Evolution & the soul An invitation to comment

Merlin

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Hello,

I'm not looking for argument, just the thought of evolutionists.
This topic is addressed to evolutionists.

Is there a soul?
At what point does the evolving lifeform have a soul?
What is the evolutionary mechanism of a soul?

Do chimps have a soul?
Do all mammals have a soul?
Do worms have a soul?
Do bacteria have a soul?
Do algae have a soul?
Does a protein have a soul?
How about a carbon atom?
At what point does 'soul' occur and what is the biological, evolutionary mechanism?

Thank you for your time!

-Myhrrhleine (AKA Merlin)
 

Uphill Battle

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Caphi said:
Define "soul".


the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
<LI>The soul according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the ethereal substance — spirit (Hebrew:rooah or nefesh) — particular to a unique living being. Such traditions often consider the soul both immortal and innately aware of its immortal nature, as well as the true basis for sentience in each living being.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul<LI>The immaterial, immortal part of man; spirit, mind or heart; essence; vital principle; a person
www.mdx.ac.uk/www/study/mhhglo.htm<LI>The spiritual life force or essence, carrying an individual's personality and consciousness of all actions.
www.wrexhamparaskeptics.4t.com/definitions.htm
 
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GoSeminoles!

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Merlin said:
Is there a soul?
At what point does the evolving lifeform have a soul?
What is the evolutionary mechanism of a soul?

At what point does 'soul' occur and what is the biological, evolutionary mechanism?

The concept of a soul, aka spirit, is totally outside the realm of science and therefore cannot be addressed in any way by evolutionary theory. Your questions are pointless for this forum.
 
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Uphill Battle

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GoSeminoles! said:
The concept of a soul, aka spirit, is totally outside the realm of science and therefore cannot be addressed in any way by evolutionary theory. Your questions are pointless for this forum.

avoidance. She didn't ask for scientific proof. She asked for an opinion of an evolutionist on the existance of a soul.
 
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Asimis

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Merlin said:
At what point does the evolving lifeform have a soul?

Evolution cannot produce a soul, this is done by God.

At what point does 'soul' occur and what is the biological, evolutionary mechanism?

God creates each individual soul at the moment of conception. The soul is not the result of a biological or evolutionary process but an act of God.


As.
 
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Dracil

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Sure. Mind = soul. If it has a mind, it has a soul. In other words, you're asking at what point does something have a mind/is intelligent/conscious. In which case, it's dependant on which brand of cognitive philosophy you subscribe to.

Now if you're talking about spirits, i.e., the type associated with Heaven or Hell, that's outside the realm of science and is thus irrelevant from a scientific standpoint.. Theologically, I'm pretty sure only humans have spirits.
 
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Uphill Battle

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Dracil said:
Sure. Mind = soul. If it has a mind, it has a soul. In other words, you're asking at what point does something have a mind/is intelligent/conscious. In which case, it's dependant on which brand of cognitive philosophy you subscribe to.

Now if you're talking about spirits, i.e., the type associated with Heaven or Hell, that's outside the realm of science and is thus irrelevant.

what exactly makes it irrelevant?
 
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FordPrefect

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Merlin said:
Is there a soul?
At what point does the evolving lifeform have a soul?
What is the evolutionary mechanism of a soul?

Do chimps have a soul?
Do all mammals have a soul?
Do worms have a soul?
Do bacteria have a soul?
Do algae have a soul?
Does a protein have a soul?
How about a carbon atom?
At what point does 'soul' occur and what is the biological, evolutionary mechanism?

I will answer this as an atheist,
Never
None
No
No
No
No
No
NO
No
See answers 1 and 2
 
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Dracil

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Uphill Battle said:
what exactly makes it irrelevant?

1. See updated (edited) post.
2. Because it's outside the realm of science. If it's outside the realm of science, science cannot say anything about it, so it's pointless asking it to say something about it.
 
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Split Rock

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Uphill Battle said:
avoidance. She didn't ask for scientific proof. She asked for an opinion of an evolutionist on the existance of a soul.
I assume this would run the gambit from atheists that would claim there is no soul, to theistic evolutionists who would claim that God creates souls for humans. Evolution itself cannot address the question. Therefore, there is no "evolutionist" concensus on souls, anymore than there is an "evolutionist" concensus on the best car to drive.
 
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Mr. QWERTY

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Uphill Battle said:
avoidance. She didn't ask for scientific proof. She asked for an opinion of an evolutionist on the existance of a soul.

