Do you believe in a soul?

Very much so, my spirituality would make absolutely no sense at all without it. Hell, the entire world as I see it would not make sense to me.

 

science tells me i shouldnt believe so but i do believe

 

Take this from a scientist (well, scientist in training, if all goes to plan I will have my PhD in chemistry in 6 years or so). Science has it's limitations and can not explain everything.

 

Exactly.

 

No. Out-of-body experiences and near-death experiences can be replicated in the lab by manipulating the familiar, physical brain. We can identify patterns of thought with neurological scanners. I see no reason to complicate things by postulating spiritual elements to consciousness.

 

honestly? no. i like the idea of it, it brings me some measure of peace and sanity, but deep down i find it very hard to believe.

 

I do not believe in souls. I find it very unlikely that our consciousness can survive without the brain to sustain it.

 

I think there is some universal force that animates the complex clusters of atoms, and cells that make up the me in this dimension gives some sort of shape to exist in this form... but when that force withdraws and this physical body dies, I believe the essense that was my curiosity and drive to "know" and "exist" will continue on through the cracks and holes of the 3rd dimension into the 5th, 6th, 7th, wherever, but all that is me, the worries the complexes Ive developed to retain "sanity" sanity of course being defined as aware of my environment will just go back into the earth from which it came and that universal force will beam elsewhere.

All of us, it seems are just blips in the darkness of the unending nether that will rush to consume our negative space when we lapse into non existence.

Im trying my godamndest to let go of my concept of self so I can be happy with the chaos that is apparently what confines us all, as an organism we are actually pretty interesting and logically built. Whatever is animating us as a group is also animating me, obviously I guess when that is taken away I will be the mind of some greater being shifting away and what I am here and now wont really matter anymore.

I was talking to sandy earlier and I did ask her, what if we are children, all children... when we raise children we ultimatly raise them into a bundle of lies and misconceptions, to shield thier innocence... what if we are being kept innocent by something bigger? We were set here on some cosmic date or, eveolved her over a cosmic time frame and we as a species are only taking our 1st steps.

hmm

im trying to remain on topic but I keep veering lol

let me try this again..

No i dont beleive in the judeo christian value known as a soul.

I think when I die thats it lights out, but some portion of my intellect that is really not mine, so much as a magnifying force thats side perk is life, is going to remain.


ok this is hard... shoot lol let me retry in the am.

 

I'd like to believe in a soul for the pure sake that it would imply that I would have somewhere to go after this life but, sadly, I don't believe in a 'soul.' I'd be happy if there was any proof to change my thoughts on this idea though.

 

Does a radio signal exist without a radio?

 

In one sense, I think it is just my luck that I'd end up turning out to have to continue my existence after I die but at least I can rest assure, my afterlife cannot possibly take place in a hell worse than this life, there is not nor can there be a hell worse.

In another consideration, I think, hopefully I'll just rot back into that content state of existence I was in before living.

 

Watch 2001 a Space Odyssey, and try to find the philosophical value of it. You'll find its about the same.

Better yet, watch it while still high!!

 

Believe it or not, this actually solidifies my belief that a soul exists. I link the real world and spiritual matters a lot. To me this is just a physical way to cause the experience. The laws of the spirit world and our world are different, but they are intericutely interwoven in such a way that you can do one thing, and oddly effect something else in the other world that seems so impossible.

Of course, I understand that this by no means proves anything, it's just my belief and what makes sense to me. Thank god duty isn't around, me and him used to go back and forth about this endlessly .

 

I occasionally waver on this issue. Sometimes, I'll favor a meta-psychological argument and posit that such a belief fulfills some sort of base need within the psyche to find meaning and belonging. Other times, I do sense that there is so much more to our existence than what we're consciously aware of that goes beyond subjective experience. I'm still trying to explore that.

Mind you, I do not deny that I'm intrigued by New Age and spiritual philosophies and possibilities, but I'm caught between skepticism and figuring out what it is that I'm really thinking/feeling. I think what initially turned me jaded to these ideas is the whacked out theories that I was introduced to when I initially went researching this question.

 

oh yeah. I very much believe in a soul. Really, my idea of the soul is practically identical to Indy's. Really, the only large difference between our belief systems is where our focus is; his being on the needs of the soul and mine on the needs and wants of the body. However, there is a lot of overlap there (as, in this life, they kind of depend on each other).

 

I call the principle which animates matter a soul.

In plants and animals (including us) the animating principle is the complex organisation of matter which makes life possible. This organising principle I call a form or soul. When the material complexity is broken down, the form or soul in plants and animals is broken down.

However, our soul is not only the principle which organises our body's matter, it is also the principle which allows us to understand universal principles and concepts. These are different from sense impressions.

If I look at five objects the light reflected off those objects sets of a series of chemical processes in my eyes, nerves and brain that lets me sense their distinct presence. Yet I am able to understand the number five, devoid of any impression of material objects - that is I have an almost immaterial concept of numbers. Above this I can understand the nature of the existence devoid of any property of or reference to material objects.

The ability to understand indicates that we (humans so far as I know) have a principle capable of orgainising not only sense impressions into memories, but is able to form concepts which have nothing to do with objects/sounds/effects which are material. In other words, we have an ability to understand immaterial things. But this only seems possible by an immaterial (ie. spiritual) power. Whatever is not material is not subject to material decay, so I think that our soul is not subject to decay or death.

So, yes I think we have souls - different from the souls of plants and irrational animals.

edit: I took so long to post this, that looking back, I wish I could incorporate some of the ideas in the other posts into my post.

 

+1

On a side note, I do believe in the existence of souls

 

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