysical, and trans-sensory nature of the body. This feature has been considered in most religious allegories, such as meaning and word, soul and wind, knowledge and action, piled up garment, and value and action, but it has not been regarded in many philosophical allegories, such as captain and ship, form and matter, architect and building, shadow and under shadow, etc. although it is accepted in philosophy.One of the major shortcomings of philosophical allegories is that they highlight maximum duality between the soul and the body. At this maximum duality, the duality between the soul and the body becomes more pronounced. The soul and the body are transformed from a single interconnected truth into two independent and interconnected entities. There is maximum duality between the tenor and vehicle in allegories, such as captain and ship, form and matter, architect and building, and rider and ridee, while they are not suitable examples to express the relationship between the soul and the body. …..The trans-sensory aspect of the soul is often evident in religious allegories and the communicative aspect possessed by a trans-sensory being is seen in the similes. Accordingly, they do not have such maximum dualistic allegories as some philosophical allegories do. Among religious similes, all, except the second one, have this feature.