What is spirit, exactly?

by Viviane 609 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Splash

  Thanks snare,

  So we can identify the chemical cause of an emotion and observe the physical consequence of an emotion, but the emotion itself, what is that comprised of?

  I only added this question since it seems to be of a similar composition to spirit.
  We know it's there because we can observe the effect of an emotion, much like the spirit manifest itself at pentecost.

  Maybe a memory is a better comparison.
  We know that memories are stored in the brain, but when we dissect a brain all we see are physical things, yet a memory itself is not a physical thing, although it is stored in a physical thing.

  I think there is more than one type of spirit as well.
  Angels are said to be spirits, Gods power is described as a spirit, Man is said to have a spirit.
  I don't think any of these are the same thing, so the word 'spirit' seems to be a generic term for various forms of dynamism.

  Splash
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  cofty

  when we dissect a brain all we see are physical things, yet a memory is not a physical thing

  Actually it is. It is a set of connections between neurons. It was announced yesterday that it may be possible to use lasers to delete specific memories.
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  prologos

  All the EFFECTS you so well describe S&R , and even the chemical-electrical SITUATION of the brain that give rise to them, can or should be possible to be detected, but

  the word is give 'RISE'

  which implies that the way we perceive information, conditions are a notch above the mere physical, material domain in which they occur, because

  how can you say that your's or your patient's or your reader's feelings, thoughts are not real, only queer, meaningless arrangements of matter,energy in time?
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  KateWild

  We know that memories are stored in the brain, but when we dissect a brain all we see are physical things, yet a memory itself is not a physical thing, although it is stored in a physical thing.- Splash

  I can go with that memory is spirit. As I have stated earlier on in this thread, I believe spirit is the animating force within living things, I also believe the memory animates living things. So I have my answer as to what spirit is. I doubt it will satisfy everyone, but I am satisfied.

  We don't need absolutes in life to make us feel content and satisfied. The WT tought us to be very concrete in our thinking and that can be a hinderance.

  Kate xx
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  cantleave

  So Sam is electricity "spirit" then? Neural activity is electro-chemical activity.
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  KateWild

  So Sam is electricity "spirit" then?-Angus

  In living things, I am satisfied this is the case, but not in inanimate objects. I believe it's the animating force in living things only, so the elcetro-chemical activity in the brain is the spirit. But oxygen in humans and anilmals animates them too, and CO2 in plants animates them. So the spirit is the combination of factors that animate living things.

  Kate / Sam xx
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  Splash

  cofty Actually it is. It is a set of connections between neurons. It was announced yesterday that it may be possible to use lasers to delete specific memories.

  I have to say that I'm constantly amazed by medical progress.

  But if a memory is a physical thing, why can it not be observed? Only the memory 'holders' can be observed.
  By destroying certain neurons with a laser, we are only destroying the memory holder, thus losing the memory.

  Splash.
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  galaxie

  As spirit can be descriptive so also emotion,

  These words are part of our vocabulary defined and described from ancient times to allow us to understand in a spoken or written form physical reactions influencing and eminating from us.eg certain body language would denote fear or joy .the ancients through evolutionary language have brought us to the words like spirit or emotion and I'm sure many other words which share the same origins.

  All made possible by the air we breath.

  Photosynthesis is the culprit for better or worse. I'm sure most of us are grateful to that evolutionary process (tongue in cheek)!!!!
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  caliber

  spirit is the animating force within living things~~ Katewild

  ....everything else is just "the nuts and bolts "of people wanting to know how this wonder of God works

  Why are many not emotionally satisfied with this answer ?
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  jgnat

  But if a memory is a physical thing, why can it not be observed? - Splash

  Ooh! Ooh! I got this! Some things are so small or fleeting, one can only track their effects, or where they have been. To get an understanding of this, set up an ingenious experiment based on your prediction. If the fleeting object leaves a trail as expected, you have "observed" it.

  http://home.web.cern.ch/topics/large-hadron-collider

  Our capabilities to image the brain - incredible resolution - three dimensionally - IRT - and with new dyes to track pathways, means we are getting a much better picture of how a living brain works.

  Saying we can't observe directly because when we cut it open all we see is flesh doesn't count. The stomach stops working when we cut it open, too.