Chapter Two (The Spirit and The Soul )
The Soul According to Ibn Al-Tufayl
According to Ibn-Tufayl, the soul in animal and man is considered an animal who is centered mainly in the heart, the cause of life in man and animal as well as that of their different deeds. This animal soul is emitted from the heart to the brain through the nerves, and then from the brain to all parts of the body and it is responsible for all bodily actions.
The animal soul is one, yet when functioning with the eye tool it performs the action of seeing, hearing with the ear, smelling with the nose, tasting with the tongue, touching with the skin, and feeding with the liver. Although the human organs are different whereas each performs a certain function, all the deeds are produced by one soul which is the true self, with the organs acting as tools.
Since the animate and inanimate entities are physically formed with the image as an additional concept, then the animal soul rests in the heart. It also needs an extra meaning added to its physicality which responsible for the odd deeds of sensing, perceiving, and moving. This meaning indicates its image which is separate from the rest of the bodies which is referred to as the animal soul.