Current mood:	accomplished
Current music:	Haydn, "Sym. No. 104" (Tafelmusik/Wand)

On the question of souls.
Well, I was asked a question some time ago about the nature of souls. While recent events had pushed it out of my head for a bit, seeing as I've found myself with a surplus of time as of late, I decided to put it to some productive use.

The question of souls has always been a nebulous issue. Webster's defines "soul" first and foremost as being "the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life". I think it goes without saying that this is a bit too broad for our purposes. This of course implies the common misconception about the soul, which is that it is the substance that ensures life after death for humanity exclusively. While many questions remain unanswered about the hereafter, we are fairly certain at this juncture that there are other beings who are subsceptible to it. However, other definitions offered include "the spiritual principle embodied in human beings [or] all rational and spirtual beings" or "the moral and emotional nature of human beings." This seems like a better place to begin our inquiry,

The conventional wisdom regarding the soul is that it is what allows human beings to differentiate between right and wrong in a way that vampires and demons cannot. This has certainly been the de facto stance of the Watcher's Council for time out of mind. However, as we have seen, the Watcher's Council's view on things tends to lean toward the limited. Experience has taught us something different, namely that there appear to be more kinds of demons out there than heaven and earth dreamt of. Many, I would dare say "most", are malignant. Some are fairly neutral in intent, and others do seem to possess consciences as strong as any human (a cynical man might add "or more so"). Lorne certainly seems to fit into this category.

Now, I'm certainly not in a position to state whether or not Lorne has a soul. There are certainly direct methods of inquiry that would answer that, but I suspect Lorne himself would take exception to having what is most assuredly sensitive information divined out of him. Personally, I'm simply content to see that he's committed to our struggle, and not particularly interested in looking a gift demon in the mouth, so to speak.

So what we learn upon inquiring into the nature of the soul, more than anything else, is that its mystery remains secure even after thousands of years of study; indeed, the more we discover, the greater the number of questions we possess. It does seem that some things are beyond human understanding and will remain so, notwithstanding an unforeseen leap forward in our collective consciousness.

In other matters, I'd like to thank everyone who wished me well in recent weeks. I'm only sorry that I couldn't reply to anyone individually.