If you aren't buying that you have an eternal soul.

Discussion in 'Philosophy and Religion' started by bourne1978, Jan 3, 2026 at 10:12 AM.

  1. bourne1978

    bourne1978 Members

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    The baby you were then verse the adult you are now... The cells you had as a baby have been long since gone. The cells you have now as an adult aren't the same cells you had as a baby. Yet you are still you from a baby to an adult. What keeps you 'you,' even though you lost all the cells the baby you had? The only answer: your eternal soul.
     
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  2. Tishomingo

    Tishomingo Members

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    What does that mean? Do you think we're all inhabited by Casper the Friendly Ghost entities that take their flight to another realm when we die?

    Just what is responsible for our sense of continuing identity over time is something scientists and philosophers are still debating.Identity Over Time (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Buddhists use some of the same indicators you mention to support their idea that the "self" is an illusion. More naturalistic thinkers favor memory, consciousness and physical continuity as explanations of the phenomena you observe. Materialists emphasize the brain, especially the prefrontal cortex, parietal lobes, and temporal lobes, which integrate present perceptions into a continuous narrative.How Our Brain Preserves Our Sense of Self Despite the changes in our cells, the overall physical structure of our bodies is continuous over time. If the materialists are right, when we die our identities become extinct.

    The idea of an eternal "soul" may to have emerged in the Upper Paleolithic and reached prominence in early Bronze Age civilizations as a plausible explanation of such phenomena as dreams and a palliative for existential anxieties about mortality.
    Philosophical anthropology | Definition, History, Theories, & Facts | Britannica
    https://www.livescience.com/7631-human-soul-ancient-idea.html The Origin of the Soul from Antiquity to the early Modern Period
    Assuming we have souls, how do your observations about cell change support the notion that they are "eternal"?
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2026 at 2:04 PM
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  3. Toker

    Toker Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    Even if your cells are replaced, your DNA hasn't changed, other than a normal amount of mutations. So there's that.

    Then the changes to your cells don't happen all at once, so cellular memory is transfered among the living.

    Btw, many cells in your body continue to function after death. So the fate of your physical body is not the same as your fate. You're dead before your body.
     
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  4. MeAgain

    MeAgain Dazed & Confused Lifetime Supporter Super Moderator

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    Let's suppose I have a computer that displays a certain picture while it is active.
    Now, little by little I change a pixel here and there. Just one small pixel at a time.
    The overall picture remains the same to the human eye. Over a long period of time it may vary, but if I compare it to the original I can see that it still represents the same scene.

    Now compare the baby (Image) you were then to the adult (Image) you are now... The cells (pixels) you had as a baby (Image) have been long since gone. The cells (pixels) you have now as an adult (Image) aren't the same cells (pixels) you had as a baby (Image). Yet you (the image) are still you from a baby (Image) to an adult (Image). What keeps (the image) 'you,' (the same recognizable image) even though you lost all the cells (pixels) the baby (Image) had?

    Is the computer image the same or different?
    Does the computer have a soul?
     
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  5. bourne1978

    bourne1978 Members

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    I will just ask everyone these two questions.

    What makes a person their sexual gender when we have people who are trans? My answer: It's been their eternal soul, not their biological human bodies.

    What makes a person their sexuality or sexual orientation? My answer: It's been their eternal soul, not their environment.
     
  6. MeAgain

    MeAgain Dazed & Confused Lifetime Supporter Super Moderator

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    Actually it's biology and society.
    Gender identity and sexual identity are two separate things.
     
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  7. fem_fatale

    fem_fatale Members

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    Can’t explain something? Don’t understand the science? It’s your soul! LMAO.
     
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  8. Tishomingo

    Tishomingo Members

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    So how do our souls determine our sexual identity and gender??? Are you saying we're all "born that way'?
     
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