Immortal Souls: A Treatise on Human Nature

by Edward Feser

Immortal Souls provides as ambitious and complete a defense of Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophical anthropology as is currently in print. Among the many topics covered are the reality and unity of the self, the immateriality of the intellect, the freedom of the will, the immortality of the soul, the critique of artificial intelligence, and the refutation of both Cartesian and materialist conceptions of human nature. Along the way, the main rival positions in contemporary philosophy and science are thoroughly engaged with and rebutted.

Edward Feser is Professor of Philosophy at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California, USA. His many books include Scholastic A Contemporary Introduction, Aristotle's The Metaphysical Foundations of Physical and Biological Science, and Five Proofs of the Existence of God.

Genres: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Theology

544 pages, Paperback

Published July 31, 2024

About the author

Edward Feser is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. He has been a Visiting Assistant Professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and a Visiting Scholar at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of California at Santa Barbara, an M.A. in religion from the Claremont Graduate School, and a B.A. in philosophy and religious studies from the California State University at Fullerton.

Called by National Review “one of the best contemporary writers on philosophy,” Feser is the author of On Nozick, Philosophy of Mind, Locke, The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism, and Aquinas, and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Hayek and Aristotle on Method and Metaphysics. He is also the author of many academic articles. His primary academic research interests are in the philosophy of mind, moral and political philosophy, and the philosophy of religion.

Feser also writes on politics and culture, from a conservative point of view; and on religion, from a traditional Roman Catholic perspective. In this connection, his work has appeared in such publications as The American, The American Conservative, City Journal, The Claremont Review of Books, Crisis, First Things, Liberty, National Review, New Oxford Review, Public Discourse, Reason, and TCS Daily.

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and six children.

Reviews

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding and utterly convincing.

[Sarah Hazelrig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made my brain melt out of my ears. But in a good way?

[Landon Sperduti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Feser certainly has a way to convey logical arguments in a way digestible to a modern reader who does not understand the use in philosophy or metaphysics. Understandably a large portion of the book is devoted to refuting misconceptions about the brain, animal intelligence, and other errors about the brain.

But if you have the discipline to really read through and understand the arguments put forward, it’s undeniable that Professor Feser makes valid points, and many common counterpoints made by materialists either miss the point or simply wrong.

Seriously recommend to anyone interested in Philosophy of Mind.

[Estis Sal Terrae · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you wanted to know more about the soul, I can't see a better primer for it than this book.
Starting from first principles, Feser lays the foundation for the time-tested argument of the immaterial human soul. Though the many counter arguments can be a daunting part of this work, it does steel-man the Thomistic position.

I found his writing to be very easy to digest. It's a necessary refreshment for someone like Feser to come along and give us the argument in an accessible package for the laity. A great deed that will be appreciated by the few who look for reason in an age of sophistry.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was a time I worried there wasn't an answer. Now I'm terrified that there is one. With great reason comes great responsibility--or something like that...

Very readable. But 500 pages...

B. Grizenko