Noticing Vaughn's expression, Li Nanyu nodded. "You're right. Judging from his actions, if he intends to intervene directly, there must be some variable capable of influencing that single, but not absolute, outcome. Think carefully. The golden soul theory defines all things. Where alone does it remain vague?"
"Souls!"
Vaughn answered without hesitation.
He had been interested in the question of souls for a long time. No existing theory in the wizarding world truly explained what a soul was. Even the golden soul theory remained vague on the fundamental nature of souls.
Some schools held that souls were extensions of the cosmic spirit, an "illusion" of physical and mental activity. Essentially, the cosmic spirit granted bodies the ability to move and think, much like a puppeteer manipulating strings. Yet this could not explain why ghosts continued to exist independently after death.
Other schools believed souls came from another dimension and might, in essence, not belong to this universe. But that clearly contradicted the core concept that all things originated from the Creator.
The question of souls was one of the wizarding world's oldest and most intractable problems.
And this thing shrouded in mystery had actually become a glimmer of hope amid the despair of fatalism!
Hearing Vaughn's answer, Li Nanyu laughed heartily. "Exactly, Mr. Weasley. Our souls are the variable that makes the outcome singular, yet not absolute. Or, in philosophical terms, our free will can transcend natural laws, changing or even distorting them!"
"That's why I say this world is both materialistic and idealistic. When I studied in Europe, I was very fond of Kant. He divided the world into two parts, the Phenomenal World and the Noumenal World. The former represents a world governed by natural laws, while the latter is ruled by free will. That aligns closely with