NationStates Jolt Archive

Do we (as human beings) have souls? What about other animals? Insects? Or is the talk of souls all just nonsense from a simpler time and that the 'state of being' we feel everday is a just a natural result arrising from the complexity of our brains?

Personally I think that concious thought is just a rather neat trick developed by nature, but I'd be hard pushed to give any details as to how this arises.

What do you think?

I do not believe in souls, by whatever name. When we die, that is it, curtains, end of play, over. Non existence.

Consciousness is, in my belief, a useful mutation, that allows for planning and anticipation of future events. Nothing mysterious, just that the mechanisms are not completely explained yet.

There's some serious, largely anecdotal evidence for reincarnation. Does this imply the existence of a "soul?" Well, in order for reincarnation to exist, something must survive death, but whether to call it "soul" or not is a conundrum.

I like to think something seperates humans from animals, however I have seen my pet dog dream, so he must have a conscoiusness/point-of-view/perspective (no word for it in English).

I like to think something seperates humans from animals, however I have seen my pet dog dream, so he must have a conscoiusness/point-of-view/perspective (no word for it in English).
"Self-awareness?"

i believe that you exist althought sort of in a dream when you know whats happening but cant effect it or see yourself or escape it

the worthy warrior shall be taken upon his death to dwell with the father of all in the hall of heros.

I was brought up Catholic, so I learned that we have souls and that they survive the death of our bodies.
Later on, however, I found myself questioning 'why' would we have souls. It seems a big waste of energy for something like a soul to exist. What for? To hold our silly selves together after the death of the body? Now I think that the concept of soul is useful for us, as it makes it possible to live our lives without going totally nuts due to the certainty of death.

i believe that you exist althought sort of in a dream when you know whats happening but cant effect it or see yourself or escape it

this sounds terrible! If so, then having a soul is much worse than death being the end of it all

I was brought up Catholic, so I learned that we have souls and that they survive the death of our bodies.
Later on, however, I found myself questioning 'why' would we have souls. It seems a big waste of energy for something like a soul to exist. What for? To hold our silly selves together after the death of the body? Now I think that the concept of soul is useful for us, as it makes it possible to live our lives without going totally nuts due to the certainty of death.
The existence of something which remains after death may be part of the laws of thermodynamics. The universe is notorious for things continuing to exist in alternate form even after being "destroyed." Film at eleven! :D

The existence of something which remains after death may be part of the laws of thermodynamics. The universe is notorious for things continuing to exist in alternate form even after being "destroyed."

Certainly, but whatever remains after the death of our bodies does not need to keep in a unity. IMHO, the 'alternate form' is essencial to your point.

Certainly, but whatever remains after the death of our bodies does not need to keep in a unity. IMHO, the 'alternate form' is essencial to your point.
Perhaps so. That could help explain why so few seem to retain a knowledge of a "previous life."

The accounts of remember lives are inconsistent and unconfirmed. The same method that can produce a seemingly accurate remember life in one individual also produced dozens of poeple who believed that they were cleopatra in a past life.

Currently there is no evidence to suggest that the classical idea of a soul exists however it is true that there are aspects of the human conciousness that we do not understand, however the chances of these supporting the classical soul idea is slim.

There's some serious, largely anecdotal evidence for reincarnation. Does this imply the existence of a "soul?" Well, in order for reincarnation to exist, something must survive death, but whether to call it "soul" or not is a conundrum.

I'm not disputing this. but could you provide any links to websites about this? I'd be interested in reading about it!

Our bodies are vessels for spirits. Once a spirit has a body, it becomes the soul of the vessel and provides it with a personification, making it something more than a mindless primate.

IMHO, the soul is electical in nature, our souls are basically the electric motor of our bodies. As such not only do living things have 'souls' but so do inanimate objects, both have 'auras'. When we die, the body loses control over the soul and the soul leaves, either remaining on earth, phazing into the astral or going to some other point in the universe. Certain souls are reincarnated as humans, others as other entities.

Now I think that the concept of soul is useful for us, as it makes it possible to live our lives without going totally nuts due to the certainty of death.
This reasoning is why I chose the second option, that there is a soul and only humans have a soul; because only humans (as far as we know) are intelligently advanced enough to create abstracts and symbols, and use them as if they were real, as tools to understand the world around them. I think the soul is one such abstract, of our "emotional selves."

I believe that there is an intangible form of perfect energy that keeps us in touch with its source. Perhaps this energy is a small portion of some vast cosmic energy store, something with immense power and intelligence, an anomalous, sentient being. When we die, this energy would, of course, leave our bodies. What happens when the energy is released could very well be that it possesses some sort of attraction to its source, to the place that it was created, returning there. This form of energy is a small fraction of the energy that is our god, and within it is the formula for all that we are at the core. In the beginning, we are very similar. Worldly desires and knowledge add to the complexity of our brains, creating new pathways for neurons to fire along, wiring different parts of the brain together, with new, unexpected electrochemical signals on levels of complexity and depth that we have barely scratched the surface of. The chemicals and electricity involved with the complicated thought processes leading to our selfishness must somehow be scientifically different than the ones that lead to selfless acts beneficial to others. Perhaps things like these have an effect of some sort on the soul that manages to weaken it, threaten the fibers that hold it together. And when it parts, it disperses, over all of space, over a distance so vast it can no longer be registered, though it obviously cannot be totally destroyed. When the energy goes back to its creator, fortified by the energy derived from thoughts beneficial towards man, that is heaven, a return to God. When the energy disperses and becomes a faint, unconscious near-nothingness, that is hell. That's the closest thing to a vaguely scientific explanation that I could come up with in five minutes, so don't take it too seriously.

I'm not sure what I believe. I tend to lean towards mental monism myself.

I don't know if souls exist, but I would assume from lack of evidence that they don't.