Dualism

I studied these ideas in a philosophy course all of last semester - you'd think that I might want to do my essay on consciousness. Think again! After looking at about 15 philosophers what I saw was that people can be really self-indulgent and conceited to think that they alone can unravel the mysteries of life. I finished the course believing that no one yet has found the answer and that no one ever will. Why is this? Probably because of the nature of consciousness and the idea of self - we are different, even identical twins are different (which does suggest some level of not yet explained phenomena that we refer to as a soul), and so everyone's theories will be influenced by his own experience. Even Descartes who began his theories of mind matter and the machine that is the body being separate and the mind having a causal relationship on the body by doubting the existence of everything was influenced. He was influenced by religion, he never really denied the existence of some kind of maker; he always held onto the belief that even if nothing else existed he did, because he was there doubting things, which is a thinking action; thus "I think therefore I am." Many philosophers after him picked on these things saying either everything exists or everything doesn't. I'm not sure whether it was the scope of the course and the lecturers but it seemed we found more philosophers who said everything exists and is the same, like Jean Paul Satre and other existentialists and other schools of materialist thought.
In the end I wasn't convinced by any and I still thought Descartes made alot of good points despite the scrutiny his ideas have endured.

"This is probably the most difficult area of the course. Maybe I am saying this because my own views are in a state of flux and are continually being challenged. The scientific insights here are much newer and religions have not really properly come to grips with them – at least Christianity as a whole does not seem to have done so."

For me, being a christian, the bible is an important source for understanding the idea of a soul, or consciousness, and also what or how we may be when we are raised up on the final day. This verse has been one of encouragement and something to ponder - whatever its true meaning may be...

Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?

James 4:5