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Originally Posted by Flame of Anor
But I'm still wondering: Is Fëa (soul) passed down from parents to children, or does Eru have to give each being its own Fëa. If the case is the latter, then the first corrupted product (orc) would have a spirit but the next generation, its child, would not have one. It would be an empty body, unless Eru chose to give each new orc a soul, and my question's are:
Why would he do that? Do they or will they serve some purpose for Eru?
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For the first part of your post, I would say all the Orcs must possess
Fëa, or, as you say, they would have no will or thoughts of their own, acting along the lines of the Fathers of the Dwarves when Aulë first brought them into being.
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For thou hast from me as a gift thy own being only, and no more; and therefore the creatures of thy hand and mind can live only by that being, moving when thou thinkest to move them, and if thy thought be elsewhere, standing idle.
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Such were Ilúvatar's words to Aulë.
I would think souls must be assigned to each being individually, or would not each new Orc essentially be a reincarnation of an earlier generation?
As to why The One would ensoul such creatures, my only answer is that the Orcs must play some important part in the story of the world, or they would not be allowed to exist. The question of whether that part was devised for them from the very beginning, before even Melkor conceived of making a race of his own to serve him, or if it was a response to Melkor's act is really beyond my pay grade.
My feeling is that if one accepts the premise of Ilúvatar being the Prime Creator and ultimate author of the Play, it must follow that nothing occurrs that is unforseen to him, and every event has a purpose.