Does this mean, say, that Australopithecus afarensis, the proto-human famously exemplified by the fossil skeleton known as Lucy, had a soul? John F. Haught of Georgetown University said, “I think so, yes. I think all of our hominid ancestors were ensouled in some way, but that does not rule out the possibility that as evolution continues, the shape of the soul can vary just as it does from individual to individual.”

Will this idea catch on? “It’s not something you hear in the suburban pulpit,” said Dr. Haught, a Roman Catholic whose book God After Darwin is being reissued this year. “This is out of vogue in the modern world because Descartes made such a distinction between mind and matter. He placed the whole animal world on the side of matter, which is essentially mindless.”
CORNELIA DEAN (New York Times)