Existence of Human Soul

[afton]

Anyone reading Descartes here?
What do you guys think of the existence of human soul?
Do we have a soul or we are mainly the product of the
neuron firings in our brain?

[Shai Gar]

We are the soul, the body is our vessel, and the brain is the translator

[kendoiwan]

Without getting all metaphysical about it, these are the facts as I understand them. A: the human brain is constituted of pure energy B: energy cannot be destroyed it can only change form. There are all kinds of implications to those facts. Get back to you after I buy the farm... oh wait nobodys ever done that...

[last_caress]

http://www.funky-stuff.com/jamesbrown/Pictures/JBphoto03b.jpg
Case closed.

[kendoiwan]

http://www.funky-stuff.com/jamesbrown/Pictures/JBphoto03b.jpg
Case closed.


Oooh. I get it Soul. As a matter of fact the Godfather of Soul. Very witty LC.

[Trolsk]

Soul is a metaphor.

[CosmicDust]

I don't think there's a soul separate from the physical body and brain. The whole human being is the physical activity of interacting elements inside and outside the boundaries of the body, however poorly understood it is. You could call certain aspects of this interaction a "soul" if you wanted to, but it would still be made of the same stuff as everything else.

[kendoiwan]

The idea of a soul speaks to the idea of conciousness. The whole I think therefore I am bit. You are an entity outside of your physical body and yet bound to it. You can be paralized and still be you. Until the brain goes you have a distinct personality, ie Terri Schiavo. You could lose your capacity for speech and still be you. You can not be able to communicate and still be you (what you means at that point is debatable) Your thought patterns and the energy patterns of your brain are distinct to you and you alone. We call it a soul.

[Google Monster]

They should change it to "I think therefore I was." Because if you think of it, you can never be what you think because the whole thinking process takes time. So when you think you are you really were because you can never think in the present time but only exist in the present time.

[distraction tactics]

I don't believe in the existence of a soul, but I do believe in the complexity of the human brain.

[Lee]

"I think therefore I thought" is what I tend to use.

[booyalab]

"I think therefore I thought" is what I tend to use.
just because you're thinking right now does not mean you were thinking 5 minutes ago.

[kendoiwan]

They should change it to "I think therefore I was." Because if you think of it, you can never be what you think because the whole thinking process takes time. So when you think you are you really were because you can never think in the present time but only exist in the present time.


Nah, it wasn't meant like that. Before that idea came about the popular line was everthing is a dream and nothing is really anything including you. That idea simply states that I may doubt everything I see around me but my thought is evidence of my existence. I really need to figure out how to paste a link I have the whole essay...

[nomir_dva]

They should change it to "I think therefore I was." Because if you think of it, you can never be what you think because the whole thinking process takes time. So when you think you are you really were because you can never think in the present time but only exist in the present time.

Your memory could be an illusion. The only thing that is certain is that, at the present moment, 'I,' whatever that may mean, exist. It does take time for thoughts to travel through the brain, etc., but that happens too fast to perceive. I may not have existed before, and I may cease to exist at any time, but I do exist right now. And the now is always at the leading edge of my perception of myself.


Anyone reading Descartes here?
What do you guys think of the existence of human soul?
Do we have a soul or we are mainly the product of the
neuron firings in our brain?

The only thing I know about Descartes is that he made one correct statement (of course, it is only correct when I apply it to myself. Descartes may have never existed). I am also not quite sure what is meant by the concept of the soul. I don't think I can identify one component of my brain or my mind that is 'I.' My consciousness is aware of itself, but without memory, personality, feelings, experiences, etc., it lacks defenition. My senses receive information and my brain converts it into perceptions that my mind can understand and apply to its goal of continuing to survive. Is a soul merely self-awareness? In that case it is not 'I.' Is it every aspect of my personal identity? Some aspects of that are physically stored in the brain.

[euterpenc]

just because you're thinking right now does not mean you were thinking 5 minutes ago.

Has anyone ever tried: "I think."

[euterpenc]

On topic:

I find the soul a plausible possibility though as yet not unprovable. Where does cosciousness come from? Where does unconsciousness come from? How can physical chemicals create a non-physical existence?

Supposing souls do exist, when we die, either way WE ourselves are dead. We still would lose consciousness and recognition of our own existence. The existence of souls is therefore irrelevant, though interesting to discuss.

[PiccoloNamek]

Your soul is the sum total of all of the neuronal activity in your brain, especially the frontal lobe.

I suppose you could say my concept of a soul is similar to the concept of a "ghost" from Ghost in the Shell.

[euterpenc]

Your soul is the sum total of all of the neuronal activity in your brain, especially the frontal lobe.

I suppose you could say my concept of a soul is similar to the concept of a "ghost" from Ghost in the Shell.

Though it was possible for a Ghost to exist without a brain...

[Jacque]

How can physical chemicals create a non-physical existence?

Yeah, how did a brain ever manage to come up with the idea of souls? ;)


Supposing souls do exist, when we die, either way WE ourselves are dead....existence of souls is therefore irrelevant, though interesting to discuss.
Well, the purpose of the soul is to function as a vessel into the afterlife. The idea wasn't just for kicks.

[mgb]

Anyone reading Descartes here?
What do you guys think of the existence of human soul?
Do we have a soul or we are mainly the product of the
neuron firings in our brain?

Why can't we have both?

And why do you ask so many questions?

[meshou]

I don't believe in conciousness.

Really. I don't.

A soul to me would be the whole of who you are, which is seperate from the little bit that believes it is in charge. I'm not sure I believe in an afterlife.

I do like the idea of the Platonic Idea of Meshou. Really, The Platonic Idea of Everything. If I have a soul, a Meshou-ness, why not my laptop, or a desk? I'm not more special than a cat in that respect, just distinct.

Anyway, what makes up Meshou-ness is more things than I am aware of. It's not just my experience of me, which is not only biased but very incomplete, but everyone I've ever met's concept of me, and then the bits none of us fully know about.

Does it exist? Well, enough to talk about. Will it live forever? As long as it has to. Good enough for me.

[shazlym]

We are the soul, the body is our vessel, and the brain is the translator

life is a test to our souls, all is futile but the soul.

[euterpenc]

I don't believe in conciousness.

Why don't you believe in consciousness? Can you not recognize your own existence as separate from others?