No, she asked for more than that. She asked for the evolutionary mechanism of the soul, and then a variety of other, related questions.

Since evolution does not deal with souls, there is no evolutionary mechanism for such. This does not mean that there is no such thing as souls, only that evolution does not deal with such topics.

If I rephrased her question such:

Hello,

I'm not looking for argument, just the thought of pastry chefs.
This topic is addressed to pastry chefs.

Is there a soul?
At what point does the baked good have a soul?
What is the means by which a baked good obtains a soul?

Do croissants have a soul?
Do all baked goods have a soul?
Do caramels have a soul?
Do pies have a soul?
Do nuts have a soul?
Does flour have a soul?
How about a sugar cube?
At what point does 'soul' occur and what is the mixing or baking mechanism?
You will, necessarily, think that this is absurd, in that cooking does not address the existence of a soul, so why would one ask a chef. Same reason with evolution. Evolution does not address the soul. Why ask a scientist?
 
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Uphill Battle

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Mr. QWERTY said:
No, she asked for more than that. She asked for the evolutionary mechanism of the soul, and then a variety of other, related questions.

Since evolution does not deal with souls, there is no evolutionary mechanism for such. This does not mean that there is no such thing as souls, only that evolution does not deal with such topics.

If I rephrased her question such:


Hello,


I'm not looking for argument, just the thought of pastry chefs.
This topic is addressed to pastry chefs.

Is there a soul?
At what point does the baked good have a soul?
What is the means by which a baked good obtains a soul?

Do croissants have a soul?
Do all baked goods have a soul?
Do caramels have a soul?
Do pies have a soul?
Do nuts have a soul?
Does flour have a soul?
How about a sugar cube?
At what point does 'soul' occur and what is the mixing or baking mechanism?

You will, necessarily, think that this is absurd, in that cooking does not address the existence of a soul, so why would one ask a chef. Same reason with evolution. Evolution does not address the soul. Why ask a scientist?
Should only theologins have an opinion on Souls?

and it raises another question, all that I read in this thread... do you believe in anything outside the realms of science? If it doesn't fall under science, is it completely invalid? Because souls aren't the only thing science doesn't address.
 
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Uphill Battle

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Split Rock said:
I assume this would run the gambit from atheists that would claim there is no soul, to theistic evolutionists who would claim that God creates souls for humans. Evolution itself cannot address the question. Therefore, there is no "evolutionist" concensus on souls, anymore than there is an "evolutionist" concensus on the best car to drive.

I don't think the OP was about a concensus, it think it was looking for individual opinion of each person, and she was looking for the opinion of Evolutionists. I don't think that's a huge stretch.

funny how a yes or no question can be answered with so many words!
 
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nvxplorer

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Certain Native American beliefs hold that everything has a spirit, or more accurately, that there is one spirit, of which everything is a part. A somewhat similar belief is the Gnostic Spark, in which everything contains a part of the divine creation.

I’m not sure how either of these relate to evolution, but if I remember my Gnosticism correctly, there are different levels of “spark” (or vibration), beginning with minerals and moving up to humans.
 
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Mr. QWERTY

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Uphill Battle said:
Should only theologins have an opinion on Souls?

No, of course not. Anybody can have an opinion on souls. People who accept evolution and pastry chefs included. But, to go one step farther, to ask that group how their profession incorporates the soul is different. She asked about where souls came in during the evolutionary process. Evolution does not talk about the soul.


and it raises another question, all that I read in this thread... do you believe in anything outside the realms of science? If it doesn't fall under science, is it completely invalid? Because souls aren't the only thing science doesn't address.

Many people (not me) accept evolution AND believe in a soul. So the answer to some would be yes. As for myself, I believe in things for which there is evidence. Evolution is one. Gravity another. Macroeconomics a third. A soul? No. Not that.
 
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Uphill Battle

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Mr. QWERTY said:
No, of course not. Anybody can have an opinion on souls. People who accept evolution and pastry chefs included. But, to go one step farther, to ask that group how their profession incorporates the soul is different. She asked about where souls came in during the evolutionary process. Evolution does not talk about the soul.




Many people (not me) accept evolution AND believe in a soul. So the answer to some would be yes. As for myself, I believe in things for which there is evidence. Evolution is one. Gravity another. Macroeconomics a third. A soul? No. Not that.

she didn't ask for their profession to incorporate it. She asked each individual who believes in evolution what thier take is on a soul.

but at least you answered the OP in this one.
 
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