Is there such a thing as a soul and if so what is it?

I think that a soul would be the source of a person's emotions and values, dictionary.com defines the word, "soul," as, "The animating and vital principle in humans, credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion and often conceived as an immaterial entity." However it seems that the definitions of the word "soul" and the word "brain" arevery simmilar. The same website defines the word "brain" as, "The portion of the vertebrate central nervous system that is enclosed within the cranium, continuous with the spinal cord, and composed of gray matter and white matter. It is the primary center for the regulation and control of bodily activities, receiving and interpreting sensory impulses, and transmitting information to the muscles and body organs. It is also the seat of consciousness, thought, memory, and emotion." These conflicting definitions seem to discredit the idea of a soul. There is also the fact that people alter their emotions with the aid of chemicals further proving that the seat of emotion is in the brain.

Thats just my opinion, but i really am just posting this to see what all of you think about the idea of souls.

[Metal_Demon]

This is what I believe

Yes we have souls. They are made of an unclassified form of energy, one which cannot be harnessed by any means, except for very strong magic.

I believe a sould is not a thinking, operating entity, therefore it cannot feel, which disproves hell in my books. Rather, a soul is an imprint of all of the mental energy we output on our time on earth. As we know, energy cannot be created or destroyed, so instead, consumed mental enerygy changes from electricity into this unknown form of energy, and is built up until our deaths, when the brain can harness it no more.

This also brings in my theory of their being 'weak souls' and 'strong souls'. For example, a newborn would have a weak soul, because they have completed less mental processes, than say, a 60 year old man. The 60 year old man would have a strong soul, as he has completed more mental processes throughout his life, and therefore has built up more mental energy to release.



What happens after the release of the soul is still a mystery to me.



-MD

[Beany]

Perhaps, the vibrations of this energy (you) has not met with the vibrations of god. And drifts through god until it becomes pulled towards the experience of positive vibrations. This is when it enters a being with senses, so that it can be reborn and continue to experience the positive vibrations so that it balances out.

What we call 'fear' is the ignorance of positive vibrations, and once we confront fear, the vibrations cancel each other out and take us closer to god.

Or something along these lines anyway.



[This message has been edited by Beany (edited 07-07-2003).]

Metal, i like your conservation of energy idea, it seems pretty logical too. So taking it a step farther what if souls are recycled into new bodies and we just dont remember previous lives, kinda a twist on reincarnation. Who knows what really happens, but its interesting to think about.