daemons

[Violet]

don't you think that people wouldn't be able to live without their soul within them? cause, for instance, witches were alive, but their soul could leave them and go half way across the world if they wanted to. wouldn't they die?

[Sheila]

But witches have magic and mortals don't.

[Killa]

I'm not so sure. You have to remember that, there is a bond between the person and their Dæmon. The bond can be stretched by going to the land of the dead, which is the ritual the witches go to, and the journey that the two children go on. They are still connected to their soul, even though there is a long way between them. And that bond is what I believe keeps them alive.
But your logic is understandable, and I see where you're coming from. I usually think of it as the bond between one-egged twins. Science have proved there is a special bond there, but no one can see it. Maybe it is the same Mr. Pullman was thinking of when he imagined the bond between human and Dæmon.

[Luke]

I look at it like this:

a soul is not a phisical thing, so distance should play no part in determining if a soul is still a part of the body. It hurts them at first to be so far away from their souls, but after the pain has receeded, their soul is still in tact, just not phisically near them.

[Gabe495]

The dæmon is not the soul of a person but rather only a part of the soul.

[Yasi]

It might be beacuse they are witches and not ordinary people...

[Mary]

I think when the witches' daemons travel far from them, it is that they are having an out-of-body experience. I felt that Mary Malone was sort of experiencing that when she was on the platform and started to float away with the Dust.

[Sean]

I think that once you're able to take into account the fact that this is a work of fiction (fantasy at that), and you stop trying to place laws of the physical world that lie outside of the book into the book itself, you'll enjoy it a lot more. At least it will stop you from asking such existential questions about a work of fiction. It's like asking what kind of underwear Willy Wonka wears and if it's edible or not. It just doesn't apply.

[Emily]

hahaha I really liked your comment Sean, but I kind of disagree. I think that's the fun of fantasy fiction...being able to create a new world in your mind that doesn't actually exist, but still makes sense. It's all of the subtext that the readers create that makes any fiction good. I wonder what kind of underwear Willy Wonka Doooooes wear? Hmmmm....
Okay, as for my opinion, I agree with Gabe. I think the deamon is only a part of the soul. It's an extension of yourself. This is shown because Lyra and Pan frequently disagree throughout the book. If they were the same or if they were only one soul only one would have an opinion and the other would automatically agree. The differing opinions show that they are merely extensions of each other, each separate intelligences, that bond together to make one. I look at it as an interpretation of Plato's philosophy of finding your other half - Lyra and her deamon are how Plato thought man would be if the gods had not separated us into two halves...does that make any sense?

[Erica]

In my opinion on the subject I think,also, that a deamon is only part of the sole, non the less it is there sole, and I don't believe you can live with out all of your sole. Also I think the more...I cant think of a good word to put here but certine people's deamons can go farther then others depending on...maybe truth, like knowing that there deamon will never leave them, I think I just came up with a new opinion. I now think that that people in the story's feel pain is because in the back of there brain, so back they dont know it's there, people in the story are afraid that their deamon is going to leave them, there afraid that there most loved creature, the thing that understands them the most, will leave them, but witches deamons can go farther away because they realize the truth, because witches are intelligent. I also think that Grumman new the truth, only a bit of truth, but still the truth because of the contact with the spirt world, thats why his deamon could go a little farther. An example would be from the subtle knife when Lee and Grumman had crashed and Grumman said that his deamon said that the ground was 40 ft. below and Lee said "She can go that far?" That is my opinion.

[Siobhan]

all i whish if every1 has a daemons, hen 1 day i could see mine in dream or eal

[Denise]

If I remember correctly, most religious sects believe only humans have spirit souls. In which case, life and soul are not the same thing. As for this series, it was possible to live without a deamon but was not desirable.