Our conceptions always require a sense-content to work with, and as the words 'soul', 'God', 'immortality' cover no distinctive sense-content whatsoever, it follows that theoretically speaking they are words devoid of any significance. Yet strangely enough they have a definite meaning 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘒𝘀𝘡π˜ͺ𝘀𝘦. We can act 𝘒𝘴 π˜ͺ𝘧 there were a God; feel 𝘒𝘴 π˜ͺ𝘧 we were free; consider Nature 𝘒𝘴 π˜ͺ𝘧 she were full of special designs; lay plans 𝘒𝘴 π˜ͺ𝘧 we were to be immortal; and we find then that these words do make a genuine difference in our moral life.

philosophy spirituality
The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James