true, but being human does not mean you have a soul either.

I suppose possibly people in comas no longer have a soul and yet are still alive. Otherwise all people have souls.

Originally Posted by Claudia

I suppose possibly people in comas no longer have a soul and yet are still alive. Otherwise all people have souls.

What the hell. How do you figure that people in a coma have no soul?

Wow, I wish we got to discuss such interesting topics in my philosophy class. Right now we're doing logic tables. :gonk:

Not that I know the answer or anything. It seems like something that can't be known by anyone 100% without using at least some faith (as opposed to the logic that's used in philosophy). I believe that we have souls, but not 100%...I'd like to think that there's something more to us than our body, so I guess maybe that's why I believe. I'm a firm believer in accepting things that help you be a better person now (which can be different religions for different people or no religion for others...and of course it depends on your definition of better person). Believing in a soul is one of the things that helps me...so it's good whether it's actually real or not.

Actually, we were just talking about a similar thing in Sociology. Erving Goffman had some interesting perspectives about reality:

To Goffman there is no real capital-T truth, but interpretations that are real to each individual. (from wikipedia)

Basically if you treat something as if it's real, it becomes real in it's consequences. So in that way, the soul is real because so many people believe in it and it affects so many people.

no no, consciousness does not = soul to me. I believe if we do have souls, some people have them, some people don't. some creatures/plants/animals have them, some don't.

Originally Posted by slickie

no no, consciousness does not = soul to me. I believe if we do have souls, some people have them, some people don't. some creatures/plants/animals have them, some don't.

How would one know who has souls and who doesn't?

I don't see it as physically possible for a functioning person to lack a soul. Without a soul, you can't think because without a soul, you'd be without conscienceness...so you are either dead or possibly in a coma. I suppose that would define part of what it means to die, your soul is destroyed.

Originally Posted by .Simplicity.

Recently, this question has been coming up alot around me: Do we have a soul?
We are constantly discussing this in Philosophy (Go figure xD) and we constantly argue about it. The teacher encourages this, as he feels that it's needed to help others understand your opinion on things.

ANYWAYS, I'm really wanting to hear more views about it. My whole class seems to think there is one, and I'm curious if anyone things otherwise~

SPOONS:
Remember to quote these when answering them!

• Does the soul exist?
• What does it consist of?
• What is its purpose?
• Does it differ from one person to another?
• Is the soul immortal?
• Does it exist before birth?
• Do you think it's possible for a clone to have a soul?

I do ask though that there be an actual discussion about the topic instead of just spoons being answered.
Thanks! <3

Yes, the soul exists. I believe that the soul is ethereal energy from the earth, which in turn is from the galaxy, which goes all the way back to the beginning of life. The soul animates bodies. Like DNA, souls differ from body to body because they have been molded into their own unique forms ever since they were created. Much like twins separated at birth, they are made by their experiences. The soul is immortal, being recycled through the universe much like everything else. I really can't say whether or not the soul remains whole or it fragments like a decomposing body, but I would like to think that what we once experienced in our lives will never be truly lost, and that the lessons we learned can help us in our next life. I hope that I am still myself after I die, even if I'm not what I once was. I want to remember everything, but I'm not sure if I will. Maybe I thought the exact same thing in my potentially unlimited past lives. Like lives, I think that worlds are recycled as well. I don't know when it began, but I think that this reality could possibly be much older than anyone will ever know.

I believe things like trees and plants and even rocks have some sort of soul to them- even if it's not sentient. There was an experiment one time. A young boy started chopping up a plant- abusing it, pulling off the leaves, that kind of stuff. It was still alive, but badly damaged. A week or so later, scientists studied the pheremones that the plant excreted. As soon as the boy entered the room, the pheremones spiked.
Fear? Maybe. But they only did that when the boy who hurt it entered the room. So I believe that it possesses some form of sentience- simply not one that science can explain right now. There are many different processes and functions that scientists cannot explain. Plants and weeds have a sense of survival. Plants can excrete distasteful chemicals whenever insects that try to eat its leaves have at it. Vines attach to trees, absorbing the nutrients- a form of survival instinct. Flowers pollinate other flowers, showing the indirect want of propogating the species.
I'm just saying.

what about machines? they are fully functional. Computers process things similar to a human brain. does that mean they have a soul?

Originally Posted by slickie

what about machines? they are fully functional. Computers process things similar to a human brain. does that mean they have a soul?

