Do you believe in the idea of a soul? If so, can you explain what a soul is?

I believe in "essence." You could call that soul, I guess, but I don't, because soul is often defined in some christian point fo view that I don't agree with.

I don't think that our essence is anything really supernatural, its just the aquired being that we have through life. Emotion, experince, knowledge, all this leads to making an essence.

Its somthing that I feel you can sense about a person as well, not this wholely mystical idea. You know, when you meet someone and you just get "that vibe" from them. That is their essence. Perfectly natural, as a person would act a certain way due to how they've lived their lives, but not exactly somthing you can clearly pin-point. Thus, my belief.

Interesting. Your soul or essence has no bearing on an afterlife possibility?

I don't believe in an afterlife, so no.

Just to be clear, your "essence" is really just a category--a way of grouping all of those things like emotion, experience, and knowledge--rather than an actual existing thing.

It's like taking a group of students and calling them a "class." It's not like the "class" is some independent thing--rather, a collection of other things grouped together and named "a class."

I think the concept of god led to the concept of the soul. My general understanding of the soul is that its that part of you that exist in you now & in the afterlife. It is that ethereal, eternal part you that goes to heaven or hell or an afterlife. The soul doesn't die in most readings. It's either damned or redeemed in some way. Its an immortality concept. That's the perception I have of what a soul is supposed to be.

I was told once that some slight change in weight at death is evidence of the soul's existence but I'm kinda skeptical about that. Supposedly the existence of ghosts prove the existence of the soul but I'm skeptical of that evidence too thus also skeptical of the latter.

Interestingly there's the phrase "I ate your soul" being thrown around by kids on the internet nowadays. A new height in human ego that it can cannibalize the eternal essence of another or a new low in horror, however you want to see it. A certain joy in being a demon perhaps as adults or older siblings sometimes call them.

I would claim that a "class" does exist though. Just like a corperation exists, it can be created though you can't actually touch it. US law sets up for this type of thing, I'd say that natural law sets up for the same event with our essence.

In this case, your "self" is greater than the sum of the parts (just like a corporation is more than just a conglomerate of workers). Yes?

There is some evidence of that in nature, wherein particular atoms/chemicals/organisms take on different characteristics when they're in a big enough group. An example might be a drop of water, or a snowflake.

Pretty much, yeah.

Do you feel that this "essence" changes, then?

It would have to. We devlop it, we create it, it has to change.

Well, I believe in the soul, your entire personality, feelings, emotions, and things such as these are the soul. Emotional pain is also the pain of the soul, and, to be poetic, love is the ecstasy of the soul. On the subject of an afterlife, I'm a Christian who believes the soul goes to heaven or hell, respectively, but thats another topic entirely.

With all due respect,
~~~Mr. Cain and Mr. Abel

May I ask if someone is lobotomized then, is a part of their soul taken, as this affects the way they would react emmotionally & their personality? Is the soul in some limbo if one is in a coma? Can a soul be killed by drugs? Did it exist at physical conception? Did it exist before physical conception? Your description leaves me questions Cain & Abel.

Delta, is your essence a concious state of being?

And such questions I meant to leave to you, so that your wandering mind may bring them back. Because I have semi-explanations, but I'm not an all-knowing being, I also lack a PHD in souls, so again, my further explanations may be lacking.

Lobotomy: I have to return this question with one of my own. After someone has a lobotomy, does their entire personality change, or do only certain aspects change? Do they feel different about subjects they used to love or hate, or are they indifferent?

Coma: No. Because a coma does not affect the way your personality is in its entirety, and it is simply like a prolonged slumber.

Drugs: I would say drugs do kill a soul in its entirety, because you could be the nicest person on the planet and be completely altered by the affects of drugs. Drugs have a negative effect on a person's personality and emotions.

Physical Conception: When you were little, did you love your dad or your mom more? When you were just a tiny baby, you had different feelings about different things. You cried when you were sad, you laughed when you were happy, you screamed when you were angry. Now, as a Christian, I believe your soul is not initially created until it has its use; HOWEVER I also believe that God knew who you were going to be before physical conception, and therefore your soul existed before it was put into you; which is as soon as you leave the womb. So, that's where I stand on that.

With all due respect,
~~~Mr. Cain and Mr. Abel

Why after you leave the womb?

Well, thats only a personal belief of mine, but I believe after it leaves the womb because that is when the baby uses its feelings and developes a personality.

With all due respect,
~~~Mr. Cain and Mr. Abel

Not true. Babies can feel pain long before they leave the womb, for example. And personality is in development as soon as the baby is conceived--everything from genetics to biological environment (food, lifestyle of mother) are all factors that create a person's personality.

There is the quote in the Bible that God "knew you in the womb." Why wouldn't the soul be infused in the body prior to leaving the womb?

I stand moved and corrected. Consider yourself proud that you convinced me otherwise. Then again, I'm only 13 and I haven't been through the Bible all the way yet. Thanks for showing me this so that my view can further expand.

With all due respect,
~~~Mr. Cain and Mr. Abel

You're welcome. I think we're all here with the openness to stand corrected once in a while.

And God bless the fact that in this forum you can actually debate instead of having to deal with phraises like "Whatever, you're wrong" and "I don't care, you suck!"

Anyway, I've renewed my views about the soul, and to be on topic, and reiteration, I do believe in the soul.

With all due respect,
~~~Mr. Cain and Mr. Abel

I don't believe in the soul.

Without reading any post here except the first (which asks the question), here's my answer:

The word "soul" is a very general term, believe it or not. For example, some believe a soul to be a supernatural part of all individuals, that moves on to Heaven or Hell after death. Others believe that the sould is simply the quanta that make up the matter of a human (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum).

I am of the belief that a "soul" is simply your personality. Your decisions, your outlook, your emotions, and every aspect of your personality is part of your "soul". Since everyone has a unique personality (no two personalities are EXACTLY the same, or there would be two people who are EXACTLY the same), each soul is unique.

This is a little offtopic, but this is another reason I believe a "soul" cannot go to Heaven or Hell (if it exists), because personality is also stored and processed in the brain..... But I digress.

-IMP ;) :)

I believe souls exist, yes.

There is something I don't like though that seems to be a common mistake or misteaching among some Christians. Animals, such as house pets or what have you, do not have souls. They simply return to the dust. Humans are the only ones who have souls.

No, I think that your personality is stored in your brain and is no such thing as a soul. Kind of like what IMP said at the end of his post.