Do we have souls?

[Coachette]

Hi. Hasn't anyone here ever been in contact with the soul or spirit of a dead person?

 

[Crunchy Cat]

Hi. Hasn't anyone here ever been in contact with the soul or spirit of a dead person?

Communication is not possible with something that does not exist.

 

[audible]

if there is no soul, no after life, no reward or punishment after death, no judgment by God, then why should i bother about morality?

because it's the right thing to do.
man had morality long before any religion came along.
there are countless millions of people who dont believe in the soul, with your reasoning there all immoral, that's absolute rubbish.
the most immoral and hypocritical people are the religious.(thou shall not kill( unless you are a different color, creed, religion, etc))
the non-believe has more moral fibre, in his being, he's moral just because it the right thing to do.
not because as you say theres a reward at the end of his life.

 

[Saint]

agree, isn't it a fear that you cease to exist after death?

 

[duendy]

Hi. Hasn't anyone here ever been in contact with the soul or spirit of a dead person?

well i know ou pagan ancestors, and Indigenous peoples believe this.

For instance the Celts believed in a Land of the Dead/ Land of Faery, which sensitive people could contact

the ones at this forum both literalist religionist and atheist seem to come from different sides of a similar mindset. a coksuredness
rather i am coming from a more opnminded 'dont know' territory

bet most here haven't bothered t look at NDE phenomenology, modern consciousness research, paranormal research, probably not had hallucinogenic experience, etc. so their research and suredness seems fairly limited to me

isn't 'soul' a reaching out to Deepness. how do you ask the quesion 'do we have souls'?...whats the image you have. of skin-encapsulated egos bearing 'souls'...whats the metaphor you paint?

 

[ellion]

the ones at this forum both literalist religionist and atheist seem to come from different sides of a similar mindset. a coksuredness
rather i am coming from a more opnminded 'dont know' territory

resounding agreement from me, but i have to concede i have the same cocksureness about my perspective too.

 

[staples disconnected]

duendy,

the ones at this forum both literalist religionist and atheist seem to come from different sides of a similar mindset. a coksuredness rather i am coming from a more opnminded 'dont know' territory

So you don't think evolution has been sufficiently proven? Or that the soul or spirit doesn't exist?

I wont argue whether or not there actually is a 'god', but 'god' is such a naff human term that has so many implications, I argue that there is not a 'god' that humans believe in.

Basically from my point of view Christians are deluded if they think they know it for sure. Again my personal point of view, but from all I know and have experienced Christianity is so far from the truth it hurts.

This doesn't mean I have no Christian friends, I just don't talk religion with them.

isn't 'soul' a reaching out to Deepness. how do you ask the quesion 'do we have souls'?...whats the image you have. of skin-encapsulated egos bearing 'souls'...whats the metaphor you paint?

I see the brain. What was once thought of as useless, is obviously the centre of being, to which everything can be attributed. Soul is a redundant term.

staples

 

[audible]

isn't it a fear that you cease to exist after death?

no, theres no fear, you die, you just die.
why fear oblivion,( shit happens) your not going to know anyway.

 

[glaucon]

no, theres no fear, you die, you just die.
why fear oblivion,( shit happens) your not going to know anyway.

Exactement comme ca..

 

[Silvertusk]

Are you sure?
If our brains are to store information and be our memories,
where do our souls store information and can remember what we did when we were alive?

I take it we are defining souls as our Awareness. This has been defined by evolution as an immergent property from the Brain due to its advanced complex nature, i.e. like a computer program running a chaos routine suddenly showing patterns emerging.

I have always had a problem with this definition of a soul. If true, does this then imply that there was some point in the Brain development when "Humans" did not have an awareness, and when was this? Creatures like ants, do they have awareness, or because of their reduced brain complexity (compared to ours) they do not, and are therefore just autonomons carrying out a prearranged set of instructions abiet complex.

And also if this is the case - why is each consciouness unique? Why up to now is everyone different? Why aren't more souls the same.

If this emmergent theory is correct, then what is to say that our exact awareness won't re-emmerge at a later date some billion years in the future or so. This would certainly be the case in an eternally existing cosmos. (I imply cosmos here and not universe).