Why do people insist that the soul exists(the brain is the proven center of emotion and intellect)?

Question

in other words, what reason have we got to believe that the soul exists. have you ever felt anything that cannot be described in terms of emotion or thought? probably not..Morality is also not a proof for the soul, as not everyone is moral and also there is no universal morality.Please do not tell me to read the Bible or anything religiously oriented, unless it is backed up with science or it is a part of a serious argument

Answer 1

Have you ever had an unexplained moment? Perhaps an amazing coincidence which left you dumbfounded.

For instance, did you know that Fabio the male model, was hit in the face by a low flying goose while riding a rollercoaster on it's opening day in Virginia? Seemingly random or divine intervention?

That may prove the existance of a cruel and petty god, much like the greeks, where this adonis was struck down for being concieted. Still it doesn't prove the existance of a soul.

When people think of a soul i think they mean that we are more than the sum of our parts. Some form of energy that can not be destroyed, readily. Perhaps this in the hope of an afterlife.

But does the belief in a soul also mean the belief in an afterlife?

Your question is a bigger one than you realize, it touches on god, death, afterlife, morailty, inherint good and evil, and so on.

For instance are there good and evil souls? Are there evil creatures? Or do they turn evil later after some experience?

But to cut it short. Yes we have a soul. It is what binds us to everything. Look at it as an address for yourself in time and space. A quantum signature. A way for you to have reference in this universe. At least that's what I think.

-see string theory the special on Nova.

Also why do you separate the brain and the soul? Could it not be possible that the soul is stored in the brain?

to interject on a previous answer about thought happening after the brain showed no activity, well then, could it not be possible that either we aren't advanced enough to detect the activity or, in fact that the thoughts happen in a moment before or after the dead time?

I hope there is a soul. But even if there is isn't. I'm gonna come back to haunt this world somehow.

Answer 2

Felt something not described as emotion or thought? Yes. I have had things happen to me that cannot be described with simple words in terms of emotions or thought.
A soul has NOTHING to do with faith.
A soul is your essence that ties together everything you do, think, say and how you go about every aspect of your life. It is sort of your personality to the extreme or your genetic programming of how you handle situations.
Some believe that your remaining electrical energy is released when you die and it has a wavelength specifically matched to your person. The energy remains semi coherent for a time and this is your "soul". I personally believe that it is just energy released like a car battery discharging setting on the ground. The energy has to go somewhere.
One thing you have to remember though. Even if you cant see it doesnt mean that it doesnt exist. If that were true, we would have never had the foundation of theoretical physics. No nuclear bomb, no quarks or atoms, no nanotechnology or quantum theory etc...
Maybe there is something to the energy release theory and maybe a soul, but we cannot disprove it because we cannot PROVE it at the moment.

Answer 3

Actually, the Bible backs you up on this point. Immortalilty of the soul is a false teaching.

The common belief is that the human soul does not die but is deathless, deathproof, immortal; that since the human body is observed to die and crumble to dust, there must be some part of man that survives the death of the body and it must be an invisible, untouchable something called the “soul” or “spirit.” Nearly all religions teach that man has an immortal soul, but what does the Bible actually say?

Genesis 2:7 tells us, “Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul.” The account does not say that God implanted in man an immortal soul. It says that when God’s power energized Adam’s body, he “came to be a living soul.” So man is a soul. He does not have a soul. Nowhere does the Bible say that part of Adam was immortal. On the contrary, his existence was conditional, based on obedience to God’s law. If he broke that law, what then? Eternal life in the spirit realm? Not at all. Instead, he would “positively die.” (Genesis 2:17)

Further, if Adam had been created with an immortal soul that would be tormented forever in a fiery hell if he sinned, why was he not warned about this? Why was he only told that he would die and return to dust? How unfair it would have been to condemn Adam to an eternity of torture for disobedience, yet not warn him about it! However, with God “there is no injustice.” (Deuteronomy 32:4) There was no need to warn Adam about a fiery hell for the immortal souls of the wicked. Such a hell did not exist, nor did immortal souls exist. (Jeremiah 19:5; 32:35) There is no eternal torment in the dust of the ground.

The original-language terms (Heb., ne´phesh [נפ?]; Gr., psy•khe´ [ψυχή]) as used in the Scriptures show “soul” to be a person, an animal, or the life that a person or an animal enjoys.

The connotations that the English “soul” commonly carries in the minds of most persons are not in agreement with the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words as used by the inspired Bible writers. "Ne´phesh" occurs 754 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. According to The Dictionary of Bible and Religion, it “usually refers to the entire living being, to the whole individual.”

