What is the soul?

How does the soul relate to the self,

a) historically (post-Christian Modern Era, Romanticism) ?

b) in the contemporary context (Individualism, mediatized reality, neo religions, ecology and nostalgia)?

Is the concept of the soul still relevant? Can it be salvaged?  Is there still room for something intangible, or ineffable about the mind?  What remains of what was once considered the seat of the deepest human emotions ?  Has science and modern psychology dispelled all of these old ghosts, or do we still care for a degree of unknown related to the self at its extremities.

What are the tangible manifestations of the soul?

What part does suffering play in the connection between the soul and body?

What happens when the internal world surpasses the external reality, in cases such as madness, alienation, subjugation, melancholia?

What are other possible metaphors to materialize the invisible part of the self?  For instance, can the intangible be measured, compared, evaluated ?  What is its weight against the material world?