Does the idea of a bodyless soul make sense? Could the 'soul' stay sane?

IronGland

As I lay in my pod yesterday I began to think of the following. In many religions-Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, as well as Greek Philosophy-attempts are made to mortify the body, to respond as little as often to it's carnal needs and what-not. This is possible to be prepared for a new existence as just a disembodied soul, in some heavenly spirit realm or what-not.

tetrapod.sapien

However, this begs the question-is it possible to truely 'exist' without feeling pleasure, pain etc.? How will we see? Would we just "feel" and "Think" feelings and emotions, like a dream? Not being able to touch, smell and what-not? Part of our mood, after all, is directed by our physical surroundings.

ya, it's kind of absurd, hey? a further question i always wondered about as a xian, was how the "spiritual" interacted with the physical? spirit entities would have to have some sort of user interface to play with atoms and molecules. i mean, how else would it interact with the physical. the whole concept reeks of credulity, let alone paradox.

will the soul still carry that condition without the brain?

according to the rules of logic, yes. if not, how bloody cruel would that be? a mentally challenged person, has a fully functioning soul within some cavity in his body, that is just awaiting death so it can float out and hang with the rest of the souls.

a mentally challeneged soul...great!

Carmel

We know as little about the powers of the soul and afterlife than we did about this phenomenal existence when we were in the matrix of the womb. What the heck were these hands, fingers and feet for? And no consciousness of eyes or our nose even though it was "right there" we needed them not nor were we cognizant of them or their future use, upon which we would depend. carmel The animal, be he never so highly developed, cannot imagine the intelligence of man, neither can he realize the nature of his soul. But, again, this does not prove that man is without intellect, or without soul. It only demonstrates this, that one form of existence is incapable of comprehending a form superior to itself. (Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 92) carmel

minimus

i thought you left.

Elsewhere

I like to watch "technology" shows and every now and then they will propose the idea of having the human mind uploaded into a computer. It is obvious that whoever is thinking up such things is failing to realize that much of the "human condition" is made up of all of the subtle chemical reactions occurring in the brain and the rest of the body.

I find it very hard to believe that one could completely separate the mind from the body because the two are so tightly intertwined. It is possible to make changes in the body that have profound affects on the mind. It is also possible to make changes in the mind that have profound affects on the body.

Even if one could map all of the pathways and "programming" in the brain that creates a consciousness, the end result would be a consciousness that was not entirely human.

There is also that fact that if one could "upload" the mind into a computer, the computer would need to have programmed equivalents of neurotransmitters, hormones and the many other chemicals that interact with the brain. Right now a human's personality can be modified by using different medications that alter these chemicals and how they interact with the brain. In a computer simulation a technician could literally "tweak" the personality that is in the computer simulation by modifying the programmed equivalents of these different chemicals. This would most certainly bring up all sorts of ethical and religious issues regarding what the "person" is since the "person" could literally be modified on a whim.

stevenyc

Who's to say that thought processes have anything to do with soul.

steve

zen nudist

you are reality dreaming.....

what you are dreaming about may be reality itself, or your true nature, or it may have no reference to your true nature, and there is no actual way to tell which is which.

we can all be locked into a shared matrix like dream and never know otherwise.... the fact is that everything you know is your own minds invention and need not map reality at all in any way shape or form.... especially if you are some sort of immortal energy which cannot be dispersed nor destroyed by anything....which of course is always a possibility....

the buddhist view of the bardo is similiar to what happens to those who go into sensory deprivation tanks for several days... freeded from the shared data stream, the mind implodes...

Narkissos

No belief can stand the test of imagination: imagine "God," "heaven," "soul," and it suddenly becomes meaningless.

Still when I say "I" I can't help positing a fictional self distinct from "my body". Even if I call it "soul" I will say "my soul," still distinguishing me from "it". I may know I am nothing but a talking animal but I can never speak as such -- to speak I have to posit "myself" one step farther from both reality and imagination in the mirror play of language.

Understand the fiction as fiction and it becomes very simple.

(Glad to "see" you still posting IG... )

Satanus

Irongland is not here, yet, his threads continue. How then could not the soul continue on without the material body? Aaah, i joke, i joke. While the body is powered by chemical engines of various sorts all meshed together, there are other processes that result and drive them. For instance, a decision. What is that? Who does it? What causes it? What results? Perhaps there are energy fields throughout the body that are tied to the chemical interactions that are ongoing. Perhaps some of these result from the chenistry. There also energy feilds that are underlying the chemical actions. Acupuncture has shown this, as it is based on them.

S

Honesty

I guess we'll have to see what it all means when we die.

Does the idea of a bodyless soul make sense? Could the 'soul' stay sane?

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