# The Idea of a Soul May Be a Product of Cultural Evolution by Timothy Taylor > “At a particular point (yet to be clearly defined) in human cultural evolution, a specific idea took hold that there were two, partially separable, elements present in a living creature: the material body and the force that animated it. On the death of the body the animating force would, naturally, desire the continuation of this-worldly action and struggle to reassert itself (just as one might strive to retrieve a flint axe one had accidentally dropped). If the soul (or spirit) succeeded, it would also seek to repossess its property, including its spouse, and reassert its material appetites.” > **— Timothy Taylor**, *2001, Edge Annual Question, “What Questions Have Disappeared?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [How can I stop the soul of the deceased reanimating the body?](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/12054) — Edge published this exact passage in its 2001 Annual Question collection, *WHAT QUESTIONS HAVE DISAPPEARED?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2001 Full Quotation Curation - Disappeared Questions|Edge 2001 Full Quotation Curation - Disappeared Questions]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|Valley Roots]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|Never Going to Make It!]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] - [[wiki/Cultural Evolution|Cultural Evolution]] - [[wiki/Gene-Culture Coevolution|Gene-Culture Coevolution]] - [[wiki/Technological Evolution|Technological Evolution]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “At a particular point (yet to be clearly defined) in human cultural evolution, a specific idea took hold that there were two, partially separable, elements present in a living creature: the material body and the force that animated it. On the death of the body the animating force would, naturally, desire the continuation of this-worldly action and struggle to reassert itself (just as one might strive to retrieve a flint axe one had accidentally dropped). If the soul (or spirit) succeeded, it would also seek to repossess its property, including its spouse, and reassert its material appetites.” — Timothy Taylor, 2001, Edge Annual Question, “What Questions Have Disappeared?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-timothy-taylor-idea-soul-product-cultural-evolution ```