The concept of soul

[cosmic-realism]

The life after death debate and reincarnation scare comes from the concept of a soul existing.This has been strongly believed up until the scientific revolution and as scientists are only proving how brain is the vital organ that controls emotion.

Now that we have MRI scanning and scientists are proving that thought and emotion come from the same place, that is our brain, how valid is the concept of soul now?

And I think animals are sentient too,in their own way.Unless we have in depth research on these animals,we won't be able to verify whether they are truly aware or not.
This will prove that if a brain exists,then the being consciousness has to exist because where else is this mess coming from.

This will in turn disprove reincarnation and the concept of a soul will be demolished if the truth comes out.

 

[zekeyaeger]

There is no soul. There is no reincarnation. There is no existence after death. All of that bullshit is for humans to deal with death anxiety. You are born, you live, you die. The end.

 

[escape_from_hell]

Soul and other concepts will be a game of dancing definitions. Free will also. Both are wishful thinking coming from self-aggrandizing brains, narcissistic specialness fantasies. I can't prove it 100%. But we're always assuming it and trying to make the evidence fit it. Everything 'quantum' which are referring to ways we model certain aspects of physics is abused highly for the sake of "ohhh look how mysterious it is, everything's possible bro, it's like superposition and stuff you are the cat bro alive and dead bro, be enlightened, it's like weird cosmic magic bro, you are the observer and like your mind determines the outcome bro physics needs and observer bro, just make reality the one you want bro, we are all connected bro."

 

[EmptyCurtainCall]

I don't believe in god, souls, karma, or reincarnation. Sometimes it spooks me to think that, but I just realize the only reason it scares me sometimes is because of how deeply ingrained in our western societies that there's something after death, particularly smth as bizarre as eternal torment for making the wrong move. The truth is according to thousands of religions, every single last one of us is going to hell. God's not real. However, science is real, the world is real, you are real. All 3 of these claims can be proved and have been, time and time again. I'm glad that you're cognizant of WHY these beliefs are instilled in so many of us, and acknowledging that these "truths" are false. Death is simply a lack of brain activity. No brain activity = no consciousness. We'll know just as much as we did before we were born. Long sleep, that's it.

 

[chester]

Now that we have MRI scanning and scientists are proving that thought and emotion come from the same place, that is our brain, how valid is the concept of soul now?

It's not just MRIs. There has been extensive research done on people with different kinds of brain damage over the last 100 years. Now scientists and doctors know which parts of the brain are responsible for what, both in terms of ability and personality.

Back when this knowledge wasn't so extensive, lobotomy was used to treat some disorders. The logic behind it was simple. A person behaves or feels in an undesired way, we damage a certain part of the brain, and voila, we end up with someone who no longer exhibits this behavior.

You ask how valid is the concept of soul. If it's a part of your belief system, then I guess science would be irrelevant to you. If you're asking if modern science can prove beyond all doubt that something like a soul can't exist, then I don't think it can. Not because of the limitations of science, but because of how the concept of soul is constructed. To me though, just because we can't disprove something, it's simply not enough to believe it exists. I can tell you I have a real unicorn at home. It shits rainbows and grants wishes. Would you believe this can be true, only because you have no idea where I live and have no way of checking?

And I think animals are sentient too,in their own way.Unless we have in depth research on these animals,we won't be able to verify whether they are truly aware or not.
This will prove that if a brain exists,then the being consciousness has to exist because where else is this mess coming from.

I think the most recent consensus on this is that there are degrees of self awareness. The nervous systems between animals vary. The simplest ones probably don't produce any self awareness. More advanced ones, such as mammals, predators in particular definitely have it more developed than slugs or insects.

You don't have to look at animals though. Take a look at a newborn child. It's a brain that hasn't learned shit yet. It can't even keep itself alive on its own, do you think it's capable of self reflection? I think a cat is much more self aware at this point. Have a think about your early memories. They don't date back to your birth, do they? It's like you didn't exist until some time already after you were born. But you can't point to an exact moment in time either. That's because self awareness is not an on/off switch, it's a volume knob.

This will in turn disprove reincarnation and the concept of a soul will be demolished if the truth comes out.

Nothing will be demolished. Beliefs are called "beliefs" because they exist independently of science. Otherwise, why would someone believe in existence of something (a god, a soul, etc.) for which the best "proof" is word of mouth and ancient scriptures?

 

[Forever Sleep]

I think it will be difficult to kill off the idea entirely. In a way, I think it kind of links in to our emotions/ feelings and there aren't really right or wrongs when it comes to that. It's like saying- does love exist? It's not a tangible thing. You can't see or measure it. You can't even be sure we all experience it the same way. But, most people understand the concept. Maybe connection is the best way of describing it. We feel strongly connected to someone or something.

