On the Soul

[SUNKIST]

What is the soul? Is it a living thing? Seperate from the body? Can it take on human emotions? Does it drive human emotions? Do plants, and animals have a soul? Can our soul be destroyed? Or is it infinite?

One of my favourite topics in philosophy is discussing the soul. I think the soul is a part of our bodies, but not connected to the body in the sense that it feels what we feel. Our souls are not angry, or depressed...it is our human bodies that experience this..our soul is simply the engine that drives us..when we die, our soul can not be destroyed, it carries on the essence of us..this is how we exist in the afterlife..whatever that may be..

what do you think? i have to formulate more thoughts...more later.

 

[pr0nstar]

I think the soul is our experiences in life.

 

[Temper Tantrum]

I think the soul at least in terms of how we conceive of it in society is what we believe seperates us from animals.
Our soul is our essence, or our consciousness, it's what really 'is' us. I think the soul is the core of a human being, the deep down true nature of someone.

On the other hand if "God is the opium for the masses"
Isn't the soul just a creation of our narcissim or fear?

We're egotistical creatures by nature. We *want* to believe there's more beyond this life, because man is 'different' then animals? Do rocks and frogs reincarnate or go on to the after life? (I'm not taking into account samsara and reincarnation in hinduism buddhism mind you) if you asked the average person they'd probably say no.

The soul is like God or love or a true circle, it's tangeable but not physically present, something one either has faith in or doesnt'.

Hope that sorta made sense

~allie~

 

[vinder]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Temper Tantrum:
I think the soul at least in terms of how we conceive of it in society is what we believe seperates us from animals.
</font>

so animals don't have souls?

 

[OTIS]

'SOUL' according to Google:

NEXT.

-OTIS

 

[Temper Tantrum]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by vinder:
so animals don't have souls? </font>

It depends on who you ask, I don't even know if I believe in souls, I'm a very much sit on the fence type of woman when it comes to teleology.
A lot of the predominant religions today preach of man's superiority , and man has a 'soul'. Do we see our pet turtles in the afterlife according to christian dogma? No.

However some religions (wicca or buddhism for instance) follow the belief of more of a 'life energy' that everything living shares to certain extents (in buddhism and hinduism there's a hierarchy of the evolutionary scale, humanity is in the middle..) so in that way I guess we would all have souls?

I'm just throwing ideas out and poking questions .

~allie~

 

[Temper Tantrum]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by vinder:
so animals don't have souls? </font>

It depends on who you ask, I don't even know if I believe in souls, I'm a very much sit on the fence type of woman when it comes to teleology.
A lot of the predominant religions today preach of man's superiority , and man has a 'soul'. Do we see our pet turtles in the afterlife according to christian dogma? No.

However some religions (wicca or buddhism for instance) follow the belief of more of a 'life energy' that everything living shares to certain extents (in buddhism and hinduism there's a hierarchy of the evolutionary scale, humanity is in the middle..) so in that way I guess we would all have souls?

I'm just throwing ideas out and poking questions .

~allie~

 

[Deep_Groove]

What we call the soul is merely the perception we have of our deepest instincts, fears and desires molded over millions of years of evolution.

There are no immaterial entities, hence it is not something that can be separated from the physical structure of the brain and nervous system.

Discuss or debate!

- Deep_Groove

 

[BassInMyFace]

The soul is just another part of mans need to be connected to a higher power/being.

Most religions believe that there is a place that you go when you die. A place that you realize you are there when you get, "there".

Now since our physical bodies don't make a journey after death, besides the trip to the cemetery, what is it exactly that goes to "heaven/hell"?

Your soul.

 

[Temper Tantrum]

"The soul is that which denies the body. For example, that which refuses to run when the body trembles, to strike when the body is angry, to drink when the body is thirsty."

 

[SUNKIST]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by BassInMyFace:
The soul is just another part of mans need to be connected to a higher power/being.

Most religions believe that there is a place that you go when you die. A place that you realize you are there when you get, "there".

Now since our physical bodies don't make a journey after death, besides the trip to the cemetery, what is it exactly that goes to "heaven/hell"?

Your soul.

</font>

this depends on your beliefs. When you die, your soul can leave your body..but not actually go on to a "heaven" or "hell", it could simply carry over to the next life form being created...taking its previous knowledge with it, and living with that body. Plato argued that this "a priori" knowledge is what leads us to know how to walk, talk, interact...etc.
if this is true then the soul still exists without any real conenction with God or a divine entity.

 

[Deep_Groove]

Plato's theory was disproved by language development theorists and cognitive scientists in the mid-20thCentry

- Deep_Groove