Where does the soul reside?

Quote: Evenbob

Where else would it go. Your soul is with you
as long as the body is alive. Mormons believe
our souls go to heaven for eternity and live
with all the members of the family we had on
earth. They believe in baptising family who
are long dead. Can you imagine, your family,
most of whom you avoided on earth, you're
now stuck with forever? We love to invent fairy
tales about what happens after we die.

LOL EB

Quote: kenarman

Although I expect you are right and the soul would reside in the brain what is the proof that makes you so positive it is true Nareed?

Alzheimer's disease involves a type of brain damage brought on by amyloid plaque buildup. This causes dementia. If the soul were separate from the brain, and could continue to function normally, dementia would not be a symptom of this particular type of damage.

Quote:

If brain damage can destroy the soul does the soul slowly 'die' as the brain damage increases or does the soul remain fully functional until it 'dies' suddenly?

The soul goes as the brain goes.

Quote: rxwine

Your brain is your soul, if you have one at all.

Just not true. Ever see someone who's had
a major brain injury and now is a totally
different person than he was? Does that
mean his soul is changed? No, that's impossible.
The soul has nothing to do with the brain
or personality. Soul is the conscious energy that
inhabits your body and when you die goes to be
transformed into some other form. There is
more and more evidence pointing to a
universal consciousness that every living thing
is part of. It's not localized, it has no personality,
it's not a god. It just is. This goes back to the
ancient Greeks, it's nothing new.

Quote: Nareed

Alzheimer's disease involves a type of brain damage brought on by amyloid plaque buildup. This causes dementia. If the soul were separate from the brain, and could continue to function normally, dementia would not be a symptom of this particular type of damage.



The soul goes as the brain goes.

Unfortunately Nareed, Alzheimers is a disease I am very familiar with loosing both my father and my mother-in-law to the disease. I spent many many days with both of them as they progressed through their disease for almost 15 years. It was only when the body failed that they were truly gone. There was always a spark of their former selves in the mind. It might disappear for months at a time but then a few moments of comprehension of their surroundings and who they were with and then gone again. I believe that the memories and mind, and by your reasoning, the soul are still in there. The puzzle of life is scrambled for them most of the time but it is not gone.

Quote: Evenbob

Just not true. Ever see someone who's had
a major brain injury and now is a totally
different person than he was? Does that
mean his soul is changed? No, that's impossible.
The soul has nothing to do with the brain
or personality. Soul is the conscious energy that
leaves your body when you die only to be
transformed into some other form. There is
more and more evidence pointing to a
universal consciousness that every living thing
is part of. It's not localized, it has no personality,
it's not a god. It just is. This goes back to the
ancient Greeks, it's nothing new.

Sorry EB, although I am not a particularly vocal critic of your reincarnation type theories, I do not consider the evidence as coming in yet to make any switch in my viewpoint. Although I'm happy to see actual research on anything like this.

Quote: rxwine

Sorry EB,.

Find research that concludes the soul is
in the brain. There isn't any.

"The idea that the soul exists within a specific part of the human brain is, of course, no longer the subject of widespread investigation in the secular field of neuroscience. “There is no hypothesis in that question, nothing that you can test.."

In other words, they have no evidence that
the soul is anywhere specific in the body.

Quote: kenarman

Unfortunately Nareed, Alzheimers is a disease I am very familiar with loosing both my father and my mother-in-law to the disease. I spent many many days with both of them as they progressed through their disease for almost 15 years. It was only when the body failed that they were truly gone. There was always a spark of their former selves in the mind. It might disappear for months at a time but then a few moments of comprehension of their surroundings and who they were with and then gone again. I believe that the memories and mind, and by your reasoning, the soul are still in there. The puzzle of life is scrambled for them most of the time but it is not gone.

My father had it as well and spent his last days in a Alzheimer's treatment center.

The latest suggestion I've read is the plaque could be the normal result of the body fighting recurring infection. But it's either fighting a lot of infections, or it's overreacting.

So, if you took goo that screws up a transmission device, yes, there could be underlying brain tissue function that might occasionally show through (for reasons unknown).

But that said, research is still ongoing.

(it has made me consider to brush and floss my teeth better, tooth infections have gone to the brain before -- and infections in your dental area can stay hidden quite awhile --- but that's just me worrying about being a recipient of the disease, no harm no foul at any rate)

Quote: Evenbob

Just not true. Ever see someone who's had
a major brain injury and now is a totally
different person than he was?

Yes. My friend Jason, who was on Gambling with an Edge a few times, and the first guest during my run, underwent major brain surgery three times. After the first two, I wouldn't say he was a totally different person, but he was more down to earth, more agreeable, and simply more peaceful.

Unfortunately, he didn't make it much past the third surgery. The cancer was just too strong.

Quote: Evenbob

Find research that concludes the soul is
in the brain. There isn't any.

I don't conclude there is any soul at all. As yet, unproven. Furthermore your brain is you. If your brain is successfully moved somewhere else, there you go with it.

I would easily bet 10k this is proved on a successful brain swap where the two people recover. If that ever happens.

Furthermore, we have more and more body parts we can actually produce separately. No matter how many of these we grow to assemble a full person, people really believe the sum total ever produce a soul?

No. Not without a brain. Even if we manage to produce all the other parts but the brain, we won't have a soul, personality..