Quick question, or please someone straighten me out!
The Bible refers to the heart as the seed of motivation. Is this the literal heart? If so (as I was taught) then do people with artificial hearts have no motivation at all?
Heart is seed of motivation?
by Coop Man 11 Replies latest watchtower bible
-
-
Sara Annie
If we could all learn that it's generally imprudent and unreasonable to use the terms "literal" and "bible" in the same sentence when referring to eachother, these discussions could be avaoided alltogether.
I'm just sayin'.
-
JamesThomas
If the Bible has any significance at all, it is not in literal/fundamental/carnal interpretation; as the Bible was meant to be interpreted "spiritually". So, I would say it is not referring to the physical heart, but rather a far deeper sense of Being. Religions like Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism are generally much more aware of deeper levels, than Christians, Jews and Moslems who generally wade about in the shallower waters of carnal/temporal/ material fundamentalism. j
-
mizpah
I think most Bible readers understand it symbolically. The "heart" is used as the seat of emotion. And most people act on emotion more than intellect. The Society once tried to make an issue of personality changes that occurred with people who had heart transplants as if to suggest that it may have a literal connection. But when the procedure became more common, it seemed to drop this ridiculous position.
-
Adam
You wanna straight answer? Here you go. Back when the bible was written, civilization did not know as much as we do today about the human body. Many ancient cultures actually thought the gray matter in the skull was of no use whatsoever. Anyway, at the time that quote was written, it was not known that the brain is in fact the seat of motivation. More importance was put on the heart than reality dictated. So, since it was just men writing, they wrote what they knew. We know better today so you can forget all about that quote and sleep better.
-
mizpah
We're not so removed from "ancient cultures" as we might like to think. The heart is still used as the "seat of our emotion." One only has to listen to the songs or read the modern literature to hear about the "heartbreak" or "heartache" of a disappointed love.
Undoubtedly, it has a scientific basis. When we're under emotional pressure, be it good or bad, our heart beats faster to cause the flow of blood to supply oxygen to the various parts of the body. So, literally the heart has a function. But to the ancients and to the romantics, the heart is not merely a pump...but the very source of these emotions.
-
simplesally
WT has corrected this mis often quoted thought.......heart is the seat of motivation. Mizpah has it right.
-
Poztate
Yes,Without a doubt the literal heart is the seat of motivation.It must be so because.....WE SAID SO
"How Is Your Heart?
The Bible does not speak of a symbolic or spiritual heart in contradistinction to the fleshly or literal heart, just as it does not speak of a symbolic mind, and thus we do not want to make the mistake of viewing the literal heart as merely a fleshly pump as does orthodox physiology today." (The Watchtower, March 1, 1971, page 134)"The sensations of the heart are recorded on the brain. It is here that the heart brings to bear on the mind its desires and its affections in arriving at conclusions having to do with motivations." (The Watchtower, March 1, 1971, page 134)
"There is a close interrelationship between the heart and the mind, but they are two different faculties, centering in different locations. The heart is a marvelously designed muscular pump, but, more significantly, our emotional and motivating capacities are built within it. Love, hate, desire (good and bad), preference for one thing over another, ambition, fear -- in effect, all that serves to motivate us in relationship to our affections and desires springs from the heart." (The Watchtower, March 1, 1971, page 134)
-
Poztate
HOLD IT ...HANG ON...NEW LIGHT...
"Determined to Serve Jehovah With a Complete Heart
So the answer to the question...Is your heart the seat of motivation is...
The ancient Egyptians believed that the physical heart was the seat of intelligence and the emotions. They also thought that it had a will of its own. The Babylonians said that the heart housed the intellect as well as love. The Greek philosopher Aristotle taught that it was the seat of the senses and the domain of the soul. But as time passed and knowledge increased, these views were discarded. Finally the heart became known for what it is, a pump to circulate the blood throughout the body." (The Watchtower, June 1, 1986, page 15) -
one_ugly_time
Now I know why I didn't need any education. Those wordly teachers must have been teaching orthodox physiology. LOL
It makes perfect sense to me, since if I didn't have a heart I wouldn't have much motivation. Maybe they discovered this in orthodox biology. As far as the artificial heart goes, maybe it's just becomes artificial motivation, so you end up doing things but never sure why you feel like doing them. Sort of like artificial intelligence, it doesn't really think but it still makes decisions.