Summary
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Soul. In his poem ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ WB Yeats wrote:An aged man is but a paltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick, unlessSoul clap its hands and sing, and louder singFor every tatter in its mortal dress. For Plato it was the immortal seat of reason, for Aristotle it could be found in plants and animals and was the essence of every being - but it died when the body died. For some it is the fount of creativity, for others the spark of God in man. What is the soul made of and where does it live? Is it the key to our individuality as humans? And when we die will our souls find paradise or purgatory, rebirth, resurrection or simply annihilation? With Richard Sorabji, Gresham Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College; Ruth Padel, poet and author; Martin Palmer, Theologian and Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
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| 0:44.3 | forward slash radio for I hope you enjoy the program. |
| 0:47.2 | Hello in Sailing to Byzantium W. B. H. wrote an aged man is. H. A tattered coat upon a stick, unless soul clap its hands and sing, and louder |
| 0:59.2 | sing for every tatter in its mortal dress. |
| 1:03.0 | This week on in our time we will be discussing the soul. |
| 1:05.8 | For Plato it was the immortal seat of reason. |
| 1:08.8 | For Aristotle it could be found in plants and animals and was the essence of every being, but it died when the body died. |
| 1:14.9 | For some it's the font of creativity, for some the spark of God in man, for others it's a chimera. |
| 1:20.9 | What is the soul made of and where does it live? Is it the key to our |
| 1:23.8 | individuality as humans and when we die will our souls find paradise or |
| 1:27.6 | purgatory, rebirth, resurrection or simply annihilation? With me to discuss the solo Richard Serabji, Gresham Professor of rhetoric at Gresham College. |
| 1:37.0 | Ruth Padell, poet and author of In and Out of the Mind, Tragic Images of Self and Body, |
| 1:42.0 | and Martin Palmer, The theologian and director of the |
| 1:44.8 | international consultancy on religion, education and culture. Martin Palmer |
| 1:49.3 | before we unravel them can you describe what you see as a three major and distinct ideas of the soul? |
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