(WE ARE ABSOLUTELY "JUST ANIMALS" Draven (sorry, was I shouting?)
Well, no. There is a considerable difference between humans and other animals. I don't disagree that humans are animals, but I certainly disagree that humans are the same as other animals. If you can't recognize the difference in our society, culture, arts, sciences, mathematics, philosophy, psychology, politics, et cetera (not quite ad infinitum but for a while at least) then I think that you're not paying attention! Whether you think these things make us better or worse than animals is ultimately irrelevant; we are still not 'just animals'. We have a planet, biological functions and some instincts in common but very little more. It doesn't mean that we have a divine gift, nor does it mean that nothing in the universe will ever compare to our blinding brilliance. Just means we're different.
and the religious nonsense that follows. Soul, religion and faith. They explain nothing anymore. We can answer properly all the things they claimed to and were wrong about (and without persecuting and torturing people who point out our inconsistencies). It all belongs to the fearful infancy of our species when we didn't understand the thunder and lightning etc. The only way to answer those questions to which we have no answers (and there are more everyday) is to use empirical evaluation and rationalism. Science is about falsifiability and not dogma. A theory is only true so far as it has not yet been proven false however the time may come when it will be and so nothing in science is certain forever. Ascribing to spiritual that which we do not understand simply says don't bother investigating as it's ineffable/holy etc. Phew, breathe.
I think you're more 'being' orientated by my definition yes?
Interestingly I wrote not that long ago a short essay/article regarding the differences between Atheism, Agnostic Atheism, Agnostic Theism and Theism. Religion isn't inherently bad and science isn't inherently good; dogmas of course
do exist in science and you'll find quite a few scientists these days who set out to prove or justify X rather than find the truth. Insisting that religion is nonsense/there is no possibility of a deity/etc is no more logical or empirical than insisting that there is.
Science doesn't answer everything, and really I don't see why it should. That's why questions such as "Why are we here?" "Is there a god?" and "What happens when we die?" are ultimate questions rather than stupid questions.
For the record, I am not that religious and the conclusion to which the aforementioned article came is that Atheism is the Religion of Postmodernism.
BorderReiver said:
To me, what you call "soul" is the name given to the feelings engendered in us by our endocrine system. All of us, religious or atheist, feel the same responses to our experiences but we assign different causations to those feelings.
Crises of faith are no laughing matter, stick with it, I hope you find the answer that suits you.
Thank you!
I agree to a point. Perhaps I didn't explain myself particularly well; I agree that we all feel the same basic things, and I don't think that empirical/logical thinkers are without feeling. But the reactions/solutions/post-feeling-feelings do tend to depend more on what you hold in greater regard. For example my girlfriend left me the week before last; my friend, a particularly empirical thinker, says that nothing lasts forever/I just have to move on/etc. I, on the other hand, had more faith in that relationship than anything else; hence the only thing that provided me with any solace was the thought that it was salvageable. Naturally if I thought like her I would still be devastated, though I think I would have been better prepared for it. I'm not really oozing luculence at the moment, so if that makes no sense, just ignore me!
PS: I should have also mentioned that I think people are effectively on a sliding scale between soul and being, rather than one or the other. Does that explain my thoughts any better?
Pete