Leibbezogene Seele?

The concept that the soul was the highest form of being in the animate world had a prominent position in the fields of natural science, religion, aesthetics, as well as in meta-physical considerations of humanity right into the 18th century. This is something that has changed in modern times, with the concept of the soul having been replaced by the likes of subjectivity, personality and individuality. At the same time, it appears that a symbolic »surplus« is attached to the label »soul«, which, however, eludes a clear definition. The contributions in this collection pursue these developments and their meanings. A key question to this end is as follows: Is talk of the soul an expression for the pre-reflexive self-occurence of subjectivity, as it is expressed first and foremost in bodily experience and (at best) subordinately in academic reflection?