What is a soul ?

[Ariannda Kusanagi]

I explained some of my thinking on Relgion in the Hypo Train thread, however I've been thinking about this question (in the past and more recently) and so I thought I would pose it to you folks and get your opinions.

I don't subscribe to the basic "there is a God and he's all you need" theory or belief (although I can respect it) so I don't think I have a soul that will be released upon my death and float up into Heaven where I'll bask in eternal glory, although I'll have no recollection or feeling or basic knowledge of this, as I'll be dead and I no longer have those kinds of emotions, or to Hell where i'll forever burn in a lake of fire.

If the Christians believe that the soul will be released upon death and go to Heaven or Hell, and the Catholics believe your soul can be stuck in purgatory, and the Jews believe that your soul is trapped on Earth to await the return of Christ, and the Hindu's believe your soul is recycled into another living being... then what IS a soul ?

There have been times in my life where I've been so touched that I felt it in what can only be described as my soul. but is it a tangible thing, that has a memory and a realization of what's going on, such as in Heaven or Hell ? Is it a metaphysical element to a physical body that simply is a part of you ? Is it a part of you to be released at different parts in life, and when it's used up you die ? What exactly IS a soul, and how is it relevant to you in your life ? Do you worry about the effects of an after life on your everlasting soul ? Or do you just want to get through this current life to the best of your ability ?

[Kulaf]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartesian_dualism

[Alluveal]

I absolutely do believe in a "soul," but I am not Christian. I tend to view it more as an energy or consciousness that doesn't die when our bodies expire. Where that energy goes after, I'm not sure. I do believe we can harm or damage our souls. I think once we lose a certain humanity, we lose that connection to the higher power (or divine if you prefer that term.)

There are people I have met, where you look in their eyes and you see nothing. Absolutely nothing. There is no conscience, no emotion, no spark of anything. These people I believe have done too much damage to their psyche to ever get back in touch with the good. Examples: Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, etc.

Just my meta-babble at work. =)

[Rsak]

The soul is the path to awe. It is a metaphysical connection to something larger then yourself.

[Harlowe]

I absolutely do believe in a "soul," but I am not Christian. I tend to view it more as an energy or consciousness that doesn't die when our bodies expire. Where that energy goes after, I'm not sure. I do believe we can harm or damage our souls. I think once we lose a certain humanity, we lose that connection to the higher power (or divine if you prefer that term.)

There are people I have met, where you look in their eyes and you see nothing. Absolutely nothing. There is no conscience, no emotion, no spark of anything. These people I believe have done too much damage to their psyche to ever get back in touch with the good. Examples: Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, etc.

Just my meta-babble at work. =)

This is pretty much how I feel about the soul, but as far as religious beliefs - I'm not on any kind of solid ground. I can't say that I'm not a Christian, but I can't tell you for sure if I believe because I'm afraid not to believe (due to a strict Catholic upbringing) or if I have real faith and am just "godfearin". My head tells me that it seems more likely there is nothing else and that we're destined to be compost. Now what is that nagging thing inside me that says otherwise? I sure as hell don't know.

[Klast Brell]

Granted I'm a heathen here but I don't see it as being much different than the question "What is a mind?" or "What is the self"
Consider that you can loose an arm and still be considered a person. You can still say "I am". You can slice away half a brain http://www.nbc10.com/health/4563166/detail.html and still say "I am" .

I believe that it is the soul Christians think of. They may believe that there is an internal trinity. body, mind, and soul. But mind and soul are actually the same thing. The bible makes reference to plenty of things that are observable. You can touch measure weigh physical objects like Donkeys, bread, stones, fish, wine, etc. And things like personality can be measured, interacted with and experimented on. Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Monoamine, and Serotonin can be manipulated to produce measurable changes in personality. But no one has interacted with a soul on that level. No one has quantified and tested a soul. No repeatable experiments can be performed on the soul. You can't measure a soul, expose a person to pornography and measure the soul again to determine the effect. You cant do a study on the effect of honoring your mother and father on the soul.

This is because the soul is an illusion. It can be whatever you want it to be. It can be all things to all people. Its the essence of the self. Or it's the spark that animates the flesh. Or it is the contents of your memory, It is an eternal immortal being that haunts your body and will move to another body when this one dies. Or it will go to one of 2 parallel dimensions one of eternal happiness another of eternal misery. It can be the source of power that fuels your magik spells. It can be whatever you want it to be because it does not exist.

[Taxious]

I definitely believe in something, I just don't really know what it is. I have some Christian roots in me, so I usually stick to that.

[Ddrak]

Your soul is what's left when you take everything else away.

Dd

[Alluveal]

Hmmmm prolific!

[Xtizu]

I’m inclined to say your soul is your consciousness, a series of chemical reactions holding together memories of past events that shape your personality.

