I was calling myself an agnostic for the longest time and only recently started calling myself an atheist. I do think "agnostic" is a very rational and openminded outlook. You don't know, because you can't. However, if you're reasonably sure that there is no god, (even if it's impossible to ever 100% prove that there is no god) if you're 99% there it's kind of ok to round it up. As scientists, there's always going to be some error and uncertainty but that doesn't mean that we can't make conclusions.
The biological basis of a soul would be my primary interest. How are souls created in the first place? Are they related to matter and/or energy? Are they somehow present in a dimension that we do not apprehend with our ordinary senses? Are souls present in rocks, or trees, or insects? How do they get reborn? Is there a progression? Does the soul of a tree become an animal soul and progressively become more complicated? How does one determine how and where a soul is reborn? What makes this determination? Is a soul the same as a life force? There is a clear distinction in all the Western religions between the life-force (nephesh/nafs/psyche) and the spirit (ruach/ruh/anima).
Ultimately, I am someone who is very agnostic. If anything spiritual were "proven" I'd be likely to incorporate it into my very nebulous understanding of what reality might mean, as long as it were properly proven.
Ultimately, I am someone who is very agnostic. If anything spiritual were "proven" I'd be likely to incorporate it into my very nebulous understanding of what reality might mean, as long as it were properly proven.
Questions about souls...
- 12/04/2011 03:06:54 AM
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You assume we all know, and agree on, what "soul" means.
- 12/04/2011 08:42:47 AM
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It is what hope, which is a thing with feathers, perches on.
- 12/04/2011 07:32:07 PM
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But seriously, what does it do?
- 12/04/2011 11:01:58 PM
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it wouldn't change much for me, but I'm pretty flexible in my spiritual beliefs
- 12/04/2011 04:23:34 PM
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Re: Questions about souls...
- 12/04/2011 05:44:53 PM
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What a fantasy.
- 12/04/2011 07:57:38 PM
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Your comments, or mine? 
- 13/04/2011 01:24:53 AM
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- 13/04/2011 01:24:53 AM
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I'm a Christian who is partial to reincarnation, so I do not think much would change.
- 12/04/2011 06:21:36 PM
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*is disappointed* *NM*
- 12/04/2011 08:01:05 PM
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You'd be surprised how frequently I get that from both sides. 
- 12/04/2011 08:22:24 PM
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- 12/04/2011 08:22:24 PM
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I bet you do!
- 12/04/2011 08:47:59 PM
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I think we are similar in some respects philosophically.
- 13/04/2011 05:59:38 AM
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That's pretty much how I feel. Being a universalist helps in that respect. *NM*
- 13/04/2011 06:25:34 AM
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So then my question is....
- 13/04/2011 07:08:42 PM
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Because I believe that Jesus was an incarnation of the λόγος.
- 14/04/2011 12:36:36 AM
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*heh*
- 14/04/2011 04:12:32 PM
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I think I answered it pretty clearly in my post title. *NM*
- 14/04/2011 06:59:47 PM
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I think that, like a lot of other people responding, I would want and need more information.
- 12/04/2011 07:13:14 PM
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Speaking of the agnostic/atheist thing
- 12/04/2011 07:40:04 PM
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99% that there is no God...
- 12/04/2011 08:08:42 PM
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Technically, no, atheists simply lack belief in a God.
- 12/04/2011 08:19:15 PM
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- 12/04/2011 08:19:15 PM
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Whoah there,
- 12/04/2011 08:26:43 PM
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Okay, I have to admit I wasn't expecting to get called out on that.
- 13/04/2011 04:03:08 AM
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And that's why I don't quibble with %'s, I just say I'm an atheist 
*NM*
- 12/04/2011 09:45:31 PM
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*NM*
- 12/04/2011 09:45:31 PM
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It certainly doesn't mean you can't make conclusions.
- 12/04/2011 08:09:41 PM
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Re: Campbell:
- 12/04/2011 08:42:09 PM
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Self-identification is an interesting point here.