Why I think that relates to the idea of a soul is when we have experiences where we feel more than we are (if that makes sense?) Climbing to the top of a mountain and looking at the amazing view, you can get a sense that you are 'one' with nature. Having a strong connection with a person can feel the same. Because it's not something we can explain, I think ideas like 'the soul' and 'soul mates' will fill that gap- like 'God of the gaps' in a way.

If you've ever read 'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle or, ever tried meditation, I think there's also an appeal to the idea that within each of us is a calm, core and that all of the stuff that troubles us is just clutter in the mind. Maybe that's not exactly 'soul' but, I suppose it could be.

Will we ever fully understand consciousness? Will we ever know what happens when we die? Will we ever know whether there is a God? Will we ever not be afraid of death? If not- then, I expect this idea of a soul will linger on. As a species, I think we're pretty susceptible to magical ideas.

 

[ForgottenAgain]

For me, I've always associated "soul" with "brain". It's from our brain that we are the people we are, unique in every way. I think other animals have souls too in that sense, they have their levels of awareness, their fears and wants, they're all unique. I think any person that had pets can relate to the fact that no animal feels alike.

For creatures without brains, I'm not sure, I think I'd need to be in closer contact with them to understand them more. However, without prior knowledge, I'd be inclined to say that every living thing has a soul even if they don't have a brain per se. They may have another organ or combination of organs that makes them behave in unique ways, therefore making them unique. I may be romanticizing, it just feels odd to me that living beings could not be unique in some way, that would make me position them closer to machines, which feels anti nature. It's an interesting thing to think about as it may be my own bias towards what I consider natural. Maybe it would be totally natural to have living beings that behave closer to just machines, like jelly fish or star fish, which don't have brains as far as I know.

I don't believe in reincarnation, doesn't make sense to me because I think, if it existed, we would always be recycling the same limited number of "souls" which would translate to always having similar people throughout history and that to me sounds silly.

The most logical thing to me is that death is equal to what we experienced before being alive - nothingness. You live, you die, the end. That to me sounds logical and peaceful.

 

[We Are Angels]

Here's the thing, you already came into existence once, so what's stopping it from happening again? Hate to rain on everyone's parade, but I'm not sure death is an escape.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

Here's the thing, you already came into existence once, so what's stopping it from happening again? Hate to rain on everyone's parade, but I'm not sure death is an escape.

What? You are your biology, in that every aspect of you relates to how your mental structure interacts with sensory information. Once you die, that's it. The thing that your "self" originated has stopped working and is now decomposing. Dualism is a concept that died a long time ago, with most of today's scientists believing in monism. The mind is just a byproduct of brain activity and cannot be separated from it.

 

[pariah80]

I'm never going to state certainties about death. The human CAN'T know what's after this. I believe that there is a soul. I have reasons for those beliefs. That said, I can't state certainties.

 

[cosmic-realism]

What? You are your biology, in that every aspect of you relates to how your mental structure interacts with sensory information. Once you die, that's it. The thing that your "self" originated has stopped working and is now decomposing. Dualism is a concept that died a long time ago, with most of today's scientists believing in monism. The mind is just a byproduct of brain activity and cannot be separated from it.

Yes.This is exactly what people didn't understand because there was no way of testing serotonin.Even hinduism and buddhism,believes in the soul concept.And the ancient hindus were pretty good with technology and architecture, but I think their science was different from the science of today.They were all about bio electricity.

In today's world we seemed to have discovered new concepts they didn't know of and the other way round is also true.There are things they knew that we are yet to discover.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

Yes.This is exactly what people didn't understand because there was no way of testing serotonin.Even hinduism and buddhism,believes in the soul concept.And the ancient hindus were pretty good with technology and architecture, but I think their science was different from the science of today.They were all about bio electricity.

In today's world we seemed to have discovered new concepts they didn't know of and the other way round is also true.There are things they knew that we are yet to discover.

Not to be rude, but now you are kind of just spewing nonsense. Religious beliefs don't mean shit. It's doesn't matter if the ancient Hindus or whatever were good with technology and architecture. They aren't some mystical group of people who know all the secrets. They would have had less knowledge of things like biology and neurobiology in comparison to researchers today.

 

[We Are Angels]

What? You are your biology, in that every aspect of you relates to how your mental structure interacts with sensory information. Once you die, that's it. The thing that your "self" originated has stopped working and is now decomposing. Dualism is a concept that died a long time ago, with most of today's scientists believing in monism. The mind is just a byproduct of brain activity and cannot be separated from it.

Your biology is always changing, it's not just one static thing. Your brain is totally different from yourself at 4 years old, but you are still the same person. Perhaps what you mean is, it is part of the same continuity? But where exactly did the self come from anyway? The brain? Does it nerd to be an atomically precise neural network? Even if you are just the brsin, what is stopping an alternate version of yourself being born im the future or another universe?

