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Feelings/soul do they exist and if so what are they?

Indeed. I believe in souls, you don't. The concept of the soul is impossible to "prove" or "disprove" because the soul by definition is immeasurable and untouchable. You cannot "prove" the existence of what you can't in any way interact with, but, by the same token, you can't "disprove" by finding a contradiction because, obviously, if there's no soul, then there's no way anyone's going to be able to confirm that.
 
If it's impossible to prove either way, why do you side with it existing? There's no evidence for it.
 
I could just as easily ask you why you believe it doesn't exist. The answer would be the lack of evidence for its existence. My reason for believing in its existence is a lack of evidence against it. Again, a debate about something that cannot reach a definite answer will never reach any point that could be considered an end.
 
So is saying it doesn't; an absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Either position is solely a personal belief, and is impossible to properly support.
 
Crazy Weavile said:
So is saying it doesn't; an absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Either position is solely a personal belief, and is impossible to properly support.
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No, you'll find you're wrong there. I can definitely argue a case for there being no soul. But like I said, to me it's all hormones and neurotransmitters anyway. I find that this religious bullshit is based on pure conjecture and wishful thinking.

You see, the implication of having a soul implies you should take very different actions. If you believe there is a soul, you have to define what it is: how do you define something you have no evidence of existence of?

I can easily define there being no soul. It's much more of a logical and pragmatic stance.
 
How does the existence of the soul imply that I should take different actions than otherwise? Regardless of what pushes you to do something, it will still be done in the same way- does a coin pushed off of a table fall differently if pushed by a metal plate and a ceramic plate? And you claim to be able to define there being no soul; very well, then. Define it, if you please.
 
Well, you can look at it this way. Suppose I were to say that there is a magical red dragon orbiting the planet Venus. However, the magical red dragon is invisible, and cannot be detected by any kind of instrument whatsoever. Thus, the dragon's existence cannot be disproved.

However, I don't think anybody actually believes that there is a magical red dragon orbiting the planet Venus, because I just pulled that idea out of my rear end right now. And there's no reason why anybody would WANT to believe in such a thing, because the magical red dragon can't do anybody any good.

The concept of the soul, however, might do somebody some good. It can reassure him that after he dies, he won't be completely blotted out of existence. Because it's a comforting thought, people are much more likely to believe in a soul than the magical red dragon. The idea of the soul has also been around a bit longer than that of the red dragon, somehow giving it more credibility.

So, the soul has been around longer, and it's a more useful concept to humans than the existence of an invisible magical red dragon orbiting Venus. But, the idea of either of these things cannot be proved nor disproved. Thus, the likelihood of one existing is just as likely as the other; but nobody believes in my magical red dragon by default. So, why should people believe in souls by default? :P

(Indeed I did just botch up the idea of Russell's teapot, but we can pretend it was an original thought. XD)
 
Crazy Weavile said:
How does the existence of the soul imply that I should take different actions than otherwise? Regardless of what pushes you to do something, it will still be done in the same way- does a coin pushed off of a table fall differently if pushed by a metal plate and a ceramic plate? And you claim to be able to define there being no soul; very well, then. Define it, if you please.
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You cannot define something that does not exist. :P That's the whole point: I don't have to go through a laborious process of proving that something has to exist and give it a definite shape and form.

And yeah, if you believe in a soul, proof is on you.
 
I believe there are souls, simply because of hauntings. If you don't believe in ghosts, then this really means nothing to you, but a ghost is a soul that cannot move on for some reason.

I don't need any hard evidence to know there are souls, I just know. And it's not something you can immediately say to yourself. It's not like deciding to eat toast for breakfast. Through things I have seen first-hand, and things I've read, I can truly know that souls exist, and with them, we are able to feel and think freely.

For emotions, they are apart of us. They do exist, as we all feel them every day. In fact, reading this thread, I've experienced several already, and the day's just started. :D I have no scientific explaination for them, but then, emotions are beyond the scope of science. I don't have much interest in science, anyway. It's all bullshit to me.
 
...What...

Emotions HAVE a scientific explanation. Whether you believe there's any more to them or not, the physiological cause of emotions is hormonal variations in reaction to external stimuli. I'm religious, too, but I don't assume that research of the universe is meaningless.
 
Ouch. >.0 Your grammar hurts.

I don't mean that, I was in a horrible mood yesterday, so sorry. :D I was feeling an emotion. :o Haha.
 
Crazy Weavile, do you believe everything that hasn't been disproved?
 
If you are speaking scientifically, then emotions and thoughts are a complex chemical and electrical system. :P
 
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