(April 5, 2012 at 4:56 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: What if your memories go with the consciousness and remain dormant until a certain point where your cycle of reincarnation ends? There's a thought.

Seems a bizarre set up. I mean you would have two sets of conflicting memories with two different personality's. I'm quite happy with the permanent death

(April 5, 2012 at 4:56 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 4:50 pm)mediamogul Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 4:44 pm)Insanity x Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 4:32 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: Maybe the consciousness moves on. Like inhabits another body in the universe and you're somebody else without your memories. It's an interesting thought.

I'm not sure If I explained that properly, but somebody might be able to get what I'm saying.

I get what you mean but unless I have my memories and experiences it seems a pointless thing to me.

Right. Consciousness removed from the senses is nothing. Consciousness is consciousness of something. It would be the extinguishing of your "self" in every meaningful sense. I toyed with reincarnation for a bit but never could make much sense of it. Consciousness carries no information with it. It is a pure function of the brain.

What if your memories go with the consciousness and remain dormant until a certain point where your cycle of reincarnation ends? There's a thought.

I have literally seen a persons memory dissappear through traumatic brain injury. Their personality changed. They were completely different. All those functions are utterly dependant upon brain function. That was my previous point. I just don't see it. Consciousness contains no information.

(April 5, 2012 at 5:02 pm)mediamogul Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 4:56 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 4:50 pm)mediamogul Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 4:44 pm)Insanity x Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 4:32 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: Maybe the consciousness moves on. Like inhabits another body in the universe and you're somebody else without your memories. It's an interesting thought.

I'm not sure If I explained that properly, but somebody might be able to get what I'm saying.

I get what you mean but unless I have my memories and experiences it seems a pointless thing to me.

Right. Consciousness removed from the senses is nothing. Consciousness is consciousness of something. It would be the extinguishing of your "self" in every meaningful sense. I toyed with reincarnation for a bit but never could make much sense of it. Consciousness carries no information with it. It is a pure function of the brain.

What if your memories go with the consciousness and remain dormant until a certain point where your cycle of reincarnation ends? There's a thought.

I have literally seen a persons memory dissappear through traumatic brain injury. Their personality changed. They were completely different. All those functions are utterly dependant upon brain function. That was my previous point. I just don't see it. Consciousness contains no information.

That's horrible. A more minor version happened to my mom when she was young. Accident changed her a lot apparently. I can see that point.
But the consciousness and soul could be considered backup. Might not be completely connected to the mind.

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(April 5, 2012 at 4:59 pm)Insanity x Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 4:56 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: What if your memories go with the consciousness and remain dormant until a certain point where your cycle of reincarnation ends? There's a thought.

Seems a bizarre set up. I mean you would have two sets of conflicting memories with two different personality's. I'm quite happy with the permanent death

Maybe it all meshes together somehow. Reincarnation is a pretty shitty deal in any case. I'd prefer an afterlife myself. If one exists.

(April 5, 2012 at 5:06 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: But the consciousness and soul could be considered backup. Might not be completely connected to the mind.

I'm an atheist I don't believe we have souls

I am the product of the experiences I have had.

(April 5, 2012 at 5:10 pm)Insanity x Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 5:06 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: But the consciousness and soul could be considered backup. Might not be completely connected to the mind.

I'm an atheist I don't believe we have souls

I am the product of the experiences I have had.

Technically atheists don't believe in gods. Souls are fair game.

(April 5, 2012 at 5:13 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: Technically atheists don't believe in gods. Souls are fair game.

True, but the idea is mostly intertwined with the idea of gods.

(April 5, 2012 at 5:13 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: Technically atheists don't believe in gods. Souls are fair game.

Actually no, its in the same boat as gods because neither have been defined properly.

I don't have a soul. When I die that's the end of me. End of story.

(April 5, 2012 at 6:09 pm)Welsh cake Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 5:13 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: Technically atheists don't believe in gods. Souls are fair game.

Actually no, its in the same boat as gods because neither have been defined properly.

I don't have a soul. When I die that's the end of me. End of story.

Well when I die my soul is going to hell, where I'll be forced to listen to justin beiber and arron carter tracks for all eternity. I've already been told. Also my statement is true. You can be an atheist by definition and still believe in a soul. Athiest has a definition. If the definition of athiest was someone who does not believe in unproven phenomena then your statement would be true.

(April 5, 2012 at 5:06 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 5:02 pm)mediamogul Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 4:56 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: What if your memories go with the consciousness and remain dormant until a certain point where your cycle of reincarnation ends? There's a thought.

I have literally seen a persons memory dissappear through traumatic brain injury. Their personality changed. They were completely different. All those functions are utterly dependant upon brain function. That was my previous point. I just don't see it. Consciousness contains no information.

That's horrible. A more minor version happened to my mom when she was young. Accident changed her a lot apparently. I can see that point.
But the consciousness and soul could be considered backup. Might not be completely connected to the mind.

Then there's the incredible case of Phineas Gage.

(April 5, 2012 at 6:36 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: Also my statement is true. You can be an atheist by definition and still believe in a soul. Athiest has a definition. If the definition of athiest was someone who does not believe in unproven phenomena then your statement would be true.

Right. What you're describing would more correctly be scepticism (or skepticism if you really must ) of which atheism is a specialised branch.

(April 5, 2012 at 7:11 pm)Stimbo Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 5:06 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 5:02 pm)mediamogul Wrote:

(April 5, 2012 at 4:56 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: What if your memories go with the consciousness and remain dormant until a certain point where your cycle of reincarnation ends? There's a thought.

I have literally seen a persons memory dissappear through traumatic brain injury. Their personality changed. They were completely different. All those functions are utterly dependant upon brain function. That was my previous point. I just don't see it. Consciousness contains no information.

That's horrible. A more minor version happened to my mom when she was young. Accident changed her a lot apparently. I can see that point.
But the consciousness and soul could be considered backup. Might not be completely connected to the mind.

Then there's the incredible case of Phineas Gage.

(April 5, 2012 at 6:36 pm)Adjusted Sanity Wrote: Also my statement is true. You can be an atheist by definition and still believe in a soul. Athiest has a definition. If the definition of athiest was someone who does not believe in unproven phenomena then your statement would be true.

Right. What you're describing would more correctly be scepticism (or skepticism if you really must ) of which atheism is a specialised branch.

Stimbo that link sent me nowhere.

Also it is a correct proposition to state that atheists do not neccessarily disbelieve in souls. Atheism solely denotes lack of belief in deities. I will say that atheists tend to be materialists in the sense that they disbelieve in anything but material causes for phenomena. Mind/soul to a materialist is a pure function of the brain's physical functioning.