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The soul

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I'm pretty sure you could strap on a hydraulic exoskeleton to a corpse you just dug up, and make it move around and stuff.

Hell, my cousin could probably do that with old dirt bike parts.
 

jixmixfix

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your spirit is your breath. to "aspirate". to "aspire". spirit. same sort of thing.

it's the one definition of spirit that could take on consensus.

if we can't define spirit, there isn't any use talking about it.

i like the definition of spirit being the "act of living". to breathe. to aspire.

but souls are different you see? humans have a spirit, but humans are souls.

without the definitions, conclusions can't be had easily..

I see both as the same thing, the soul and spirit is the force that drives the body. It is like a force that can't be seen in the physical world because there is no proof of it but it is seen as the essential of our very being.
 

OrderOfTheCaelifera

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I think that the soul originates within DNA, it's basically 3 dimensional digital coding that provides the blueprint for all life, it's biological software to create everything about every living thing on planet earth.
Therefore every living thing has DNA & has a soul, so all you vegans out there are devouring the flesh where a tiny living soul once dwelled.

IMHO the spirit is separate from the soul, it's been said that the spirit is contained within the blood.
Blood is useless after death, therefore death might be better defined as the instant the ascending spirit can no longer return to the body.
IOW you may be dead on an operating table for a few minutes but if oxygenated blood is pumped through your body the spirit will remain.

IOW so long as the spark caused by our DNA building cells is present, the soul is alive even when an individual is brain dead & the consciously aware mind no longer exists.
Maybe someday artificial blood will alter or eliminate the spirit but the body can't exist without the DNA provided soul. just my $0.02
 

Mole

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Because we were unable to explain consciousness, we invented the Woo Hoo soul.

But today we know the origin of consciousness, so the soul has gone the way of the Earth centric universe.

And if we want to know where consciousness came from read The Origin of Consciousness by Julian Jaynes.

Or if we prefer not to know, we can keep on saying God created our soul, made in His image and likeness.
 

Kullervo

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If there is no such existence as a soul or a spirit then why can't dead people be brought back to life? similar to how a machine gets brought back to life when changing a broken part or material? thoughts?

There has never been a successful attempt to prove the existence of a soul.

For once I have to agree with Mole, the soul basically "stood in": providing a superficially convenient explanation before neuroscience and investigation of consciousness.

However, such beliefs were abandoned a long time ago, mainly because postulating the existence of a soul raises other questions:

1. Are humans the only creatures to have souls, or does all life have them? If the former, at what point in evolution was the soul injected? If the latter, the soul can't be related to consciousness at all.
2. Assuming the existence of a soul doesn't explain how that soul comes to exist. Instead of answering the question it actually makes it far more complicated by dividing a human being into two distinct entities.
 

Totenkindly

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There has never been a successful attempt to prove the existence of a soul.

For once I have to agree with Mole, the soul basically "stood in": providing a superficially convenient explanation before neuroscience and investigation of consciousness.

However, such beliefs were abandoned a long time ago, mainly because postulating the existence of a soul raises other questions:

1. Are humans the only creatures to have souls, or does all life have them? If the former, at what point in evolution was the soul injected? If the latter, the soul can't be related to consciousness at all.
2. Assuming the existence of a soul doesn't explain how that soul comes to exist. Instead of answering the question it actually makes it far more complicated by dividing a human being into two distinct entities.

I agree with this, especially #2 in terms of the unnecessary complication.

But seriously, considering the rate of miscarriage (as one small factor), it just begins to seem ridiculous to imagine souls, when they might be created, what types of creatures "get them," etc... and no way to measure or quantify any of it. IOW, it's invariably a theological construct rather than anything whose existence we have postulated from evidence.

...As far as the body works, as others have said, yes, we've been able to bring back people who were clinically dead, under the correct conditions. But as we've discovered, the body possesses mechanisms that lead to it breaking down on a cellular level even if the body seems healthy enough to come back to life. (e.g., heart attack victims restored to life without freezing first). There's just a lot going on in the body that we don't necessarily understand. The more we learn, the more successful we are, but still after a certain amount of time enough breaks down that restoration to life is not possible.
 

Kullervo

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I agree with this, especially #2 in terms of the unnecessary complication.

But seriously, considering the rate of miscarriage (as one small factor), it just begins to seem ridiculous to imagine souls, when they might be created, what types of creatures "get them," etc... and no way to measure or quantify any of it. IOW, it's invariably a theological construct rather than anything whose existence we have postulated from evidence.

A soul in the literal sense which OP is talking about was just a 17th century way to explain how humans are capable of rational thought, while other animals aren't.

Souls in the sense you are using is a lot more abstract, it's not black and white. To take your example, people could argue that a miscarriage might not be a bad thing if the baby was genetically damaged in some way.
 

Totenkindly

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A soul in the literal sense which OP is talking about was just a 17th century way to explain how humans are capable of rational thought, while other animals aren't.

