Whatever piece of me that connects with others on a feeling, compassionate level definitely is shared by other species. I'm comfortable calling it a soul for the lack of a better word. It's my non-believer's spirituality.

And neither do humans..

Don't believe in souls.

Animals and humans don't. IMO.

As an agnostic, I realize that the answer to this question is unknowable at this time. However mankind has seen countless realities become understood that were previously unthinkable. So why should we now assume that we know everything there is to know? It would seem plausible that something could exist beyond our scientific understanding that overlaps what we call life. And why should it have to be limited to the physical realites of this life? If there is something that would roughly meet the standard of "soul", perhaps it may include something like "goodness, or value", When I look into my dog's eyes, I see much more than "a dumb animal" looking back at me. It feels like he has a better chance to have a soul than some human slug like Donald Trump.

Yes on the end of there feet

Humans and animals are sentinent beings. I wouldn't call it a soul as much as a conciousness of self. It wasn't too long ago that many Blacks were said to be soulless which was a given reason why they needed to be enslaved for "their own good." Southern slaveowners said they were raising them up by enslaving them.

We are animals arent we? but I don't pay much heed to the idea of a soul.

I tend to define "soul" as the person's or the animal's personality and quirks that makes them a unique being. As an theist, that is th eonly definition that makes any possible sense to me.

I don't believe in the idea of a pert of an individualor animal livign on after death... other than in oru memories.

If the soul is defined as the thing that makes us unique from each is the energy that sustains us, then yes is my answer. If it is defined as that part of life forms that are immortal then no, I don't think so.

The word soul can have broader meanings, an old soul, the soul of a poet, kind soul, and soulmate which seems to be more commonly used as a descriptive and not indicate that someone may be immortal.

We don’t have souls. There is energy in all living things including plants. But not souls.

I think I've answered this before but here we go. Not only do animals NOT have souls - neither do you. That's right. That amazing science book "The Holley Bibble" declared that man became a living soul. Logic would say you could also be a dead soul. A "soul" was not anything extra that you were given.
Why would man want a soul? So that he could have "dominion" and be better than the animals.

I can't give a consistent answer because it depends on the definition of "soul". Dogs have a certain level of self-awareness and they have emotional needs and responses, so they should not be treated like personal accessories to be color-coordinated with the furnture (and yes, I've actually seen this happen). They should be treated with respect and empathy for their feelings and their feelings and needs should not be devalued because their understanding and self-awareness is at a lower amplitude than ours.

Usually such questions in my experience are asked by people who have such a muddled concept of "soul" that they confuse it with "spirit" and what they really want to know is if their dog will join them in the afterlife. I personally believe that both me and my dog face oblivion, so it's a moot question to me.

Not voting because I don't believe in souls, and to vote "NO" would give a false impression.

Once when a coworker asked what I thought happened to animals when they die, I told her that I don't believe there's any difference be

"although I view the "soul" as the energy that is within us all"
What would that be exactly?
The micro current in our brains on which our conciousness resides like a program?
A Bio electric current which cannot exist with the bio mass creating that?

To equate dreams and emotions to the prescence of some soul, is to elevate all conscious beings to some esoteric level for which there is simply no evidence, because they have brains capable of dreams and emotions.

Soul
noun

1. the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
   IE the part of a human or Animal never shown to exist at all, but purported to by many religions as a support for their religious beliefs, an idea which bled through into cultures globally and which people believe, but few take the time to actually examine.

What makes you think there are souls, BUT NOT Zeus, Hera, Thor and so on?

not in the all dogs go 2 heaven sense, but i do think all living things have some as of yet unexplained by science sort of spark. i don't think it has 2 do with anything a god gave us or any of that, i just think if there is a soul, it can and will eventually be explained by science, it will be another one of those things where for a long time people didnt have an explanation, so they came up with a god story 2 explain it, then eventually we will figure it out, but the uber religious folks probably still won't except it as such

No such thing as a soul strictly speaking in the sense that nothing survives the death of the host body. I would use the term as an adjective though. As something could contain a soulful quality; an intangible meaning or resonance.

by your definition of "soul," with which i am uncomfortable, yes. i just don't wish to call it soul.

g

"Souls" are fictions created by religions. Motivation is fear of death and loss, obviously.

Everything has an end, even the stars themselves.

If you view the Soul as equaling Sentience then yes. I work with dogs every day professionally and have 3 at home. Each one is different just like we are and have likes, dislikes, and different cognition. I have trained and used my dogs as therapy dogs and have experienced empathic like behavior in more than one of my dogs. One was able to get a stroke victim to speak for the first time in a year. The person later experienced another stroke and passed away. When we went back to the hospital my dog spent a day looking for him and when he didn't find him, refused to go back and do any more therapy visits. My other dog senses the triggering of my PTSD and intervenes without any prompting.

No more and no less than we do. We are also animals.

Nothing has a soul

As a believer in reincarnation, I believe every animal and human have souls. Look into the eyes and one can see the soul, the sentient being inside. This is how we bond with our pets. Our souls recognize each other.

What are the properties of a 'soul?' If it exists, it must be observable and measurable. When does it manifest itself? At birth? Before that? At a particular level of devlopement? Are there 'less devloped' souls in some, while others have 'more developed' ones? Might a person be without one? Do souls outlast the beings they inhabit? How does this work, in terms of biology and physics?

If we're of the opinion, and that's really all it can be at this point, that souls exist, they would have to be a purely natrual, evolutionary phenonemon, as opposed to something 'divine' or of 'supernatural' origin, correct? And this would imply millions of years of soul evolution, during which time awkard, vestigial souls may have been discarded, in favor of more robust ones. If animals have a soul, surely Lucy did, as she walked the savannah some 3.2 million years ago.

A Nobel Prize awaits the biologist or neurologist (not the metaphysician) who proves, scientifically, the existence of souls.

The thing is you state: People say animals don't have souls. Then you give your definition of soul. I guess that your definition of soul doesn't match with what "People say". To compare you need to agree on the definition.
In this situation I would say that, if people have a soul based on their self-conscious experience of their individuality, animals most likely have a soul too, depending on the quality of their thinking, the measure of self-consciousness and the awareness of individuality.
So, I can't vote here.