What reason is there to believe that the 'soul' is infused at any particular time in the development in of a human being?
well my opinion (if it matters) is the instant you're conceived, then the soul begins there... a piece of the soul of both the father and mother join to create a new energy, a new soul, a new being.
I believe we have souls because I believe there's more to us than what we physically are..I don't think it ever dies, and I think our souls have been around forever. I base this more on what I feel, so please don't do what some do and go on and on about unfounded belief/proof required because we all believe things with no base in 'fact' or 'science' or 'proof'. But a part of my belief was confirmed (? I'm not sure of anything so perhaps just solidified) was that in psychology, many psychologists are totally puzzled as to why babies all act differently, (different attachment/sleeping patterns, for example) even if theyve been raised exactly the same.. I would even go so far as to say we are born with our personalities, but that isn't correlated strongly enough to be considered fact. Lots of people put it down to genetics, which is as unproven as the concept of a soul...
But the soul is MORE likely than genetic predisposition? Is the outweighing factor that with a soul you will, presumably, live on after death?
A soul is not a living thing. Open your mind, maaaan. It sounds like you're just gonna question everything I say, that's pretty much all you seem to have done in this thread. It makes me uncomfortable. So on that note, ciao.
My mind is open, perhaps yours is not. Buddhism opened my mind from Christianity. I believed I had a soul until a couple of years ago. Truly reduce the reasons that you believe you have a soul.
it's nothing to do with how open my mind is, I've even referred to my research on child psychology! I've thought a hell of a lot about it. It's nothing to do with what I believe not holding ground to questioning, its that uneasy feeling (for example) animals get before natural disasters, what with the knowledge nothing good will come of it and knowing things personal to me will be unfairly turned upside down in order to satisfy someone else's agenda. If you want a discussion on the existence or nonexistence of a soul, that's great, I'm in, but trying to convince people they should believe a certain thing is just wrong.
Let's assume that our essential "humanness" can be reduced to mere genetics. As argued in the essay I cited above, this essence is clearly present in human embryos.
Huck- I never claimed that the personality of a being is entirely genetic. My belief is that there are genetic predispositions that affect many areas of one's mind, but the sum of their experiences are a great deal more significant. brainwaves are detectable on the sixth week, not conception. Disarm- With no hostility: how do you propose that we discuss a matter without citing our opinions?
I agree with you, Thumontico. I think it is silly of people to believe that one second an entity is soulless, but the next second a "light goes on" and it suddenly becomes aware of itself and its surroundings. Our consciousness is a product of the particular way our brains are wired. Nothing more.
