The Soul & Personality

[birdie1971]

A person's personality can sometimes be radically and permanently altered by brain injury, disease, emotional trauma, drugs and alcohol. This is an established fact. If we also accept as fact the postulate that human beings have immortal souls in the classical sense (ie. that your unique personality and your mortal memories survive the expiration of your corporeal body), which personality "survives" upon your death?

[pixie373]

Being unconscionable doesn't make it untrue.

[vulcan42]

So does it comes down to this?, because the human mind isn't powerful enough to understand eternity, we had to invent something (religion) to help and comfort us. At it's best then, religion is a pacifier, the adult version of a teething ring and at it's worst it's a confidence trick.

[solvitquick]

Dear vulcan42,
Nearly there vulcan but not quite.
Mankind invented god(s) to explain our existence. But there was a snag! Mankind realised that we die and decompose (oops).
Hence a new app had to be added to the fairy-tale so that human life is not just a fleeting spark while god or the one-time gods happily played games with the new toy: the eternal universe, minus us! Unfair!.
Along came a smart-alek and said: we must have an invisible, massless but concious entity hidden inside us which leaves the rotting flesh on death. Someone, in answer to what to call it said: "Let's call it the "soul" - that should keep the people happy on the opium.
And so the soul came about.
However nobody thought about its detailed make-up except it cannot leave the body when the body is alive. So it can only consist of the self at the moment of death - another bloomer as it's the worse time to chose.
A new fix required.
SIQ.

[jomifl]

No it isn't Sandy, I find it quite conscionable and as I get older, more so. You just need to make a small mental adjustment as from 1=0 to 1=1.

[sandyRoe]

[i] These rationalists always wanting 2+2 to be four. sigh... [i]

[jomifl]

I forgot that one , ta Sandy :o)