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Atheist Forums › Community › Religion v
Determining the Soul

Poll: Do you believe that every human has a soul?
This poll is closed.
Yes
7.41%
 2 7.41%
No
77.78%
 21 77.78%
I think it's definitely possible.
7.41%
 2 7.41%
Maybe, but I doubt it.
7.41%
 2 7.41%
Total 27 vote(s) 100%
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Determining the Soul
CleanShavenJesus Offline
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#11
RE: Determining the Soul
March 23, 2013 at 12:08 pm
What is a soul? What would a soul be defined as? I'm not sure how to answer that question, because I'm not sure what people are thinking of whenn they talk about souls.
ronedee Wrote:Science doesn't have a good explaination for water

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NoraBrimstone Offline Donators
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#12
RE: Determining the Soul
March 23, 2013 at 3:35 pm
No. The "soul" is most likely a misunderstanding of what we now know is just our consciousness. The you that makes you "you." There's nothing mystical or magical about it. It's just the result of brain activity, and it will stop when you die. Simplez.
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Whateverist Away Donators
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#13
RE: Determining the Soul
April 4, 2013 at 8:07 am (This post was last modified: April 4, 2013 at 8:07 am by Whateverist.)
I'm going to resurrect this thread to say that some ways people attach meaning to the "soul" are more defensible than others. Of course I don't "believe in" the biblical soul. Nor am I convinced we need such a concept to make sense of ourselves. But Nora's description of the soul as "the you that makes you you" strikes me as thought provoking. That seems like the right direction to go in making good sense of the word.

What is it that makes you you? Is there really any you that is more you than some other you? I think so. Of course I don't think who I am is ordained by gods or even set in concrete. Yet there are a number of subjective facts about what I think tastes good, what strikes me as funny and what I find meaningfully important which I discover rather than decide.

Spirituality is more about getting free from the particularity of the self and identifying with what is transcendent. Soul is about the actuality of how things stand with you, with what is inescapable. Soul has to do with the self you are admonished to know. Soul has useful connotations. It just doesn't have anything to do with eternity or judgment.
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archangle Offline
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#14
RE: Determining the Soul
April 4, 2013 at 10:52 am
I would need some traits to be able to answer that question.

with no traits: I make no claims eaither way.

Will I "talk" to my dad after death? I see no reason to hold to that claim based on the traits of him and myself.
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Neo-Scholastic Offline Donators
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#15
RE: Determining the Soul
April 4, 2013 at 5:49 pm
(March 22, 2013 at 12:17 am)Sagasa Wrote: I do find it odd that an atheist would believe in the existence of a soul given that we haven't yet found any concrete evidence for the existence of such.
The guy who wrote "The Golden Compass" is an atheist that believes in the soul.
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Atheist Forums › Community › Religion v
Determining the Soul

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