2007-02-24 05:55:30 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
One word for icarus62 BORING!
2007-02-24 05:59:29 · update #1
What exactly do you think a soul is? What properties does it have? What part of 'you' resides in the soul?
If it's postulated that consciousness, or awareness, or sense of self resides in the soul, it's difficult to see how this can be reconciled with the complete oblivion which accompanies general anaesthesia. How could a straightforward chemical, injected into the bloodstream, anaesthetise a soul so that it effectively ceases to exist during this time? If consciousness, in the form of a soul, were some kind of supernatural faculty, it would seem implausible that it could be completely disabled by a chemical.
How about some of the other things which we regard as essential parts of what makes a person what they are? How about love, compassion, reason, empathy, memory, conscious thought, character, 'spirituality' and so on? Well, there is really no plausible doubt that all these things are properties of the physical brain - We can alter all of these properties very simply with alcohol or other drugs, and observe how they change in people who have suffered significant brain damage. Previously placid people become uncontrollably violent, intelligent people become imbeciles, and so on. Stimulate the brain artificially, and the subject reports corresponding mental activity, e.g. 'religious experiences'. We can see from brain research that all these things - thought, emotion, sensation, character traits and so on - are correlated with activity in the brain, and some things can be identified with specific areas of the brain.
So, if all these faculties and characteristics of what we regard as the 'person' reside in the physical brain, as seems to be undeniably the case, and they all cease when the person dies, then what is left to be attributed to a 'soul'? As far as I can ascertain: Nothing. If there is no part of us that can continue after death, then there is no 'afterlife' for us, for cats and dogs or any other creature.
2007-02-24 05:58:23 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
no and no.
a soul isn't just just a mind, as it is ethereal. all animals have a mind (no matter how limited) but is not ethereal.
it's like this: a soul is made up of the mind (ability to think, imagine, learn, interpret data, decide), will (conscience, understanding of morality), and emotions, all "encased" in a form intangible and invisible, that can only extract data from the outside world, not interact with it physically. A dog/cat/any creature other than a human does not have a soul, as their minds aren't encased in an ethereal form. They have 2/4 components (as they can reason [right and wrong are a "I get punished" situation for animals] and have emotions) that make up a soul.
2007-02-24 06:06:57 · answer #2 · answered by Hey, Ray 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ALL living creatures on this planet feel something! (Pain, sadness, fear, hunger, etc etc) Therefore i think it is correct to consider that dogs / cats / all animals / creatures have something relevant to the 'soul'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul
2007-02-28 03:53:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe so. The soul is generally mind, will, and emotion.
2007-02-24 05:59:46 · answer #4 · answered by RB 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No one has a soul. "Soul" is a man-made construct used to make us think we are more than what we are. Smarmy preachers, politicians, and televangelists exploit this feeling in man.
2007-02-24 05:58:50 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Dogs have souls ,Cats have urine.
2007-02-24 05:59:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm fairly certain my cat EATS souls.
~Morg~
2007-02-24 06:01:50 · answer #7 · answered by morgorond 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
define 'soul' and we may be able to respond!
2007-02-24 05:58:35 · answer #8 · answered by barry 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not like we do. They do, however, have the spirit of God within them.
2007-02-24 06:00:31 · answer #9 · answered by great gig in the sky 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, its not taught in the bible,
2007-02-24 09:23:59 · answer #10 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