[Select]

These people I believe have done too much damage to their psyche to ever get back in touch with the good. Examples: Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, etc.

Well, I wouldn't confuse the psyche and the soul (Unless your opinion is that they are one and the same?). The mind, soul, and body are all connected in my opinion, but they are still different things. I think with some killers it is just a case of a damaged mind. In other cases, I think the soul has been damaged. Like you said, looking into the eyes might hint at which it is.

With the soul, I believe there is one and we can see it - the things we call ghosts. I've seen/heard/felt too many unexplainable things with other people around experiencing the same thing to believe otherwise.

Can everyone see/feel/hear them? I don't think so; I think it's inherited, even genetic that makes you sensitive. Can most see a soul? Probably.
What you see/feel is a measure of its status and how damaged it is. If you see/feel something and your gut gets a sick feeling and everything is telling you to run and you know the feeling is not the fear of the unknown, then you're looking at a pretty damaged soul. If you see/feel something and repress the fear of the unknown and see it for what it is and you feel nothing, then it's probably just a normal soul flitting through.

[Ariannda Kusanagi]

Granted I'm a heathen here but I don't see it as being much different than the question "What is a mind?" or "What is the self"
Consider that you can loose an arm and still be considered a person. You can still say "I am". You can slice away half a brain http://www.nbc10.com/health/4563166/detail.html and still say "I am" .

I believe that it is the soul Christians think of. They may believe that there is an internal trinity. body, mind, and soul. But mind and soul are actually the same thing. The bible makes reference to plenty of things that are observable. You can touch measure weigh physical objects like Donkeys, bread, stones, fish, wine, etc. And things like personality can be measured, interacted with and experimented on. Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Monoamine, and Serotonin can be manipulated to produce measurable changes in personality. But no one has interacted with a soul on that level. No one has quantified and tested a soul. No repeatable experiments can be performed on the soul. You can't measure a soul, expose a person to pornography and measure the soul again to determine the effect. You cant do a study on the effect of honoring your mother and father on the soul.

This is because the soul is an illusion. It can be whatever you want it to be. It can be all things to all people. Its the essence of the self. Or it's the spark that animates the flesh. Or it is the contents of your memory, It is an eternal immortal being that haunts your body and will move to another body when this one dies. Or it will go to one of 2 parallel dimensions one of eternal happiness another of eternal misery. It can be the source of power that fuels your magik spells. It can be whatever you want it to be because it does not exist.

Klast you still have an opinion and yet you didn't answer the question... what do YOU think a soul is ?

[Klast Brell]

I don't think a soul is anything. Souls do not exist. People are afraid of dying so they invent a part of themselves that is immortal. People may believe that souls exist, just like they may believe that ghosts exists but that does not make them any more real than the tooth fairy.

[Harlowe]

Looks to me like he's now answered it twice. I'm not sure what it was you didn't understand from his answer before.

[Klast Brell]

TLDR

[Harlowe]

TLDR

I immediately thought of the lolcat I just posted -klast wuz 2 werdy fer her tastes

[Ariannda Kusanagi]

I didn't see the word I in his entire post, so I asked /shrug

[Select]

I didn't see the word I in his entire post, so I asked /shrug

Good reply.

[Alluveal]

These people I believe have done too much damage to their psyche to ever get back in touch with the good. Examples: Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, etc.

Well, I wouldn't confuse the psyche and the soul (Unless your opinion is that they are one and the same?). The mind, soul, and body are all connected in my opinion, but they are still different things. I think with some killers it is just a case of a damaged mind. In other cases, I think the soul has been damaged. Like you said, looking into the eyes might hint at which it is.

With the soul, I believe there is one and we can see it - the things we call ghosts. I've seen/heard/felt too many unexplainable things with other people around experiencing the same thing to believe otherwise.

Can everyone see/feel/hear them? I don't think so; I think it's inherited, even genetic that makes you sensitive. Can most see a soul? Probably.
What you see/feel is a measure of its status and how damaged it is. If you see/feel something and your gut gets a sick feeling and everything is telling you to run and you know the feeling is not the fear of the unknown, then you're looking at a pretty damaged soul. If you see/feel something and repress the fear of the unknown and see it for what it is and you feel nothing, then it's probably just a normal soul flitting through.

Psyche can mean either/or. Soul or thought. Some separate. I do not. I don't think all serial killers have a damaged mind nor are they ALL beyond help/empty. It's a combination of things, imho (nature/nurture/a dash of evil.) I used Ted Bundy and Charlie Manson as examples. When you watch Manson on film, you see a whole lot of endless nothing in his eyes. Ted Bundy I felt the same.

[Harlowe]

I didn't see the word I in his entire post, so I asked /shrug

If you didn't see the word "I" in his entire post, then you didn't read it. Not only is it there, but it's not all that difficult to find.