Souls in the sense you are using is a lot more abstract, it's not black and white. To take your example, people could argue that a miscarriage might not be a bad thing if the baby was genetically damaged in some way.

Would you like to specify an exact definition?
I mean, obviously there are many many many different definitions for a construct like the "soul" so I was sticking with it as a general term.
 

Kullervo

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Would you like to specify an exact definition?
I mean, obviously there are many many many different definitions for a construct like the "soul" so I was sticking with it as a general term.

I could, but I'm not the thread starter and it's his job to make that clear to everyone :D

I am just running with what previous posted have suggested indirectly.
 

jixmixfix

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I think that the soul originates within DNA, it's basically 3 dimensional digital coding that provides the blueprint for all life, it's biological software to create everything about every living thing on planet earth.
Therefore every living thing has DNA & has a soul, so all you vegans out there are devouring the flesh where a tiny living soul once dwelled.

IMHO the spirit is separate from the soul, it's been said that the spirit is contained within the blood.
Blood is useless after death, therefore death might be better defined as the instant the ascending spirit can no longer return to the body.
IOW you may be dead on an operating table for a few minutes but if oxygenated blood is pumped through your body the spirit will remain.

IOW so long as the spark caused by our DNA building cells is present, the soul is alive even when an individual is brain dead & the consciously aware mind no longer exists.
Maybe someday artificial blood will alter or eliminate the spirit but the body can't exist without the DNA provided soul. just my $0.02

INteresting idea I have a similar view in that I think there is a scientific explanation of the spirit and it exists in our world not a seperate world.
 

jixmixfix

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A soul in the literal sense which OP is talking about was just a 17th century way to explain how humans are capable of rational thought, while other animals aren't.

Souls in the sense you are using is a lot more abstract, it's not black and white. To take your example, people could argue that a miscarriage might not be a bad thing if the baby was genetically damaged in some way.

Moles views are silly .I Think all life has a spirit t and I think there is a connection with DMT.
 

Mole

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There has never been a successful attempt to prove the existence of a soul.

For once I have to agree with Mole, the soul basically "stood in": providing a superficially convenient explanation before neuroscience and investigation of consciousness.

However, such beliefs were abandoned a long time ago, mainly because postulating the existence of a soul raises other questions:

1. Are humans the only creatures to have souls, or does all life have them? If the former, at what point in evolution was the soul injected? If the latter, the soul can't be related to consciousness at all.
2. Assuming the existence of a soul doesn't explain how that soul comes to exist. Instead of answering the question it actually makes it far more complicated by dividing a human being into two distinct entities.

How silly is Mole if SilentMusings agrees with him above?

I'll tell what is silly, and that is the literal belief in a soul. The fact is souls do not literally exist, they are simply metaphoric or imaginative.

And in the same way star signs do not literally exist they are simply imaginative. And personality types do not literally exist, they are also simply imaginative.

But the way to form a cult like mbti is to confuse imagination with reality. When we can't tell the difference between imagination and reality, we will believe anything.
 

jixmixfix

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How silly is Mole if SilentMusings agrees with him above?

I'll tell what is silly, and that is the literal belief in a soul. The fact is souls do not literally exist, they are simply metaphoric or imaginative.

And in the same way star signs do not literally exist they are simply imaginative. And personality types do not literally exist, they are also simply imaginative.

But the way to form a cult like mbti is to confuse imagination with reality. When we can't tell the difference between imagination and reality, we will believe anything.

MBTI isn't imaginative it's fairly accurate you think everything is a fantasy. I think you're the one living in a fantasy I've never seen or heard of this mbti cult you speak of.
 

OrderOfTheCaelifera

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Moles views are silly .I Think all life has a spirit t and I think there is a connection with DMT.

I must have missed his/her comment, it's likely that the viewpoint of some individuals will be thought off kilter to others but variety is the spice of life.
Though I very rarely agree with Mole's opinions, I still respect the opinion & put it in deep storage rather than outright dismissing it as merely being silly.

I'd agree that all life having a life sustaining substance pumping through it's body is extremely likely to have a spirit.
As far as souls are concerned, it's my opinion that after the combined egg/sperm meld together, a DNA blueprint for new being is produced & a soul is present immediately prior to the instant cell division begins.
The new body to be built requites the spark of life (the soul, created by sperm fertilizing an egg) to enable DNA's 3-dimensional digital coding to establish biological software that begins cell division according to the DNA blueprint.
I highly doubt there's no spark of life, no soul until X number of weeks, because were that the case then how is the blueprint of new life established & how does cellular division begin to occur.

I'm not referring to a soul as a heavenly sent entity that angels guide into an embryo or newborn fetus, I've no opinion as to religious viewpoints.
IMHO the soul is the spark of life that's created by the mixing of parental donor DNA. The instant their combined DNA is organized into a new 3-dimensional digital code & results in biological software beginning cellular division, the soul is complete & exists.