 

[EvisceratedJester]

Your biology is always changing, it's not just one static thing. Your brain is totally different from yourself at 4 years old, but you are still the same person. Perhaps what you mean is, it is part of the same continuity? But where exactly did the self come from anyway? The brain? Does it nerd to be an atomically precise neural network? Even if you are just the brsin, what is stopping an alternate version of yourself being born im the future or another universe?

Just because your biology is always changing doesn't disprove anything that I said. Those changes would still relate to you as a person. The "self" isn't a constant. It's dynamic and changes over time as well, especially during the big developmental spurts one goes through during childhood and adolescents. Hell, your state of self can literally be punctured as a result of ways in which our brain processes the stimuli around us in relation to ourselves (an example of this is the rubber hand illusion) or through drugs (e.g. psychedelics). I don't understand what point you are tyring to make here. The "self" isn't some stagnant concept. Selfhood is something that develops over time with the rest of you.

 

[Valhala]

Yes.This is exactly what people didn't understand because there was no way of testing serotonin.Even hinduism and buddhism,believes in the soul concept.And the ancient hindus were pretty good with technology and architecture, but I think their science was different from the science of today.They were all about bio electricity.

In today's world we seemed to have discovered new concepts they didn't know of and the other way round is also true.There are things they knew that we are yet to discover.

In Buddhism, unlike Hinduism (where the concept of the soul is called atma) and most other religions, there is a concept of "bearer of the burden of moral responsibility" as, conditionally speaking, the pandam of the soul. In Buddhist ontology, this "bearer of the burden of moral responsibility" is determined by purposeful causality ( such as the term Causa finalis in Aristotle) and the basic difference between it and the classical, Hindu or Judeo-Christian concept of the soul is that it does not figure as an immortal, self-conscious and permanent individual entity but is presented as a mere depersonalized "bearer" of moral responsibility without any lasting qualities.

 

[Rhizomorph1]

The life after death debate and reincarnation scare comes from the concept of a soul existing.This has been strongly believed up until the scientific revolution and as scientists are only proving how brain is the vital organ that controls emotion.

Now that we have MRI scanning and scientists are proving that thought and emotion come from the same place, that is our brain, how valid is the concept of soul now?

And I think animals are sentient too,in their own way.Unless we have in depth research on these animals,we won't be able to verify whether they are truly aware or not.
This will prove that if a brain exists,then the being consciousness has to exist because where else is this mess coming from.

This will in turn disprove reincarnation and the concept of a soul will be demolished if the truth comes out.

In Buddhism if you practice kind deeds before dying you are likely to be reborn into a more peaceful place.

I don't believe in that shit despite practicing Buddhism, but if you're worried about it, just practice kindness and compassion before dying; i.e., how can you reduce the blow of trauma to your loved ones or those who discover the body? How can you contribute positively to the wellbeing of those you share your final hours with?

There's absolutely no soul in the Abrahamic (Christianity, Islam, etc.) sense as those religions are riddled with logical contradictions making them theologically & materially impossible (read up on the philosophical problem of evil and mind-body problem). The only way to reconcile these contradictions is to subscribe to actual magical statements of the sort: "god works in mysterious ways" implying were too dumb to understand said god. (In which case, we are not truly made in God's image, and it's some kind of sick joke that God would create our logical principles in an impossible means; God expects the impossible for us to enter heaven)

Non-abrahamic faiths generally don't condemn people to hell and there's little evidence to support their theological claims, but unlike Abrahamic faiths which are self-refuting, I suppose it's technically possible. Though I seriously doubt it.

Hope this helps ease your mind

Do good onto others and you will have no reason for concern.

Some write ups I shared on my socials:

 

[escape_from_hell]

Here's the thing, you already came into existence once, so what's stopping it from happening again? Hate to rain on everyone's parade, but I'm not sure death is an escape.

Yep. I do not necessarily subscribe to soul idea, or any spiritual mumbo jumbo. However the experiential aspect of being is modulated in some way that corresponds to but is clearly not taking place in what we 'observe' such as 3d space+time. You can take a drug that has a clear impact, like plugging up opioid receptors with agonists. So we have an observable thing corresponding to the sensations being experienced.

But the experience itself is in some other 'realm' if you will, we are in it but not outside it. So we are slaves within it. Like if you draw a 2d comic on paper, that comic will not have the faculties to explore the pencil and paper making it happen. This is not exactly analogous but basically there is some medium of experience. On the basic level we can just say the experience of self unique to us is that unique collection of opioid receptors being agonized causing a pleasant sensation unique to that exact chemical process. But in another sense it is like an addressing system. We don't have the complete picture. We can pinpoint things.

To be completely nonscientific, but sober about the prospects of the unfortunate circumstance of 'being a being' to put it one way...it is still strange we are "here" and I fear that "hell" has more evidence for it than pretty much anything else, since most experiences are hellish, and good experiences seem to exist merely for contrast to heighten the sensation of hell.