- 12/04/2011 09:00:46 PM
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Re: Agree
- 12/04/2011 09:22:22 PM
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Sadly enough, one of my favorite explanations of religion came from someone discussing a video game.
- 13/04/2011 04:12:23 AM
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Re: I'm basically a Magi. I'm going to travel to Brazil and then take over the world. *NM*
- 13/04/2011 04:18:25 AM
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Either you meant "Magus" or you are a schizophrenic wizard. Both are acceptably awesome.
- 13/04/2011 05:37:34 AM
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Re: I think it was Jarod Diamond...
- 14/04/2011 03:39:32 AM
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Answers.
- 12/04/2011 09:05:38 PM
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That's not a compelling counter-argument for me.
- 12/04/2011 11:22:21 PM
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Never mind.
- 12/04/2011 11:34:46 PM
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Have you had any vivid dreams that came true?
- 13/04/2011 01:16:59 AM
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My mom used to have dreams like that, usually about relatives.
- 13/04/2011 02:25:45 AM
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I can easily believe that.
- 13/04/2011 06:14:51 AM
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Taking things at face value is usually unwise, but the face value can still be correct.
- 24/04/2011 12:11:51 AM
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Minivans can fit lots of useful stuffs, like furniture. *NM*
- 13/04/2011 03:47:04 PM
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So can gas-guzzling SUVs, and full trucks. *NM*
- 13/04/2011 05:13:20 PM
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for that matter, you can fit a surprising amount even in a baby truck! *NM*
- 13/04/2011 06:36:58 PM
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Well, as I said in my census form on Sunday
- 12/04/2011 08:36:05 PM
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It would upset my belief in science
- 12/04/2011 09:39:39 PM
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There's so much wrong with that statement.
- 12/04/2011 09:55:45 PM
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If science proved there really was an Easter Bunny would it affect your believe in science? *NM*
- 12/04/2011 10:30:09 PM
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*is both bored and annoyed*
- 12/04/2011 11:03:10 PM
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and what if science proved that science was false?
- 12/04/2011 11:48:32 PM
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I think that's kind of the point; it can't.
- 13/04/2011 01:33:44 AM
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Did you read my original post?
- 13/04/2011 03:13:34 AM
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I did, yes.
- 13/04/2011 03:32:18 AM
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Yes it would upset my belief in science, why is that so hard to accept
- 13/04/2011 01:56:59 PM
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Well, if that's all it is, we know that a lot of that broad base is wrong.
- 24/04/2011 01:18:05 AM
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What's a soul?
- 12/04/2011 10:51:39 PM
1065 Views
I can only give you my personal take.
- 13/04/2011 01:47:39 AM
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Actually the reason you don't revive people denied oxygen half an hour is due to chemical processes.
- 13/04/2011 04:08:37 AM
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True, but even well preserved brains require more than a jump start to resume life.
- 23/04/2011 09:20:42 PM
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so did this guy took a railroad spike through the head
- 13/04/2011 01:58:52 PM
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Nah, he just got someone else's added to him. But now Ruin can influence him. 
*NM*
- 13/04/2011 06:38:31 PM
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*NM*
- 13/04/2011 06:38:31 PM
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Thanks a lot
- 13/04/2011 07:02:29 PM
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I'm really happy you've read them and got the reference. Phineas Gage, Steel Inquisitor. *NM*
- 14/04/2011 12:29:01 AM
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*NM*
- 14/04/2011 12:29:01 AM
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No.
- 23/04/2011 09:15:16 PM
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but we know personality can be draticaly altered by physical means
- 24/04/2011 03:28:36 AM
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I assume you're implying time travel between past-life or future-life experiences.
- 12/04/2011 11:26:19 PM
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I would becoming interested in tracing people's souls across time/space
- 13/04/2011 04:00:51 PM
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Re: I would becoming interested in tracing people's souls across time/space
- 14/04/2011 03:29:55 AM
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Interesting concept....
- 13/04/2011 07:28:42 PM
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Heh. Loose faith.
- 14/04/2011 02:32:27 AM
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