Well machines are made by man and their functions are completely understood by us because we made them. They only perform the actions that we tell them to, directly or indirectly. They cannot make any choices for themselves whatsoever. Now artificial intelligence, I'm not so sure about. But that hasn't been created yet. A machine couldn't even tell itself to use an umbrella if it was raining outside. It would have to have a preexisting program telling it to do so.

i strongly believe that we all have souls. If we didnt we would all the the same, think of it. most of us have the same amount of DNA information when if comes down to being human or animal. There has to be some defining point (soul) that makes us all different. Siamese twins look the same but in no way are they personality wise the same, yet their flesh appearance is the same. I believe that everyone's soul is different, and that your brain and life experiences can alter how each of are souls thinks, responds and feels. To me the soul looks like the wind, its a force not to be taken lightly but its always present whether its blowing or not. To me the "soul" is immortal, but once the flesh comes to an end, the soul no longer able hold on to the characteristics of life it had been attached to.Yes it does exist before birth as an empty slate in a matter of speaking only to be influenced. Yes clones have souls they may only be a copy of flesh and dna but they are still personality wise unique

I like the idea posed in Orson Scott Cards series "Ender's Game" I think the the thinking irrational part of you that breaths life into your body is the soul and it may leave when you die. However, some incredibly strong minded and strong willed souls may seek refuge somewhere else when their vessel fails, that is where the thought of reincarnation comes from. Animals have souls, but they are less complex than ours are and don't leap about.

If there was a computer that was as fast as thought itself, and large enough to hold one, I think that a computer should have a soul.

Clones must have souls because twins have souls

I don't understand how conscience equals soul.
You're 'conscience' is just chemical reactions in the brain. The way you differ from right and wrong. The way you're raised and your environment. It's what's your taught. It's a learned behavior/reaction.

No, I don't believe the soul exists. Why should I believe something exists when their is no reason to suspect it does and no proof for it (seeing as some think there is reason to suspect). You wouldn't believe a zebra existed if you didn't see it, were taught about it (with real evidence, not a belief, which by definition is not evidence (I don't have a problem with people believing such, it's just belief isn't evidence of the existence of something)), or have seen evidence of it (ie. a print in the ground or feces).

There is no evidence of the soul existing and if there is I would love to know about. Though, I'm sure it would have made the news somewhere if there were any proof... especially where I live seeing as it's a bible belt, haha.

I think this site will be able to explain what I mean to say but may not have been able to convey.

well i think it exists
cause so many ghosts were seen...
i , personally saw one,
that's why i am so optimistic that they do exist
so yeah, we have a soul
but i don't know what is made of,
i just now that after we die,
either we remain with the ones who we love,
or we want revenge for something that occured and caused our death
either way, i'm a bit skeptical of the existance of heaven/hell
cause if it did exist,
why so many people say they see ghosts,
even good ones? why they are not there, in heaven or hell?

I am neutral-leaning-to-no about this. Unless it's definitely refuted or proven by science, my position on this remains.

If souls don't exist, what have all those tribespeople been begging me not to eat? :?

Seems like a lot of fuss to make over a substance which isn't real.

On the other hand, perhaps things don't have to be real to be important (and delectable.)

Originally Posted by miku3669

Well machines are made by man and their functions are completely understood by us because we made them. They only perform the actions that we tell them to, directly or indirectly. They cannot make any choices for themselves whatsoever. Now artificial intelligence, I'm not so sure about. But that hasn't been created yet. A machine couldn't even tell itself to use an umbrella if it was raining outside. It would have to have a preexisting program telling it to do so.

so, because we made them and completely understand them, they don't have souls?
we "grow" fetuses in us that grow into human biengs. Is that not making something? How can we determine what qualifications something should have in order to have a soul?
And, if plants don't have consciousness, then why do trees' leaves turn up when it's going to rain? and why do flowers close up at night?

I don't think souls exist, and I don't think it's fair to ask that science refute their existence. Science can only be applied to observable phenomena, so until effects that cannot be attributed to the physical body (including the brain) appear, there is no reason to assume that there is a supernatural or otherworldly factor in place.

We know that the brain and the hormones & substances that affect it are behind our personalities, memories, and mental functioning, so why attribute any of that to something that can't be explained or located?

How horrible is it that I am in a metaphysics class, but can't come up with a good argument or point of view for you right now?

I blame the fact that there's a lot of different theories and views, and I'm way too tired to recall them all now.

By the way, you made my day by having a philosophy discussion, I haven't found one on another avatar site yet.

I think we do have a "soul
But what really is a "soul"?
To me it's just an idea.

If you think it exists, then it probably does. If you think it doesn't it's the same. You know?