Without something like a soul, there is nothing to take control of the atoms that make up our bodies to do things. For example, do you think a random composition of atoms are going to pick up a glass of water and drink it? No.... they need to be commanded by something, and that something is a soul... or something like that.
77 comments
So all living things have souls?
Were they all saved by Jesus, or did each species have its own version? Was there a penguin Son of God? A wasp Messiah? A yeast Saviour?
*raises one eyebrow*
Fascinating...
*backs away slowly*
Uh huh, that's nice, now can you actually show us a soul or is it something we have to take on faith, like your god?
yehh
amoebae are ensouled
@ Frogflayer
"and when your favourite pair of shoes die, don't worry. They go to heaven, even shoes have souls. "
Don't worry it's be alright. Jesus will heel them.
Yeah, that's Cartesian Dualism all right, you certainly know your history. Wait, you believe that now ?! Where have you bin the last two centuries?
The problem with CD is not that it is nonsensical, arguments like Buridan's Ass apparently showed that strictly mechanistic interpretations of mind were prone to reductio ad absurdum, and simple introspection appeared to put lie to the idea of man as nothing more than a clever clockwork machine. The same arguments even rage today under the guise of free-will versus determinism.
No the problem with CD is that it requires an interface between mind and body (or body and soul if you insist) that is absolutely indistinguishable from a mechanistic brain. From studies of people with brain lesions and stroke victims it is easy to see that there are parts of the brain that are absolutely vital for recognising hats, or seeing the left side of an image or seeing movement, etc. In a dualist view, damage to one of those centres must somehow disconnect the mind/soul from the body in that respect, so that the mind/soul is unable to register or communicate the hatness of an object; hence your mind/soul doesn't or appears not to recognise a hat because the hatness sensitive part of it is unable to interface to the damaged hatness sensitive part of the brain. But that just make minds and souls synonymous with the brain's natural activity, which is the materialist view.
badjezus?
Troll.
Troll.
Troll.
Can the soul be measured? Can it be weighed, imaged, sensed in any way known to science. No.
We know what makes our bodies move. It's called nerve impulses generated by the brain and central nervous system. It has fuck-all to do with a "soul".
Meh Depending on how you define "soul"(it could even die with your brain) it might make sense.
Why do we even experience anything at all? If there is no free will then that would mean that every action we take would still happen even if we weren't experiencing it. Just like the complex reactions in the sun happen without the sun having to be conscious of it all the same reactions to make you pick up a glass of water and drink it would still happen even without conscious awareness if there is no free will.
The fact we have conscious awareness at all is evidence that it serves some kind of purpose.
Doesn't mean there's any kind of "god" but it does strongly suggest we have free will. I've thought quantum mechanics was an interesting branch of science that might explain this. Maybe the supposedly "random" quantum interactions which they can't find a cause for why one quark pops in and out of existence aren't completely random, that is maybe an individual's conscious directs this and this accounts for human choice.
Okay. But what is the soul made of? What animates it? How do we detect it? What, in other words, differentiates your claims about a soul from the guy who says our veins are actually full of ghostly spaghetti?
Science has a lot on its plate to start with just explaining the things we can observe. If you want to include the soul, go find some evidence it exists and we'll start studying it. Or else find the missing bits in "random compositions of atoms" moving things and study what really DOES make them move, don't just declare it a soul and shove it into the equation.
"For example, do you think a random composition of atoms are going to pick up a glass of water and drink it?"
So chimpanzees have a soul?
If you have a working brain, you don't need a soul.
If you have an injured or diseased brain, a soul won't help a bit.
That which is invisible, undetectable and has no impact on objective reality most likely does not exist.
I'm not sure if I believe in a soul, and as far as I'm concerned, there's no problem with either believing in one or not believing in one. To each their own. But THIS...this is just bullshit.
It's called a "brain". Can you say "brain"? I knew you could...
If the soul exists, its job is not to command our muscles to move. That's our brains' job.
Yeah or something like that.
Listen, after you graduate the third grade, perhaps you can study some Psychology on just what a "soul" entails.
The "soul" as commonly-defined, is not immortal. The "soul" exists as a product of a living, fully-functional brain. Your self-concept, memories, personality, morality, sensation, and perception are all the result of the living brain interacting with the environment over the course of your whole life. When the brain dies, the soul dies. There's nothing random about those atoms.
or something like.... NOT like that. The very thing you call a soul is all in the mind... our thoughts feelings actions reactions... thats the soul. The mind is the soul and houses all that we are. THE BODY... is strictly the vehicle with which our soul is contained in yes but the soul does not govern how it moves when it moves or the basic needs it must have to survive... that my friend is biology and science... only the mind is the soul... not the physical tissue it is wrapped up in.
"BadJesus007"? seriously? the only thing "bad" here is your views on molecular structuring and typical bodily functions and motor reflexes. Not to mention basic survival of this body we operate in and what it needs to survive and keep living and working so we can keep breathing and moving.
Besides... your SN? BLASPHEMER! LOL
#1134383
Mister Spak
"For example, do you think a random composition of atoms are going to pick up a glass of water and drink it?"
So chimpanzees have a soul?
3/18/2010 5:22:27 AM
Actually... if a chimp picks up a glass of water and drinks it... its cuz the chimp has seen this behavior and thus imitates it. Much like a parrot doesnt actually speak consciously... it merely listens and imitates through sound what it hears. So... both yes and no... lol
Yes- the chimp has the free will and choice to do this like we do.
No- it doesnt really mean we or the chimps have "souls" just means we are capable of doing the said action.
Babies are taught by their parents to drink from sippy cups and later from bottles of water or glasses through experience and imitation and life lessons as well. Chimps can do the same. Dogs also learn tricks through their owners instructions and demonstrations. Its learned behavior at best.
So, even earthworms and plants have a soul? After all, earthworms control their bodies to some extent, and plants grow towards light and water.
"Without something like a soul, there is nothing to take control of the atoms that make up our bodies to do things."
"a soul"
I think you'll find badjezus007, is that all my arsehole does is prevent crap coming out whenever I don't want it to, and fart gas to come out when I do .
[/toilet humour]
My brain tells my hands to pick up the glass. Plus animals also do things like eat, drink, poop, screw, climb trees, etc etc etc - but they don't have a soul, according to you fundies. So why the fuck, with my superior brain, would I need a mythical organ to do even the most basic things when a dumb mouse or hamster can manage without?
desktop = brain
operating system = soul
user = free will
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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