Do all humans have souls?

[AlphaBravo]

Anyone every tried astral projection? Have your soul floating about with a cord attached to your body?

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

Anyone every tried astral projection? Have your soul floating about with a cord attached to your body?

Wasn't nogard an expert astral projector? Or was it empirex?

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Wasn't nogard an expert astral projector? Or was it empirex?

That was nogard. Spoke to God and everything on his travels.

 

[Sherbang]

Yep. Your brain creates DMT when you sleep.
People who take the DMT drug have this "out of body" floating experience a lot.
.

What's your point? Every experience you have corresponds to some chemical created by your brain. It makes no difference to the 'reality' of something.

Just because your brain thinks something is real, doesn't mean it is.

If everyone's brain thinks something is real, does that mean it's real?

 

[AlphaBravo]

That was nogard. Spoke to God and everything on his travels.

Well, there you go then...but the inference is then that only your soul can speak to God, innit?

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

What's your point? Every experience you have corresponds to some chemical created by your brain. It makes no difference to the 'reality' of something.


If everyone's brain thinks something is real, does that mean it's real?

What do you mean? Something that is real either has physical properties or has some parameters than can be measured.

 

[kingrob]

Funny you should start this thread, as I read something about this last night in Chapter 10, verse 28, Book of Matthew.

Here goes :

28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Source : http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Matthew-Chapter-10/

So, to answer your question, yes, we do have souls.

 

[AlphaBravo]

If everyones brain thinks it is real then it only means that everyone whos brain thinks it is real thinks it is real. And then they start a religion or cult or some activist group. And indeed, there is no sense in trying to argue or endeavor to convince them otherwise.

 

[Sherbang]

What do you mean? Something that is real either has physical properties or has some parameters than can be measured.

Is that how you define real or are you stating that as fact?

What are 'physical properties' and do they exist independently of our perception?

Was the feeling of joy I felt upon waking this morning real?
Joy has no physical properties or any parameters than can be measured.

 

[DrewChan]

Just because your brain thinks something is real, doesn't mean it is. Otherwise we might as well say unicorns are real because people see them in their dreams.

You can't base an argument on this - it could explain away our existance completely - so somewhat useless

 

[Sherbang]

If everyones brain thinks it is real then it only means that everyone whos brain thinks it is real thinks it is real. And then they start a religion or cult or some activist group. And indeed, there is no sense in trying to argue or endeavor to convince them otherwise.

Does this apply to scientific methodology which, afterall, studies subjective experience and isolates those elements of our subjective experience which we agree is the same for all of us?

 

[AlphaBravo]

Does this apply to scientific methodology which, afterall, studies subjective experience and isolates those elements of our subjective experience which we agree is the same for all of us?

Of course not.

 

[Mortymoose]

Why do you think any humans have souls?

What part of the body causes me to know right from wrong? To feel hatred and love? That feeling of sadness at losing a family member....... we know so little about ourselves....

 

[ShaunSA]

What part of the body causes me to know right from wrong? To feel hatred and love? That feeling of sadness at losing a family member....... we know so little about ourselves....

Exactly. However saying "soul" and thinking that explains anything is hardly a solution

 

[Scooby_Doo]

Is that how you define real or are you stating that as fact?

What are 'physical properties' and do they exist independently of our perception?

Was the feeling of joy I felt upon waking this morning real?
Joy has no physical properties or any parameters than can be measured.

Stick an EKG to your head and watch the flashy bits of your brain when you are 'joyful'. That is a parameter that can be measured in my books.

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

Is that how you define real or are you stating that as fact?

What are 'physical properties' and do they exist independently of our perception?

Was the feeling of joy I felt upon waking this morning real?
Joy has no physical properties or any parameters than can be measured.

I'm not a neuroscientist but I'm pretty sure psychological states can be measured to some degree and I am sure in time this will become more and more accurate.

 

[Sherbang]

Stick an EKG to your head and watch the flashy bits of your brain when you are 'joyful'. That is a parameter that can be measured in my books.

Aside from the fact that 'EKG' relates to the heart and not the brain (perhaps you mean an EEG) it does not measure joy, it measures electrical impulses that take place when one is experiencing joy. It's not the same thing unless you think eating the menu is as good as eating the meal. If an alien who knows nothing about people or joy was given these measurements it would tell them nothing about what joy feels like.
If you stick an EEG to my head you can also watch and measure the flashy bits of my brain when I'm astral projecting - does this mean astral projection is real? Or perhaps you are saying the joy I felt was not real?

 

[Scooby_Doo]

Aside from the fact that 'EKG' relates to the heart and not the brain (perhaps you mean an EEG) it does not measure joy, it measures electrical impulses that take place when one is experiencing joy. It's not the same thing unless you think eating the menu is as good as eating the meal. If an alien who knows nothing about people or joy was given these measurements it would tell them nothing about what joy feels like.
If you stick an EEG to my head you can also watch and measure the flashy bits of my brain when I'm astral projecting - does this mean astral projection is real? Or perhaps you are saying the joy I felt was not real?

Still measurable...

It means your perception of whatever is happening is happening in your head.

 

[Sherbang]

Of course not.

Why not?

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

joelus, you are basically trying to move the argument into a realm where nothing needs explanation. In this case there is absolutely no point in even debating the matter as everything is subjective. Bring the discussion back to a level where everybody can see the same evidence, work with it and come to conclusions.