If we are looking for an answer while wondering what a human is, then we quickly end up with the features of the human body and typical human abilities. Often, humans are described in relation to all other forms of life that exist on this planet. We differentiate plants and animals. The human body is an animal body. With animals, there is a vast variation of bodies on all sizes and shapes. Some are very different to a human body, and some are very similar. Also the abilities of animals vary greatly. As far as we can judge this, some animals seem to have very few, very specialized abilities, while other have an extensive spectrum of abilities that resembles those of a human. The classification of a human as a special animal is quite understandable when we only consider the human body. After all, some animals have an almost identical body. And it is very likely and obvious that the the human body has evolved from an animal body. If we reduce living creatures to their body, then the difference between animals and humans is minimal. We would do justice to a machine with this way of judging things. But not necessarily a living being. A living being could be more than the body we can see or can make visible with sensors.
Concerning the abilities, different abilities arise from a different type of body. The closer an animal body is to that of a human, the more resemblance there is considering what the animal can do with the body. On top of that there are additional abilities, which we can name thinking, feeling and wanting. What we think, that we can experience right away. What another living being thinks, that we cannot experience. We can only guess based on some hints in the shape of gestures and facial expressions as well as language. What we feel, that can be experienced through the observation of our body. Joy, sadness, anger, fear and other feelings are accompanied by a reaction of the body which we perceive. What other living being feels, that we can again only guess based on gestures, facial expressions and language. What we want becomes visible to us when we look at our actions. And what another living being wants, that we can see based on its actions. With our actions, we do not necessarily succeed in realizing our ambitions, or the idea that we had in mind. But what we do is what we want. And what we don’t do is what we do not want. In the aftermath of this realization we are usually wondering whether humans have a free will or not. With other words, can a human act freely?
The abilities of thinking, feeling and wanting are usually assigned to the body in todays world. That is understandable, because they express themselves though the body. The activity of thinking can be made visible in the brain with appropriate scan tools. The feelings can usually be seen simply by looking at someones body. The same ist true for what we want, it becomes obvious in our actions. The other way around we can also trigger thoughts and stimulate feelings through sensory perception. This way, even our will can be manipulated. When we hear a loud noise and cover our ears, then our will was triggered by a sensory perception. The action follows often instantly, without us thinking about what we are doing. Or we go our way not thinking of any ice cream, when someone walks past us eating one. And we go ahead and also buy one. Again, a perception has manipulated our actions. But in this example we can already notice that we are not always acting automatically, simply reacting to inputs from the outside. Before buying ice cream, we can pause and think as long as it takes to find enough reasons for not buying an ice cream. If we would buy the ice cream as instantly and thoughtless as we are covering our ears in the event of a loud noise, then we could rightfully doubt the free will of a human.
It can also happen that we are undecided. Then we keep looking for reasons to make a decision. How the decision is made, how a will is shaped, is worth a close look. Thinking and feeling are involved in this. How we proceed with our observations depends on our worldview and our image of humanity. An observation of the processes in the body is a reasonable approach if we consider our will to be a product of our bodies functionality. I wish to do without this assumption and approach the will from another direction: the observation of thinking. Although the will, the feeling and the thought are all somewhat visible in the body, I wish to make no prejudice whether they are caused by the body or only become visible through it. Considering the free will to be a result of thinking is already the result of an observation and seem reasonable to me. Thinking usually precedes a conscious act. Where the thought has its roots may also be revealed by our observations. At his point I wish to disconnect thinking, feeling and wanting from the physical body and assign it to the soul. What we call soul here is the part of a human where thinking, feeling and wanting takes place. The activity of the soul can only be observed individually, by looking at our own soul. It cannot be measured directly, only its effect on the body becomes visible in the physical world.