Ensoulment
Posted: 11 Apr 2017 12:40
In religion, ensoulment is the moment at which a human being gains a soul, some religions say that a soul is newly
created within a developing child and others, especially in religions that believe in reincarnation, that the soul is
pre-existing and added at a particular stage of development.
In the time of Aristotle, it is widely believed that the human soul entered the forming body at 40 days(male embryos)
or 90 days(female embryos), and quickening was an indication of the presence of a soul. Other religions views are
that ensoulment happens at the moment of conception, or when a child takes the first breath after being born, at the
formation of the nervous system and brain, at the first brain activity, or when the fetus is able to survive independently of the uterus.
Among Greek scholars, Hippocrates (c.460-c.370 BC) believed that the embryo was the product of male sperm and a
female factor, but Aristotle(384-322BC) held that only make semen gave rise to an embryo, while female only
provided a place for the embryo to develop. Aristotle believed a fetus in early gestation has the soul of a vegetable,
then of animal, and only later became 'animated' with a human soul by 'ensoulment', For him, ensoulment occurred
40 days after conception for male fetus ex and again 90 days for a female foetuses, the stage at which it was held,
movement is first felt within the womb and pregnancy was certain. This is called 'epigenesis' which is the theory that
the germ is brought into existence,by successive accretions, and not merely developed, in the process of reproduction, in contrast to the theory of preformation which asserts the "supposed existence of all the parts an
organism in rudimentary form in the egg or the seed".
On 27 November 2010, Pope Benedict XVI stated;
""From the moment of it's life must be guarded with the greatest care,With regard to the embryo in the mother's womb,
science itself highlights its autonomy, its capacity for interaction with the mother, the coordination of biological
process, the continuity of development, the growing complexity of the organism""
created within a developing child and others, especially in religions that believe in reincarnation, that the soul is
pre-existing and added at a particular stage of development.
In the time of Aristotle, it is widely believed that the human soul entered the forming body at 40 days(male embryos)
or 90 days(female embryos), and quickening was an indication of the presence of a soul. Other religions views are
that ensoulment happens at the moment of conception, or when a child takes the first breath after being born, at the
formation of the nervous system and brain, at the first brain activity, or when the fetus is able to survive independently of the uterus.
Among Greek scholars, Hippocrates (c.460-c.370 BC) believed that the embryo was the product of male sperm and a
female factor, but Aristotle(384-322BC) held that only make semen gave rise to an embryo, while female only
provided a place for the embryo to develop. Aristotle believed a fetus in early gestation has the soul of a vegetable,
then of animal, and only later became 'animated' with a human soul by 'ensoulment', For him, ensoulment occurred
40 days after conception for male fetus ex and again 90 days for a female foetuses, the stage at which it was held,
movement is first felt within the womb and pregnancy was certain. This is called 'epigenesis' which is the theory that
the germ is brought into existence,by successive accretions, and not merely developed, in the process of reproduction, in contrast to the theory of preformation which asserts the "supposed existence of all the parts an
organism in rudimentary form in the egg or the seed".
""From the moment of it's life must be guarded with the greatest care,With regard to the embryo in the mother's womb,
science itself highlights its autonomy, its capacity for interaction with the mother, the coordination of biological
process, the continuity of development, the growing complexity of the organism""
