Archeologists agree that 3 basic signs of being human are abstract thought (including creative imagination), symbolic language, and religion – each distinguishing us from the other animals. What do these have in common? The ability to rise above the spatial-temporal realm of the physical senses to tap into a transcendent reality.

Pre-Christian pagan philosophers could deduce that this ability to grasp immaterial objects could not come from any physical organ, but rather pointed to an immaterial part of us, often referred to as the spiritual soul.

As something physical like a hand is needed to grasp a physical object like a pen, likewise an immaterial component is needed to grasp immaterial objects (concepts), such ‘love’, ‘truth’, ‘justice’, etc.