Topic 13 Why Some People Believe in a Soul Flashcards
How do NDE’s prove that the soul exists?
- consciousness does not come from brain
- not affected by death
How does Matt 10:28 prove we have souls?
explicitly refers to ‘soul’ and ‘body’ as completely different entities, with soul unaffected by death
Problematic as only applicable to those who believe in god, and thus accept the idea of the soul being non physical
How does physical determinism help prove that we have a soul?
- makes free will impossible assuming we dont have a soul, as we are purely physical beings at the mercy of biological, chemical and physical laws of the universe
- if we have a soul that is not subject to the physical then free will is possible
How does moral conscience prove the existence of the soul?
We just inherently know things eg incest is wrong
If we are just physical beings driven by bodily desires have no need for being moral (counter argue with evolution)
Unless you have a soul, there is nothing to remain ‘you’ …..
Throughout your life
- body changes, cells replaced etc
- nothing physical that stays the same
Why do ppl not believe in a soul if they don’t believe in god
There is nothing non material
Cannot be a soul that goes on after death
People disagree about the form a soul takes
Therefore it must not exist
Surely if there is a soul, all religions should agree about what it is like
Why are NDEs useless
No scientific empirical evidence to prove existence of soul
NDEs, mediums + ghosts can be explained away w scientific theories on brain activity and psychology
There is no need for a soul! Explain..
Soul is superfluous as the brain performs all functions associated with soul eg reasoning, memory, decision making and personality
Accidents that cause memory loss wouldn’t happen if we had a soul, because the body, from dualist point of view, is purely physical and soul wouldn’t be affected, and person’s memories would still be intact
