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Two things need to be answered in order to answer this question, in my opinion. 1.) Define a soul, and 2.) how much of a human can you remove, or how far can yo
by lwansbrough 7y ago
Two things need to be answered in order to answer this question, in my opinion. 1.) Define a soul, and 2.) how much of a human can you remove, or how far can you zoom in before what you're looking at doesn't have a soul?
I would argue that cells don't have souls, and by extension, humans don't have souls. But if you disagree, do atoms have souls? If no, and humans are made of cells which are made of molecules which are comprised of atoms, where does the soul come in? At any rate, I accept that's a very scientific perspective - but it's my perspective.
- DonaldFisk 7y agoWhat's your definition of a soul? Cells don't have intelligence, but people obviously do, so it's possible for all of something's parts to lack something that the whole has.
- lwansbrough 7y agoI don’t believe in a soul in the classical sense. I believe consciousness (which many people attribute as being part of the soul) is just a complicated loop of observe-interpret-act-reflect, which I suppose is programmed by our experiences during our life. Intelligence in the sense that you’re describing it is basically the increasing complication of a system that adapts to its environment. So I would say cells by that definition do have intelligence, but it’s not complex. I do think an emergent property of complexity is consciousness, but the “soul” as many people think of it is more than just consciousness. The idea of the soul as something detached from the body and non-transient is just wishful thinking.
- lordnacho 7y ago> I would argue that cells don't have souls, and by extension, humans don't have souls. It must be an emergent property. Cells don't have nationality either, but through some complex interactions people have nationality.
- booleandilemma 7y agoNationality is just something we made up though. Nations are also something we made up. Only the earth exists, and its geography. We could give cells nationality if we wanted to.