If people are concerned regarding the ramifications of "the soul" being tied to religion then maybe it's best to coin a new term for the biological spark that occurs when a new life begins.
 

Mole

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MBTI isn't imaginative it's fairly accurate you think everything is a fantasy. I think you're the one living in a fantasy I've never seen or heard of this mbti cult you speak of.

Go to Calabria and no one, absolutely no one, has ever even heard of the mafia.
 

OrderOfTheCaelifera

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Yeah... actually the egg is sometimes used to symbolize the soul.
But the egg is only half of the parental donor material that enables the creation of a soul.
IMHO it's the melding of the egg & sperm to create a new 3-dimensional digital code (DNA) that selects lines of code to create a biological software type of program that begins cellular division to build new life's body.

Couldn't the soul be complete an instant prior to cellular division beginning rather than merely an egg? If the egg symbolizes the soul, then does a soul die every month a woman isn't impregnated? Would the fertilization of artificial eggs imply the creation of an artificial soul? I think not, but rather it's the source of both the donors DNA that determines the potential quality of every soul.
I pondered what is the soul & figured it's most likely the spark that jump starts cellular division after the formation of new DNA coding is complete.
 
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renaiziphonts

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The soul and the consciousness are both holding the same role, in some cases. Perhaps there isn't a soul, but the human body could not be turned back on. The moment we are brain dead, the electrical synapses of our brain cease to exist, and even if a new set took it's place with the exact same encoded knowledge, you would be gone.
A better way of thinking of this, is if I made a robot that thought and acted and looked just like you, and you died, would you live on as that robot, or would the robot just mimic you?

I, however, do believe in the soul. Not sure about a god, and I don't need proof. It just makes sense.
 

OrderOfTheCaelifera

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I agree with this, especially #2 in terms of the unnecessary complication.

But seriously, considering the rate of miscarriage (as one small factor), it just begins to seem ridiculous to imagine souls, when they might be created, what types of creatures "get them," etc... and no way to measure or quantify any of it. IOW, it's invariably a theological construct rather than anything whose existence we have postulated from evidence.
I'd respectfully disagree regarding souls being a theological construct that can't be scientifically proven.
When I went through my questioning religion phase I occasionally pondered similar ideas. I eventually decided that the soul was biological rather than spiritual, it's the combining of the energy within the sperm & egg which leads to the creation of the soul.
IMO souls are biological reality that could be proven were science to combine an egg/sperm within an artificial womb & carefully observe the instant the combined energy sparked the creation of new life.
I think that after the energy from the parental donors is combined & a new DNA map is determined, there's a spark of life that selects coding to become biological software. The soul is that "life force" that snaps into existence an instant prior to the initialization of cellular division.
I think that every living thing complex enough to have DNA must also have a soul.



...As far as the body works, as others have said, yes, we've been able to bring back people who were clinically dead, under the correct conditions. "But as we've discovered, the body possesses mechanisms that lead to it breaking down on a cellular level even if the body seems healthy enough to come back to life."
"The more we learn, the more successful we are, but still after a certain amount of time enough breaks down that restoration to life is not possible."

I completely agree with the above but I think you may be skirting the cause.
IMO that cause is the ceasing of cellular division. I think that the soul "life force" is responsible for cellular division occurring as per every living being's 3-dimensional digital map.

Damage a being's DNA & you'll impede the souls ability to sustain life, because without cellular division life begins to slip away.
 

Totenkindly

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I'd respectfully disagree regarding souls being a theological construct that can't be scientifically proven.
When I went through my questioning religion phase I occasionally pondered similar ideas. I eventually decided that the soul was biological rather than spiritual, it's the combining of the energy within the sperm & egg which leads to the creation of the soul.

Please quantify this "energy of combining the sperm and egg."

IMO souls are biological reality that could be proven were science to combine an egg/sperm within an artificial womb & carefully observe the instant the combined energy sparked the creation of new life.
I think that after the energy from the parental donors is combined & a new DNA map is determined, there's a spark of life that selects coding to become biological software. The soul is that "life force" that snaps into existence an instant prior to the initialization of cellular division.
I think that every living thing complex enough to have DNA must also have a soul.

Please quantify this "spark of life" and/or "life force that snaps into existence." Where does it come from? What is it? Why does it come into existence? How do we detect it?

I'm not trying to be obnoxious, I'm just cutting to the chase.
You have offered no actual reason for believing these ideas, except by your own choice.

If you can't provide any kind of evidence to support this belief, then I would refer to it as a religious/spiritual construct. I don't have an issue with someone believing this, people choose to believe a lot of things w/o actual evidence that might or might not be true; but let's call it what it is, that's all.



I completely agree with the above but I think you may be skirting the cause.
IMO that cause is the ceasing of cellular division. I think that the soul "life force" is responsible for cellular division occurring as per every living being's 3-dimensional digital map.

There was talk of a "death code" being embodied in the cell and once it gets triggered, cell death occurs.

Of course, death can occur for other kinds of reasons as well on the large scale.
 
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