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(May 17, 2011 at 10:08 am)DeistPaladin Wrote: I may be opening myself to ridicule here but I'm open minded to the possibility of "souls" existing, by which I mean some sort of X-factor at the core of our self-awareness and experience.
The brain and how it works has always been a fascinating topic for me. I remember watching this one documentary about how the brain restructures itself according to the needs of the user (studies on people who've worked different jobs that require different skill sets). It makes me wonder exactly what that "user" is.
That said, if souls do exist, they clearly depend on the brain for sensory input and memory storage and access. I remember one experience in my younger days when I was waking up in an unfamiliar place and, being fuzzy headed from the previous night, for a split second I couldn't remember where I was or how I got there. It felt like I was searching for some "file" in this computer we call a brain. This experience underscored for me how memory is external to our experience, stored and accessed in the brain much like a hard drive. It can be lost prior to death due to injury, illness or other factors.
From this basis alone, I had to conclude that a heaven-like afterlife was extremely unlikely. If injuries to the brain can cause loss of memory, how can we retain our memories when the brain is completely destroyed by the process of death? If our existence continues after death, it won't be one where we remember this life.
We also depend on the brain for sensory input. Hormones and other factors give us impulses. Other documentaries on the brain and our behavior that I've seen reviewed case studies of people experiencing inappropriate feelings of rage or loss of the sex drive due to brain injury. Still, we can sometimes work against our impulses if we can summon enough resolve. The men in both cases studies I just mentioned realized their impulses or lack thereof made no sense and were able to seek help. I'm inclined to see self-determination as steering a sail boat at sea. You're dependent on the winds and tides but sometimes you can work within them to take the boat toward your goal.
If it turns out that there is some kind of energy or whatever that is that x-factor, "soul" for lack of a better word, than they can be studied and we'll better understand their properties one day. If not, it still might be useful to use the word "soul" as a metaphor for the very real process of our self-awareness.
Ridicule or not, thanks for sharing your opinion. Just because I see no logic in a soul/spirit existing, doesn't mean that if I'm proven wrong, that I won't readily admit that I had no idea what I was talking about. The possibility is of course there, but to me is highly unlikely.
(May 17, 2011 at 10:38 am)tackattack Wrote: I think we already had a recent long thread about souls, their properties and arguements for and against. That being said I will do everyoen a favor and not rehash old arguements. I believe the soul exists and that it is seperate from teh mind and brain. I believe that they by nature are not eternal, but survive bodily death, and can be destroyed.
Yeah, sorry that I wasn't more careful on not checking if there were older threads about it. '-_- It's just a really recent thought for me, and I like being part of the discussion, it's never the same to read other people's opinions afterwards.
When I was young, there was a god with infinite power protecting me. Is there anyone else who felt that way? And was sure about it? but the first time I fell in love, I was thrown down - or maybe I broke free - and I bade farewell to God and became human. Now I don't have God's protection, and I walk on the ground without wings, but I don't regret this hardship. I want to live as a person. -Arina Tanemura