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What the hell is a 'soul' anyway?
August 27, 2015 at 7:01 am
(This post was last modified: August 27, 2015 at 7:10 am by Lucanus.)
This is a series of questions I always ask when people start talking about souls. I'd like to collect the local soul-believers' answers on this topic, but if you don't believe in souls, feel free to add more questions. 
Quote:What is a soul?
What is it made of?
Does it interact with the material world?
If it does, how can we measure its activity based on its interactions with the material world?
If it doesn't, what does it explain that can't be better explained by a materialist solution?
"Every luxury has a deep price. Every indulgence, a cosmic cost. Each fiber of pleasure you experience causes equivalent pain somewhere else. This is the first law of emodynamics [sic]. Joy can be neither created nor destroyed. The balance of happiness is constant.
Fact: Every time you eat a bite of cake, someone gets horsewhipped.
Facter: Every time two people kiss, an orphanage collapses.
Factest: Every time a baby is born, an innocent animal is severely mocked for its physical appearance. Don't be a pleasure hog. Your every smile is a dagger. Happiness is murder.
Vote "yes" on Proposition 1321. Think of some kids. Some kids."
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RE: What the hell is a 'soul' anyway?
August 27, 2015 at 7:04 am
How about 'why do you believe the body and mind are distinct from each other?'. Could apply that to some non-believers I know too.
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. ~ George Bernard Shaw
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RE: What the hell is a 'soul' anyway?
August 27, 2015 at 7:09 am
(This post was last modified: August 27, 2015 at 7:10 am by robvalue.)
It's a metaphor that some people get carried away with and think is an actual entity.
I think such people reason emotionally rather than logically about this kind of subject, and believe in it because they find the alternative unacceptable.
It's part of the "humans are special" package. Where exactly on the evolutionary chain did the soul come in?
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RE: What the hell is a 'soul' anyway?
August 27, 2015 at 7:14 am
Look at the origins of the word and what people actually wanted to express when it first came in use.
The latin Anima could mean all kinds of things. A gust of wind, breath, spirit. I guess in Italian, the word is still similar to it's Latin origin. Animal is derived from that. It certainly wasn't exclusive to humans. That's a rather new development.
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RE: What the hell is a 'soul' anyway?
August 27, 2015 at 7:14 am
(August 27, 2015 at 7:09 am)robvalue Wrote: It's a metaphor that some people get carried away with and think is an actual entity.
I think such people reason emotionally rather than logically about this kind of subject, and believe in it because they find the alternative unacceptable.
It's part of the "humans are special" package.
Yup, those are my exact same thoughts on the matter. Spot on 
"Every luxury has a deep price. Every indulgence, a cosmic cost. Each fiber of pleasure you experience causes equivalent pain somewhere else. This is the first law of emodynamics [sic]. Joy can be neither created nor destroyed. The balance of happiness is constant.
Fact: Every time you eat a bite of cake, someone gets horsewhipped.
Facter: Every time two people kiss, an orphanage collapses.
Factest: Every time a baby is born, an innocent animal is severely mocked for its physical appearance. Don't be a pleasure hog. Your every smile is a dagger. Happiness is murder.
Vote "yes" on Proposition 1321. Think of some kids. Some kids."
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RE: What the hell is a 'soul' anyway?
August 27, 2015 at 7:20 am
(This post was last modified: August 27, 2015 at 7:20 am by Longhorn.)
Good luck mate....I didn't get much of an answer last time ._.
Spirits, on the other hand.... 
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RE: What the hell is a 'soul' anyway?
August 27, 2015 at 7:22 am
(This post was last modified: August 27, 2015 at 7:26 am by Lucanus.)
(August 27, 2015 at 7:20 am)Neimenovic Wrote: Good luck mate....I didn't get much of an answer last time ._.
Spirits, on the other hand....
Heh, there's plenty of proof for spirits ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
(August 27, 2015 at 7:14 am)abaris Wrote: The latin Anima could mean all kinds of things. A gust of wind, breath, spirit. I guess in Italian, the word is still similar to it's Latin origin.
We still say "Anima", but in Italian 2000 years of Christianity have basically reduced the meaning of the word to something exclusive to humans.
"Every luxury has a deep price. Every indulgence, a cosmic cost. Each fiber of pleasure you experience causes equivalent pain somewhere else. This is the first law of emodynamics [sic]. Joy can be neither created nor destroyed. The balance of happiness is constant.
Fact: Every time you eat a bite of cake, someone gets horsewhipped.
Facter: Every time two people kiss, an orphanage collapses.
Factest: Every time a baby is born, an innocent animal is severely mocked for its physical appearance. Don't be a pleasure hog. Your every smile is a dagger. Happiness is murder.
Vote "yes" on Proposition 1321. Think of some kids. Some kids."
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RE: What the hell is a 'soul' anyway?
August 27, 2015 at 7:26 am
(This post was last modified: August 27, 2015 at 7:26 am by ignoramus.)
http://www.closerwalk.net/soul1.htm
Anatomy of the Human Soul
Quote:Human existence functions in seven different dimensions, the physical body; the memory of the physical body; the invisible human soul; the physical component of human soul around the heart area; the physical component of human cognition in the brain; the human spirit; and the Holy Spirit (for Christians who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit). These dimensions interact with each other and sometimes overlapping each other while they both have their distinctive functions in a living human being. Simplifying these divisions is to imply that man is made primarily of the body, soul, and the spirit. Each of these components have sub-divisions, more will be discussed on this later.
It is fucking scary and creatively impressive to see how much intricate detail people can invent to feed an illusion! 
No God, No fear.
Know God, Know fear.
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RE: What the hell is a 'soul' anyway?
August 27, 2015 at 8:48 am
(August 27, 2015 at 7:01 am)Lucanus Wrote: This is a series of questions I always ask when people start talking about souls. I'd like to collect the local soul-believers' answers on this topic, but if you don't believe in souls, feel free to add more questions.
Quote:What is a soul?
What is it made of?
Does it interact with the material world?
If it does, how can we measure its activity based on its interactions with the material world?
If it doesn't, what does it explain that can't be better explained by a materialist solution?
1. No clue how to define it. I believe that Soul and Body are separate and that we don't "have" a soul, but "are" a soul and have a body.
2. No clue
3. Well I suppose in some sense yes, in that I believe people are souls that have physical bodies that interact with the material world
4. Don't know.
5. Again, don't know.
Hope that was clear enough for you Luc. 
We are not made happy by what we acquire but by what we appreciate.
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RE: What the hell is a 'soul' anyway?
August 27, 2015 at 8:55 am
A descriptive I put in front of train, man, music, patch and food.
Being told you're delusional does not necessarily mean you're mental.
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