Do you have a soul? http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826 Alice Majella This is partly a survey, but mostly research that I wasn't sure where to post. My novel is going to revolved around souls - losing them, finding them, buying them, selling them... So I was wondering: Do you believe in souls? What is a soul? What effect would it have if you lost your soul? What parts of you are your 'soul', rather than physical or mental qualities? Could you live without a soul? Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:39:48 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1032768 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1032768 Lady_Indis_Dress 1) Yes, I do believe in souls. 2) The short answer is that is the immortal, nontangible force behind our lives, the part that survives physical death. The long answer gets into physics and all kind of interesting things about radiation and electromagnetic forces and things I don't even grasp. There actually is scientific evidence that there is some kind of energy that survives human death. I believe that is evidence of the human soul. 3) Never lost my soul. I'm guessing feelings of anguish, perpetual loss of all hope, a feeling of total and permanent separation from all love, happiness, and things that make existence tolerable. 4) That's a tough question. The soul has nothing to do with the physical aspects of our appearance. How much of the mental aspects are the soul is more difficult to say. I think the basic personality is tied to the soul. Whether we are outgoing or shy, spontaneous or more apt to plan, how we express our emotions at the most basic levels. 5) I don't think it's possible to physically live without a soul. The soul is the spark of life. Without it the body isn't really alive. I hate to use this analogy but it would be like a computer with no operating system. You can keep it running but you can't do anything with it. Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:23:25 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1033738 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1033738 Lydia_Ember Do you believe in souls? Yes. What is a soul? In short, this is the non tangible part of you that some would akin to a spirit. I guess you can say emotion is more closely tied to this than the mind. What effect would it have if you lost your soul? It wouldn't affect you so much until you die. You could function, but losing/selling your soul would affect what happen affect death. Yes, this answer assumes that afterlives, rebirth exists. Perhaps the knowledge that you have lost your soul would cause despair or regret, which I go into in the next question. What parts of you are your 'soul', rather than physical or mental qualities? Trying to separate the soul from you is like trying to separate the juice from the solid parts of melon. They're all connected. Your soul affects you mentally and physically. I think what you know mentally affects how you feel, your soul, and that can have an impact on you physically. Could you live without a soul? No. You would die. You can't live without a soul. You know how some people can live despite doctors saying it's over? I believe the presence of the soul is a huge part why. Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:22:06 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1033919 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1033919 swordtech Do you believe in souls- yep. :) What is a soul- It's what houses your spirit. Your spirit communicates with God (a spirit) and your soul communicates with people (other souls) What effect would it have if you lost your soul- It would matter the most after you died. If your soul is lost and you die, you don't get a second chance. As far as buying and selling goes, Jesus paid to buy all the souls from sin a long time ago... but they have to accept this fact and then they become his. Now, if by "lost" you mean physically taken out of your body... Animals have no souls, and they have no religion, no friendships, and not a lot of emotions. You would probably live something like an animal. What parts of you are your soul- Humans are 3 parts- body, soul, and spirit. Each one is inside the other (your soul is inside your body; your spirit is inside your soul) You function as one being, all 3 parts working together. Could you live without a soul- Your body could. But your life wouldn't be very exciting. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:18:49 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1044019 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1044019 Spuggey Do you believe in souls? In a traditional, religious sense? No. In my own way, then yes (see the next question). What is a soul? In my mind, it's the part of you that isn't your body, so I suppose for me 'Soul' means 'mind'. My 'soul' is all the thoughts and feelings that make me ME. I believe that these are mostly to do with electrical impulses in my brain, but I'm not sure how. So there is something intangible there, something that I can't quite comprehend or quantify. These thoughts and feelings, my sense of right and wrong, my connections to others and the world: that's my soul. What effect would it have if you lost your soul? Well, I'd be brain dead. What parts of you are your 'soul', rather than physical or mental qualities? I think I answered that in the section above, even if it made no sense, which I suspect it didn't. Could you live without a soul? No, I'd be brain dead. Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:50:46 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1062520 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1062520 water2770 Do I believe in a soul? Kind of in a spiritual sense... have yet to see someone surgically remove one yet. What is a soul? Some imaginary thing that makes us bow our heads to some god so it isn't destroyed or tortured. Don't really know what else it could be since emotions, feelings, and thoughts are generated in our brain. What effect would it have if you lost your soul? Not really anything since it's an imaginary entity we create so we have some illusion of an afterlife. So maybe more sane (i'm joking) What parts of you are your "soul", rather than physical or mental qualities? ... it is a mental quality within itself so i'd say to me it's a mixture of illusions, desires, and pure self deception Could you live without a soul? In the way i've talked about it a soul is something that would help society if they just exited existence so yes... quite easily. Other people though might become suicidal and yeah... Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:02:36 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1069683 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1069683 Earthsick Since I'd answer the first question with 'no' I guess answering the others would make no sense... Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:57:27 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1094926 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1094926 aaalllyyysssaaaaa 1. Yes 2. Your soul is what makes every individual a person. It's what causes the material body to be a living human body. It's your innermost being. Your spirit is more than a function of your body, and can't be explained in terms of your material composition. And it's indestructible. 3. I'm guessing your body would die? When you die, your soul is separated from your body... if that happened while you were still alive? It makes sense that if your brain still worked it would still think thoughts, but who would be thinking them? It would need some kind of self if it were still functioning. Maybe it would have like a destructible animal soul or something. Like that xkcd comic with the lego house. But besides the fact that I believe God wouldn't allow that, considering the eventual plans he has for your body, and the general degradation that would be of your sacred body, in order to think YOUR thoughts, the body would have to be YOU. It's kind of a paradox. For that reason I think the physical brain would have to stop working to remove your soul. Which would mean you were dead. Ouch, my brain doesn't like philosophy 4. Like C.S. Lewis said, you don't have a soul, you /are/ a soul. United with the body but not identical to it. 5. Like I said above, I don't see how. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:27:40 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1102198 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1102198 aaalllyyysssaaaaa Oops I meant to say, in order to think your thoughts, its SOUL would have to be you. We already know it's your body :P wow, way to make your words make even less sense, alyssa Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:33:09 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1102211 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1102211 WritingGeek97 Do you believe in souls? Yes. What is a soul? It is the part of a person that either goes to Heaven or hell when the person dies. What effect would it have if you lost your soul? Umm...A person would die. What parts of you are your 'soul', rather than physical or mental qualities? I have no idea. Sorry! Could you live without a soul? Nope. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:53:05 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1105395 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1105395 inthemargins Do you believe in souls? Sort of; my idea of one is different from most other people's ideas of it. What is a soul? It's like your essence. It's what you would be if all your experiences were stripped away from you. It's unphysical, intangible, but existent. What effect would it have if you lost your soul? You can't lose it. But I suppose if you did, you wouldn't be able to change. What parts of you are your 'soul', rather than physical or mental qualities? I don't understand the question. ._. Could you live without a soul? No. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:05:27 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1131524 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1131524 Moonlightwriter Do you believe in souls? Yep yep yep! What is a soul? A soul is a spirit-like item that contains all things that makes us ourselves. In the physical world, it represents a wispy white replica of its host. What effect would it have if you lost your soul? Loss of personality and physical defining features. What parts of you are your 'soul', rather than physical or mental qualities? Skin tone becomes pale. Eyes become silver or a pale whitish. Loss of emotion and any other defining qualities. Could you live without a soul? Yes, but after awhile, the host would just collapse and die. Wed, 21 Mar 2012 19:39:40 -0700 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1229700 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1229700 Moonlightwriter Oops, sorry, thought that question would be what would happen if you lost your soul. For me, the soul contains everything that makes a person unique, such as skin tone, eye color, emotions, special quirks and stuff like that. Wed, 21 Mar 2012 19:40:42 -0700 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1229702 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1229702 CausticWords Do you believe in souls? Yes. What is a soul? Your consciousness. Your body is more a house for the soul, but the brain has an influence on the soul insofar as desire, wants, needs, function, etc... What effect would it have if you lost your soul? If your soul were torn from your body, the body would be dead, but the soul would continue to live. Assuming no one has stolen your soul, it goes to afterlife 1, 2 or 3. If your soul has been stolen, assuming that can happen, it is kept in it's prison until being released. After being released, it will either go into someones body, possession, or to afterlife 1, 2, or 3. ( I, personally, do not believe in the ability to 'capture' or 'steal' a soul) What parts of you are your 'soul', rather than physical or mental qualities? Your body is only a house for the soul. The body influences the soul insofar as *** etc... Could you live without a soul? If stolen from your body, your soul will discontinue the stream of information to the body, effectively killing it. If your soul were returned before the body shut down, life may continue. Your soul may or may not be able to possess someone else's body. Dying in the human form, (a stopped heart, etc..) may or may not link your soul to a 'chain', which will either break if the body dies, or reel the soul back in if function continues. I am still working on how I feel about limbo and the soul. I believe if soul leaves body, soul goes to Heaven, Purgatory, or Hell. Fri, 23 Mar 2012 20:07:50 -0700 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1234030 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1234030 H Do you believe in souls? Thanks to Gintama, yes. But not in the "good" or "evil" Christian sense of it. What is a soul? It's your being, your consciousness. It's who you are - not your body or mind, but that part inside you that really lives and feels, some people call it the "heart". What effect would it have if you lost your soul? Maybe none. That's the thing. Maybe you can steal or sell souls. How would you know? I personally think that all those people who conform to modern society unquestioningly are giving up their souls. They're still perfectly all right. But are they really living? What parts of you are your 'soul', rather than physical or mental qualities? Your ability to feel emotions, I think. Love and hate. All the things you do, say or feel without thinking about. So, the things that matter but make no sense. What makes you really you. Could you live without a soul? Me? No. But I think that many people sell their souls just to get by in the world and survive. But me? No. Never. Thu, 24 May 2012 17:02:44 -0700 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1397097 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/the-polling-booth/threads/48826?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1397097