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Originally Posted by stevedavidson  Depending on your definitions: I can name several 'soulless' humans who are nevertheless considered to posess intelligence and self-awareness.
When (if ever) they 'find' a soul, they'll be able to emulate it. Of course, THAT'S the really impossible task, since once doesn't exist to begin with.
You also need to be asking yourself the really hard questions: are 'we' intelligent and self-aware, or is it just an artifact? Many theorists are now coming to the conclusion that our so-called intelligence and activity in the world is indistinguishable from a sophisticated simulation, and there's no way to determine whether we are or not from 'inside' the simulation.
Simple rules can give rise to all kinds of complex behaviors without any 'intelligence' behind them.
Maybe god's the guy who wrote the super simulation program; now he's playing 'the sims'. Better hope he doesn't get bored... |
I really don't struggle with those kinds of questions since they're moot. And those people we describe as 'soulless', aren't truly without souls, but we simply say so as we would think that a person with a soul would never do what they would do or say. It's a descriptor of what we observe, not a statement of reality.
I know what God says on the issue, and since He's God, I believe Him. All the rest that assumes that God is wrong is really nonsense to me. If you believe it, then I can respect that YOU believe it, but I won't respect the belief itself.
The fact is that human beings have immortal (not eternal, as souls are part of the creature, and thus are created and have a beginning) souls. They are supernatural parts of us that we simply cannot duplicate. We can TRY, but we will inevitably fail (just like every other time that humans have tried to truly be God, not just play at it). Why? God won't allow it. God won't allow Himself to be mocked and let the mocker get away with it.
Or, as the great punchline goes when the scientist accepts God's challenge to a man-making contest: "Get your own dirt"