The word translated “soul” (psy•khe´) appears more than a hundred times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Like ne´phesh this word often refers to the whole person. For example, consider the following statements: “My soul is troubled.” (John 12:27) “Fear began to fall upon every soul.” (Acts 2:43) “Let every soul be in subjection to the superior authorities.” (Romans 13:1) “Speak consolingly to the depressed souls.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14) … The emphasis is on the whole self.

Answer 4

OK, first of all the brain is only a nuero-shock absorber. It has very little to do with thinking. It is basically a sort of mechanical switchboard that translates thoughts into action and co-ordinates energy.
Where did you get this "proven center of emotion and intellect"
from?? This is false data.
Chopping up or messing around chemically or electrically with a person's brain does abosolutely nothing to improve or help an individual's emotional state or intellect.
In fact it only worsens it.
There is plenty of observable "proof" of this fact around.

If you want proof that the soul exists try this simple little experiment:

Close your eyes and think of a cat.
Get a picture of a cat in your mind.
It can be any kind of cat, one you've seen (from memory) or one you create yourself.
When you have done this ask yourself this question:
Who is looking at that picture?

Answer 5

If you are basing your conclusion to your own question on the lack of scientific proof of a soul, then you are about as much of an idiot as people who base their opinions on subjects DESPITE scientific proof(i.e. evolution). How long has the whole of science been accurate? How about never? Does the human race know all there is to know about every single thing, including the things that are intangible? No! Is there even a method to go about proving whether or not there is a soul? Not yet! So HOW would you be able to make a conclusion based on scientific fact? To some, the soul is, to some it is not. There is no scientific standard to prove one way or the other. So don't engage other people in debates over a moot point. Think what you want to think and realize that if someone thinks different than you, there is no way to prove you right and them wrong, or the opposite. To each, his own.

Answer 6

The brain is a processor that records data and interprets it. Usually emotions are experienced in the solar plexus area, love is felt in the heart area and thoughts are felt in the mind. All are interpreted by the brain so that is where we sense they originate. The soul is an interplay of energies. We contact it when we aspire to spiritual experiences. When we contemplate, meditate, pray or invoke higher energies we may experience something new which doesn't fit into the categories of feeling or thought. It is like a doorway opens and suddenly a lot of pieces fit together that never fit together before or you suddenly realize a truth that didn't make sense before. It goes beyond words in our current vocabulary. It's similiar to feeling fire within your mind lighting areas that had previously been dark. I wish I could show it to you but I do hope you experience it someday soon. Once you experience it you will no longer be able to deny its existence.

Answer 7

They have faith, that's first premise.
When you are a believer, you need to have a goal, a destiny. Religion gives an empty life a meaning and a reason to be despite the fact your only achievement is faith in itself.
If their beliefs are true, then soul is the recipient for an immortal entity, that gives you a better level on a promised afterlife.
In a mechanical universe, BEING is a phase of matter that by biological laws came to be. When its time is up, matter decays and persons is no more.
Soul is a way they came up with to "survive" cold mechanical end.
Soul connects them with a deity and this signals them as superior, chosen and favorites among "creation".
Soul is but an alibi.

Answer 8

WE DON'T. yes you can say that that you have been born and that you are living. yes you can say that we all have a brain. i dont think that we can say that we have a soul. i know that we can walk the earth and attain morals. the question is that "can we continue living after our physical bodies give out?" well you have to admit that no one comes back to life on earth after death. i have talked to the smartest minds and no one can explain that in a way that i would never question it again. most of life though is a mystery and we question things everyday. questioning life everyday exists. being born not knowing why you have been born exists. exerything that happens between birth and death exists. what happens before and after death is a mystery. we know that time exists and is never a mystery. so therefore if you get an education and believe, then you can insist that the soul exists.

Answer 9

The brain is not the proven center of emotion and intellect. Activity takes place in the brain when certain activities happen, but there is no proof that these things are originating in the brain. People who have had near death experiences, NO brain activity for extended periods of time, still have thoughts, memories, emotions and visual experiences.

Answer 10

New Scientist covered this in an article a while back. In the evolutionary process, it is statistically better to believe things that aren't there than to not believe things that are there. For example, if you believe there is a tiger hiding in the grass, you are more likely to survive and have offspring than someone who doesn't believe there is a tiger in the grass. This behavioral need led to believing authority figures, believing in anything that might give optimism or hope under dire circumstances, etc.
There is a specific part of our brain for believing things, also. It's an integral part of our physical psychology that establishes our internal dialogue and trust sytem.
Religion is the marketing wing.