OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPIRIT

Travel | Perceptions & Sensations |
Tendencies, Vices, & Virtues

Tendencies, Vices, and Virtues

As Kardec writes, "it would be illogical to assume that the spirit of a savage or criminal suddenly becomes wise and virtuous. It would also be illogical to suppose that, contrary to God's justice, they continue perpetually in a state of inferiority." The study of spirits who reveal themselves¹ to be at a variety of levels, as well as the instruction received from superior spirits, have confirmed that just as there are humans at all levels of knowledge and ignorance, of goodness and badness, the same is true for the discarnate spirits that populate the spirit world.

Therefore, freedom from the physical body does not rid a spirit of its inclinations or tendencies. To the contrary, its elevation as a spirit is proportional to its advancements made over multiple existences.  As said before, spirits are merely the souls of men.  From one incarnation to the next, and also between the incarnations, all spirits maintain their individuality, including the level of moral and intellectual advancement they have achieved at any given time.  Therefore, the spirit world reflects all the vices and virtues of human beings living on Earth.  In fact the scale is even greater in the spirit realm because it includes spirits that come from other worlds, whereby they can be at levels far higher than the most distinguished of men, or far lower than the least advanced person on Earth.

In a most generalized classification, the spirit-instructors describe three principle classes among spirits: the pure spirits, who have attained the highest degree of perfection; the good spirits, characterized by the predominance of of their ethical nature over their material instincts; and the inferior spirits, characterized by the predominance of their material instincts and a possible tendency for harmful acts.

To read more about these three principle orders among spirits, as well as ten sub-classes described by Kardec, follow the link for Spirit Hierarchy on the menu bar at left.

¹ through their words, appearance, and behaviors

Kardec, Allan. "Spirits." The Spirits' Book.  Trans. Allan Kardec Educational Society (translated from 2nd edition in French). Philadelphia, PA. Allan Kardec Educational Society. 1996. 35.

Kardec, Allan. "The Incarnation of Spirits." The Spirits' Book.  Trans. Allan Kardec Educational Society (translated from 2nd edition in French). Philadelphia, PA. Allan Kardec Educational Society. 1996. 50-54.

Kardec, Allan. "Spirit Life." The Spirits' Book.  Trans. Allan Kardec Educational Society (translated from 2nd edition in French). Philadelphia, PA. Allan Kardec Educational Society. 1996. 98-102. 

Kardec, Allan. "Elementary Principles of Spiritism." Christian Spiritism (a compilation of two Kardec books: Spiritism Reduced to Its Simplest Expression and What is Spiritism).  Trans. Allan Kardec Educational Society (translated from original French editions, published 1860 and 1859, respectively). Philadelphia, PA. Allan Kardec Educational Society. 1985. (About The Spirits), pgs 125-129.

Palhano Jr., Lamartine. "Seres Espirituais" [Spiritual Beings]. Teología Espírita [Spiritist Theology]. Rio de Janeiro: Centro Espírita Léon Denis [Leon Denis Spiritist Center]. 2001. 54-58