Do insects, like flies have a soul?

Question

Do insects, like flies have a soul?

Answer 1

Only if you believe that there is a "Lord of the Flies".

Answer 2

thats a pretty deep question, if you go by the reincarnation theory, then they must have at some point housed the soul of another human. Greek and even roman mythology has people turning into flies all over the place. Christianity doesnt know what its on about and buddhism teaches that everything be viewed as a piece of the big picture.

if you look at it, an insect while not a chordate is still a living thing.

Its more the chordates while are though tto possess souls as they are higher levels of the evolutionary chain, while they do have a brain the distinguishing feature which usually defines whether or not a creature has a soul is its ability to deal with the one thing we cant, mortality and loss

Answer 3

A soul is that part of an organism which can feel joy and grief. Insects have it.

I have watched them in captivity.  I have seen the males rejected by females go and cry, not eating or flying or anything else for like an hour, which is a long time in a fly's life.   They know happiness, they know sorry, they mostly just go about their business, though, just like us.

Answer 4

I don't beleive they do. PETA (the vegetarian society) allows members to eat insects as they aren't sentient.

Answer 5

Well on a religious perspective, they do not have souls accoring to Christianity

Answer 6

The study of Zoology does not encompass the study of souls, so I can't tell you in this forum.

If we were in the religion section, I might say that they probably have a primitive soul.  But I don't actually know; and it depends on how you define soul.  According to St. Thomas Aquinas, they have an animal soul, but not a spiritual soul like humans.  Even plants have a vegetable soul.