What is the source of that sense of dissatisfaction that is also felt in well-being? Why do we seek satisfaction that goes far beyond our needs?

How are we able to abstract concepts that go beyond perceived realities? What other force supports us besides our physical energies? How can it be detected? Can this energy get sick and can it heal?

The uniformity of “common thought” that the humanistic and scientific disciplines feed on today has put aside the spiritual dimension of the human being, resulting in a downfall of life and values, and a moral degradation that pollutes everything.

The IRIS-3 Foundation aims to fill this void that is present in culture and life by exploring in every direction the spiritual reality that constitutes the human being, understood as the created spiritual soul, the foundation of human life.

The Iris-3 Foundation, therefore, aims to deepen, develop and disseminate the theoretical and experimental research into the spiritual reality that constitutes the human being, in order to offer new points of reference to the contemporary man and to face the challenges of tomorrow’s society. 

PRESENTATION

The reality of the existence of the created soul, a reality present in every human being, underpins its greatest dignity and beauty, and its right to freedom, not least to religious freedom and freedom of conscience.

Such human reality of the spiritual soul, or spirit (pneuma),

• reveals itself in man in his need of transcendence – going beyond the immanence of his condition – in the search for the absolute and in dialogue with God, as well as in the need for truth and happiness;
• is expressed in the free creativity of the will, in the superior capacity of human thought and authentic human love, to the point of seeking in consciousness the meaning of human living and procreation, the authenticity of values and the awareness of limits, and at the same time the responsibility for rights and duties;
• manifests itself in the expression of art, music and culture, and in the human capacity for value-driven and functional relations, in the intelligence of scientific research and its useful technological applications, as well as in the tension toward development and innovation, the use of resources while respecting creation, and the progress of the good of life and of humanity as a whole.

Given the extraordinary importance of this spiritual reality present in the human being, which is its driving force and the mysterious energy of its life, it has become desirable as well as urgent to create a Scientific Research Institute in order to investigate its existence and demonstrability, overcoming the many obstacles and dangers of a materialistic and technological drift of human reality, through the new knowledge coming from the development of the various Disciplines.

This is the primary purpose of the Foundation of the International Institute for Research on the human soul, known as IRIS-3. The number 3 stands for the human soul, created by God One and Trine in his “image and likeness” – and therefore immortal – to become “glory” of God and eternal bliss, as revealed in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible .

THE PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH

Is the reality of the spirit in man a cultural belief distant in time, or rather a true and good reality? Does it appear censored and perhaps made to be forgotten for purposes of economic and political interest?

The reality of the spirit in man, as a spiritual soul created by God in His image (cf. Genesis 1:27; 2:7. Qoèlet 3:11), constitutes the human being as such.

Two short references may be useful for framing our research.

In other words, the human being without the spirit would no longer really be the same. What scientific evidence do we have of this all-important fact?

If man lost himself, what world would he claim to build? What material and economic progress could save man and his “human” existence?

Do we have hope that we can scientifically recover the reality of the spirit in human life? Can the human sciences help rebuild “the reality of the spiritual dimension” in our humanity? This is the aim of the IRIS-3 Research Institute.

WHAT DRIVES US

Our aim is therefore to investigate the reality of the spirit in the human being, his spiritual soul, and scientifically prove its existence. Why? To save our humanity by overcoming the materialist, economizing and atheist tendencies, as well as the spiritualist and spiritist ones, which disfigure the essence of the soul and manipulate it for other degenerative purposes! Human and universal BEAUTY is entrusted to the spirit of man and to his responsibility, to his spiritual soul, gift from God the Creator.

The beauty of the UNIVERSE

From the knowledge of the microcosm to that of the stars and the countless galaxies, everything in the universe lives and moves with immense energy and extraordinary order and wisdom, such that it can be studied and understood in its laws, which the human mind gradually discovers with increasing amazement.

An immense harmony and beauty that we can only admire and respect, praising Whom has wanted it as it is. It speaks to us.

The beauty of the HUMAN

In the human person there are capacities that qualify it, and these are intelligence, goodness, freedom, love for truth, love as the capacity to give oneself, search for meaning, and the desire to harmonize in unity. All these seven human virtues are an expression of the spirit, the image of God, who is in the human being, and these constitute it, and, together, express his beauty. Any claim to “build a different human”, as happens in transhumanism, can only be an insane undertaking, destined for the creation of a lower being.

In Human Love, which is the deepest and most engaging reality of the person, how can one explain – without the presence of the spirit – the ability to overcome the forces of survival, inherent in nature, in order to give one’s life? What deep energy does a man have, that can overcome the biological and sexual energies aimed at mere survival? What is there “beyond” biological life, where does human love go?