The problem of the soul

[zwanzig]

The idea of a soul is kind of horrible, isn't it? The implications are dreadful to consider.

Like, what is going on with the soul if I get a head injury and my personality changes as a result? What if I was Christian before but after the injury, I become an atheist? Which version of me is my soul? Does the soul get "damaged" and impacted by the injury also? So, is it physical or not? Or does my real personality and true self stay inside me somewhere, locked away while my new brain injury personality heals and continues living? Where does the new personality come from?

[Foxaèr]

I perceive the soul as one of those primitive concepts that have no place in our advanced understanding of the human psyche.

[no one]

Just another fundamentally unsound misconception of a primitive mind.

[zwanzig]

I perceive the soul as one of those primitive concepts that have no place in our advanced understanding of the human psyche.

Agreed. We don't know everything about the brain or psychology yet but what we do know shows that not only can you become someone different due to damage to the physical meat, but even just aging can change people's personality. So, the soul either has no manifestation in reality in which case, "Yeah, so what? It might as well not exist if we're just making up stories about something that has no actual manifestation." Or, it is highly dependent on people remaining the same throughout their lives, which doesn't account for modern research regarding how little of us is actually permanent and unchanging.

[no one]

Ancient humans knew nothing of the natural sciences around them. They created scenarios to ease their frightened minds and caress their fragile egos.

[Spongebob]

I perceive the soul as one of those primitive concepts that have no place in our advanced understanding of the human psyche.

This OP is dipping into one of the most fascinating subjects known.  Personally, I don't subscribe to the idea of a soul.  But I stop short of truly criticizing the idea because some of the greatest human minds took it very seriously.  I don't believe you can dismiss the idea as a "primitive concept" when people like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle gave it serious consideration.

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Ancient humans knew nothing of the natural sciences around them. They created scenarios to ease their frightened minds and caress their fragile egos.

To whom are you referring to when you say "ancient"?

[no one]

Humans that lived a very, very (by human standards) long time ago.

The beginningish of modern humans.

[brewer]

I find it problematic that only humans have (created) souls. But then, only humans create gods.

Got a problem with your soul, sell it.

[Fake Messiah]

Or how do you torture a soul? Or why would you need to punish a soul because of what it did in a completely different world than the one where souls live? Why punish someone for theft or murder or rape since in the world of souls you can't do any of that?

[Angrboda]

The soul is a lot like free will in that it has intuitive appeal and seems necessary as a building block upon which other necessary things are built.

The problems are twofold, defining it, and then figuring out how such a thing can be squared with a naturalistic account of the universe.

Does that mean it doesn't exist? I don't think it does mean that, but as always, the burden of proof remains on anyone who wants to claim it does exist. That burden hasn't yet been met.