Subjective consciousness to me is one of the most intriguing unanswered questions there is. But not having an answer to a question doesn't give license to invent a supernatural concept to explain it. Nobody knows the answer, so speculation is fine but that speculation should not be passed off as the "truth" (i.e. religion).
i think "soul" is some unconscious part(or way of working) of your brains
My opinion of the Soul is less about the entity itself, and more about the 'energy' of a person. Science says that no energy can be either created, nor destroyed. That energy 'lives on' somewhere. Now, whether that energy retains properties of what it was previously a part of, I don't know, but I would think that it could be possible.
I'm more inclined to believe in a form of 'reincarnation' but not in the Buddhist sense. Its more of a 'This energy existed as one thing, and it will exist again as something else, repeatedly, forever'. I don't picture it as a 'ghostly spirit' of a former person just waiting for its time to be returned to human form, nor do I think it has a purpose other than 'to exist'.
I don't think that 'souls' exist the way that many religions believe, where it will be punished or rewarded according to ones actions. However... I do think that there must be something in us that gives that 'collective consciousness' type of feeling. Perhaps it really is only DNA and Nurture/life experiences at work to create a persons tendencies, personality and 'character'... but even babies have different temperaments right from birth. Something in me tends to lean toward the idea that there is more to who we are than just our experiences, but of course there is no proof.
I chalk it up to the 'energy' that recycles time and time again. In this sense, I believe I have lived many past lives, and will live many future lives in the way that I will disintegrate one day, become the soil or water that sustains the creatures that I am then a part of, that feeds the humans that I become a part of who eventually disintegrate... etc, etc.
I am talking about the SOUL as in something that can exist without your body.
FSM!!! Where art thou?
Fil, I think that analogy is off a bit because your belief in your dreams directly affects the outcome. So it is healthy to make yourself believe positively. Whether Stevo believes in a soul or not doesn't affect the outcome and therefore there is no reason to think positively about it. Just realistically.
That said... do you believe in a FSM?
Because I have better things to do with my time than worry about whether I have a soul or not. Saying there's no evidence "for or against" means there is no evidence, period. In my mind, that means that a belief in the proposition is not justified and therefore "No" is the appropriate answer until evidence does arrive. If I happen to be wrong, I will graciously accept that fact and change my beliefs accordingly. If I'm right, then I was justified in withholding my belief.
This is not comparable to the discussion of whether or not souls exist. My non-belief in the existence of a soul does not create a self-fulfilling prophecy, unless you accept some silly form of physical relativism in which for those who believe in souls, souls exist, and for those who don't, there are no souls.
That aside, believing in my own goals and aspirations actually has an effect on my actions and my future state of being, as you have demonstrated. I find that the proposition of a soul is ultimately entirely meaningless to me. It makes absolutely no difference to me whether my soul exists or not. Learning that there are in fact souls that persist in us after death would do nothing to change how I think or behave.
Yes, I believe in God and souls. Instinct, yes, but the real thing that causes us to believe
that some decisions are not right is the soul.
ENTJ
It'd be pretty cool to haunt people, but even cooler to just be dead. So I don't really believe in the concept of souls, but it's still a possibility.So... do you believe in the soul? the idea that when you die.. your energy, spirit, soul, what have you continues to live and that your sense of being still thrives without your brain... just in another form?
Not sure...I always act like I believe in one though, since people might find me strange if I didn't, and think of me as 'soulless', which I could be, but to be considered such by people who revere 'souls', it doesn't sound good.
I really like your views VYCanisMajoris.
I should start by saying I haven't read anyone elses responses so I apologise if I recap. Hopefully I have a chance to read them at a later date cos I am very interested in what others had to say.
SOUL: I don't believe in identity now or after death and I think we tend to view soul as some kind of identity. To some degree as a human I choose how I am currently being but I wont be 'me' after death and so I'm not worried about what will happen then.
This means I don't believe my grandparents are looking over me (which is a little sad not to believe). I don't think what I do in this life is going to come back and bite me or excel me once I'm dead. It might get me while I'm still here though and I want as much happiness as possible while I'm here. I don't think my worth to the planet has anything to do with what I do or my state of being. I have no right to judge wether a garbage man is less than a doctor. These are all human things - thoughts, memories, and feelings (including fear).
The material of me will always be here in some form or another though. So I may one day be a bit or a rock and bit of a bird and a bit of a television set and a bit of something in outerspace we haven't discovered yet.
What about my energy? It seems logical to me that energy would disperse in some way. Energy also exists in all objects.
Zero identity past being a part of the universe. Identity is lonely anyway so I am OK with this.
This is just what I believe at the moment and what makes sense to me. If someone else believes in something else more rosy then I'm happy for them.
RELIGION: You have led me to wonder if maybe religion seized on peoples dear of death as the ultimate way to control people when there was no government.
I personally believe religion was once vital to making a society work and some of what various religions state as true was only true of the times - they got some things wrong - consistently the subtle but sometimes extreme themes that being a female is inferior. I know most about christianity and their teachings are like a book of ethics to me but not something I fear going against and I don't believe in final judgment. I also went to Sunday school and I have no doubt my ethics are influenced by what I learnt there. It can be a useful guide. After all what would society be like if religion had never existed?