What is a soul, and do we have one?

evanstapler
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What is a soul, and do we have one?

I've always wondered to myself, what exactly is a "soul"?  Is it something that people with religions believe all people have, or is it something everybody has?


MattShizzle
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It's a primitive explanation

It's a primitive explanation for consciousness and nobody actually has one.


Susan
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Welcome to the RRS,

Welcome to the RRS, evanstapler!

If you'd like some theist responses we need to move this thread out of the Freethinker's Forum (theists are not allowed to post here).  You can move it yourself by clicking on the "edit" tab at the top of your post and select another forum, perhaps Kill 'Em With Kindness or Atheist vs Theist.  If you'd like a mod to move it, just post a comment in this thread and a mod will move it for you.

As for your question, I think that theists believe that all people have them, even atheists.

I personally disagree that there is such a thing as a soul that continues to exist after we die.

When you get a chance, we'd love it if you'd hop over to General Conversation, Introductions and Humor and introduce yourself!

{edited for clarity} 

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BGH
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James Brown sure had soul,

James Brown sure had soul, or so his fans would say.


Susan
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BGH wrote: James Brown sure

BGH wrote:
James Brown sure had soul, or so his fans would say.

I must respectfully disagree, BGH.  

James Brown was the Father of Soul!

Amen.

 

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evanstapler wrote: I've

evanstapler wrote:
I've always wondered to myself, what exactly is a "soul"?  Is it something that people with religions believe all people have, or is it something everybody has?
 
I think i really depends. I think plato or arisltole ,i forget which one, thought it was the form of a person. So in that since there maybe a soul, but the mainstrem defination: an immaterial part of someone which exists for enterity. Is , to put it bluntly, nonsense. Immaterial is an incoherent term which cannot refer to anything. Therefore an immaterial part of a person cannot by defination exist.  


kellym78
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Don't you people know yet

Don't you people know yet that it is in the pineal gland?! GAWD. That's only been a known fact for, like, ever. Or since Descartes said it. Yeah. *rolls eyes*


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kellym78 wrote: Don't you

kellym78 wrote:
Don't you people know yet that it is in the pineal gland?! GAWD. That's only been a known fact for, like, ever. Or since Descartes said it. Yeah. *rolls eyes*

C'mon Kelly, you know that's just a theory.  Teach the controversy!  We all know the soul is located in the liver.  Can Descartes overturn a thousand years of Egyptian science? 


thingy
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D-cubed wrote: C'mon

D-cubed wrote:

C'mon Kelly, you know that's just a theory. Teach the controversy! We all know the soul is located in the liver. Can Descartes overturn a thousand years of Egyptian science?

That is why we must drink beer and be happy, for in drinking we are distroying the liver and letting our soul go free.  Pasta of course is the ultimate accompaniment to beer, just ask any pirate.

RAmen. 

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thingy wrote: That is why

thingy wrote:

That is why we must drink beer and be happy, for in drinking we are distroying the liver and letting our soul go free. Pasta of course is the ultimate accompaniment to beer, just ask any pirate.

RAmen.

I think you just invented a religion worth following.  Heck, I was going to make beer battered fried catfish and drink some wine.  Now I know why it's called soul food.

The best thing...we don't have to wait 2000 years for another beer. 


thingy
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Last time I looked my name

Last time I looked my name was Jim, not Bobby Henderson.  I'm simply talking about Pastafarianism, and already-established religion to which I subscribe(?).

Organised religion is the ultimate form of blasphemy.
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evanstapler
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Susan wrote: Welcome to

Susan wrote:

Welcome to the RRS, evanstapler!

If you'd like some theist responses we need to move this thread out of the Freethinker's Forum (theists are not allowed to post here). You can move it yourself by clicking on the "edit" tab at the top of your post and select another forum, perhaps Kill 'Em With Kindness or Atheist vs Theist. If you'd like a mod to move it, just post a comment in this thread and a mod will move it for you.

As for your question, I think that theists believe that all people have them, even atheists.

I personally disagree that there is such a thing as a soul that continues to exist after we die.

When you get a chance, we'd love it if you'd hop over to General Conversation, Introductions and Humor and introduce yourself!

{edited for clarity}

 

Thanks for the warm welcome, Susan!

Honestly, I've never had a true definition of what a soul is but "your inner spirit" or something along those lines, and I know that all thoughts and feelings are controlled by the mind, not a so-called "soul". They are supposed to continue to exist after we die, which I'm sure many of us doubt.


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MattShizzle wrote: It's a

MattShizzle wrote:
It's a primitive explanation for consciousness and nobody actually has one.

What an absurd concept that a disimbodied brain exists, be it a "soul" or "deity".

How exactly would the neurons move information without brain matter? How exactly do we see without eyes? How exactly do endorphines get released without a mechinism in the brain to do so? Where would these electric impuses and chemicals reside?

Its just as absurd with thinking of a deity hiding in the cosmos somewhere? 

If you take a Hubble picture of deep space and put it next to a sample of disected brain any baboon with half a brain can see that the two are completely dissimilar.

There are even those who think of the universe as a giant conciousness. That is just as hokie.

What would the giant version of a neuron be? Where would the cerebelum be? 

It is all superstition that people project their own anthropromorphic egos onto an object. The universe is an object, not a being.

It is easy to understand what people do. Watch a childrens cartoon where a dog or tree talk like a human. The problem with superstition is that people actually believe that non-human things have human qualities. It is quite unfortunate and disturbing in this day and age when myth and superstition should have died by now through use of logic and reason. 

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The term "soul" is a word

The term "soul" is a word Christians and other theists have assigned to their consciousness. It is differentiated from the term consciousness only in that it is representative of an immortal self (a supernatural self).

 

Basically, they fear death so they have named a part of themselves differently in hopes that this new name and its supernatural definition will some how help them avoid death. It’s a psychological game they play with themselves – not surprisingly; all evidence shows we’ve never had a winner.

 

PS: I'm new to the board - Hi all! Smiling

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Vorax wrote: PS: I'm new

Vorax wrote:

PS: I'm new to the board - Hi all! Smiling

Hi Vorax!  Welcome.

When you get a chance, we'd love it if you'd hop over to General Conversation, Introductions and Humor and introduce yourself!

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