NationStates Jolt Archive

Who believes in the existance of the soul? I don't believe in a soul as such but I believe in the existance of the mind. I think it's rather our thoughts than our essence that make us who we are. I don't totally believe in the Hindu/Buddhist notion of reincarnation, but I am open to it, seeing as mind and soul aren't too far apart in theory. What do you guys think?

Who believes in the existance of the soul? I don't believe in a soul as such but I believe in the existance of the mind. I think it's rather our thoughts than our essence that make us who we are. I don't totally believe in the Hindu/Buddhist notion of reincarnation, but I am open to it, seeing as mind and soul aren't too far apart in theory. What do you guys think?

Well Buddhism doesn't believe in a soul...

Linky (http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/nshell09.htm)

...and thats pretty much what I believe too

Well Buddhism doesn't believe in a soul...

Linky (http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/nshell09.htm)

...and thats pretty much what I believe too


I belive in the Soul, Where else does the soul music come from? :cool:

There is a soul as well as there is an "a" in existence.

Well.....i for one believe we are a spirit....what we are...who we are......the essence of life....i beleive we live in a body, whoe's only purpose is to alter the enviroment to the spirit's will. I then beleive that we are in possession of our own soul...as a link between the spirit and the body. Mainly, the sould would be the human mind. But that's me.....

There may or may not be a soul, but due to complete untestability by most definitions, I am not able to say either way.

You went and stole my idea!!!!!!!111shift!!

Well the idea of a soul is basically a construct for the western world at least of the ancient Hellenic (greek) world that nicked it from the Egyptians. I think the idea that we need a soul let alone have one is really an archaic idea, that people like because it some how makes them more divine.

I think the soul exists every bit as much as the mind does.

Who believes in the existance of the soul? I don't believe in a soul as such but I believe in the existance of the mind. I think it's rather our thoughts than our essence that make us who we are. I don't totally believe in the Hindu/Buddhist notion of reincarnation, but I am open to it, seeing as mind and soul aren't too far apart in theory. What do you guys think?

I believe a soul = the dust of the earth + the breath of God. When those 2 seperate the soul ceases to be just like the body (dust of the earth).

I believe that the human body is nothing more than a complex biochemical machine controlled by an even more complex biochemical computer...

This computer is powered by the machine it is controlling, and depends on it to continue operating...

If the machine stops, so does the computer... Just like yanking the cord out of the wall...

So, death means the end of your existence... Your computer gets shut off...

I don't believe in a soul. My reasoning may be a little weird, and feel free to dispute it, but here goes.

The problem with a soul is, where does it come from? The first hypothesis would be that it's a product of evolution. In other words, that our distant, non-human ancestors had no soul, and that suddenly, one day, the soul appeared in human beings. That doesn't seem plausible to me. Evolution was very gradual; you can't pinpoint a moment in which one generation were not human but their children were human. Whereas on the other hand it's difficult to imagine a gradual development of a soul. You've either got a soul or you haven't. So it would have to have appeared suddenly in one generation, a generation whose parents would not have had a soul. Again, not very plausible.

The second hypothesis is that there's always been a soul - i.e., that our mono-cellular, distant ancestors already had a soul. Now, if you can grant me that all living beings have a soul, all right. But it makes little sense, the way I see it, to believe that human beings have a soul while other living beings have not (for the reason explicited above). Either all living beings have, or none have. But I can't accept that human beings are alone in having a soul.

Of course, believing in a soul, in the usual sense, implies believing in its immortality, and hence believing in God, and since I don't believe in God, I can't believe in the soul. ;)

I believe that the human body is nothing more than a complex biochemical machine controlled by an even more complex biochemical computer...


My thoughts exactly. :)

Which is why I'm a Determinist. And without free will, it's difficult to conceive of there being a soul.

I believe that the human body is nothing more than a complex biochemical machine controlled by an even more complex biochemical computer...

This computer is powered by the machine it is controlling, and depends on it to continue operating...

If the machine stops, so does the computer... Just like yanking the cord out of the wall...

So, death means the end of your existence... Your computer gets shut off...
I couldn't have put it better myself. You get a cookie.

In my view, the soul is basically a metaphor for being human and having feelings. It doesn't necessarily exist literally.

If there are other, intelligent species in the universe, would they have souls as well?

If there are other, intelligent species in the universe, would they have souls as well?
Yes; mind, heart and soul are by-products of consciousness.

If there are other, intelligent species in the universe, would they have souls as well?

Of course. But they aren't of Hebrew descent and so must go to hell.