Coleridge in Limbo: Competing Views on Body and Soul

Abstract

As stated above, in the Introduction to this study, Coleridge’s notebooks establish the fact that he was aware of at least three different paradigms of Body/Soul relations. Here, in this chapter, we explore how these paradigms, and Coleridge’s oscillating preferences of them, relate to some of the main (and, often, competing) scientific, philosophical, and religious contexts of his life from around 1816. It is an exploration that reveals the connections between Coleridge’s perceptions of Body/Soul relations and other key elements of his thought, including, not least, man’s psychological faculties; the nature of humanness and individuality; and how these matters relate to the aspects, nature, and roles of God and his Hypostases (‘Persons’).