Mum's not the word
Most people nowadays I would think believes in some sort of soul – downgrading the physical identity to something temporary while graduating a non-physical concept to something almost magical. Why?
There's something mind-bending about mummies. I went to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities today. I'm usually not that impressed by archaeological museums (I prefer Modern Art more) but this one – this one was good. There was so much stuff that a lot of it was crammed along the walls and stacked willy-nilly all over the place.
Oh yeah, the mummies. They looked like old people sleeping. Withered, for sure -- but in some places, you can see the pink flesh of the toes, raggedy hair and the veiny hands. There were even a couple of queens who had fat stuffed into their faces to preserve a fleshy likeness for the afterlife (unfortunately, their desiccators were over-enthused and stuffed too much, and their cheeks exploded).
And while I was staring at those mummies, a couple of thoughts.
First – the heebie-jeebies. Their faces had expressions frozen onto them, some peaceful, some fearful, and some angry. I suppose I never thought about it – a person's last thought before the big black curtain falls. I suppose it could be anything, but does anything mean something? On some of the angry ones, if I stared at them long enough, I can imagine a horror flick coming to life, where an angry mummy would sit up and look at me with hollowed eyes...
Second thought – identity. Ancient Egyptians placed a lot of importance on the physical identity of a person, so much that they have elaborate rituals, myths and beliefs about how to preserve a persons' remains so they can traverse the physical divide of death. Most people nowadays I would think believes in some sort of soul – downgrading the physical identity to something temporary while graduating a non-physical concept to something almost magical. Why? Do we have any better reason to believe in the soul than Egyptians had when they believe in the intransient nature of the physical? We certainly have reasons to not believe that the physical can bypass death, but I can't find any good reason to replace a disbelief with another equally dubious belief.
My favorite exhibit? The statue of a pregnant hippo goddess. Followed by seemingly floating pieces of a broken statue of Anekhaten and his consort Neferteti. And of course, the gold overload of King Tut. Way cool.
Oh yeah, the museum is worth checking out (bring your student ID for a 50% discount).