Poll: Does a Planet have a Soul?

[Shadowkire]

Its like my philosophy of religion class has spilled into the internet....

I hate to say it but it is unlikely that souls exist, their has been no evidence of souls and every concept of souls that has been thought up has been torn down by rational arguments. In addition few concepts about souls are applicable to planets.

So the planet doesn't have a soul.

Also, spiritualism =/= meaning, a person can make meaning for themselves without believing in some, for lack of better words, magical beings and substances.

 

[BANME111111]

Yes?

I am an atheist but this is a complicated subject...
First thing you have to think about is: "what is a soul?"
If your dog died and you cloned an exact copy of it, is it the same dog? It sounds, acts and looks just like your dog, but its not the same. It does the exact same tricks your old dog did, even the cute waggle of his tail when you come home from work, Everything is the same down to the very last molecule.

But its not the same.

Its sort of the feeling I had at the end of "A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" when the earth was being rebuilt. Its the same, but not the same.

Something you can't see, hear, feel, or smell. but you know its different.

Clones are not exact. Exact DNA doesn't mean exact same memories, same look, same health or life. For instance, twins. Even the Dolly sheep isn't the same as her mother. DNA is just a recipe for a specific creature. But just because you have a recipe and make 10 cakes, they won't be the same. Some might not even "survive" at all - they get burned or become flat after baking. Even those that survive won't be of the same size, they won't taste exactly the same, they aren't as sweet as the original cake.

So, yeah. I'm thanking "The Science of Discworld I" for this explanation.

I'm saying EVERYTHING is the same, even memories, it's just hypothetical. Your thinking way to scientifically for a theoretical topic. Your saying it might not be possible to have exact clones. I never claimed that it was possible! My argument is about essence, not science.

 

[Danny Ocean]

Wiccans would tell you that. I actually sort of agree. It's proven that certain things like music help plants grow in different ways, and if they were completely inanimate that wouldn't happen. I wouldn't say the planet has a soul, but the planet is definitely "alive" IMO.

Prove that or I'm calling bullshit.

And no, I don't think the Earth has a soul.

 

[cocoadog]

Well, technically, a planet isn't alive, so I doubt it. It's covered in crawling, growing, walking living things, but so is my bathtub and IT doesn't have a soul.

You best watch out the next time you take a bath DUN DUN DUNNNNNN.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

Well, technically, a planet isn't alive, so I doubt it. It's covered in crawling, growing, walking living things, but so is my bathtub and IT doesn't have a soul.

You best watch out the next time you take a bath DUN DUN DUNNNNNN.

ahahahahaha i can't even imagine it...

 

[Angryman101]

I think that this is one of the questions that don't need to be answered. I'm not saying that it doesn't, I'm not saying that it does. I'm saying that noone knows, and it's meant to be that way.

Every question needs to be answered, that's the force behind progress. Knowledge.
Well, except the meaning of life. That would just screw with our heads.

Progress isn't always needed.

Oh, yes it is.
Stagnation is the worst that could happen to our society.

I'd rather live in a simple but spiritualistic, than in an advanced, but meaningles society.

This, this, a thousand times this.

First, define and prove that souls even exist before we speculate what has them.

someone said that you lose weight when you die... i don't remember how much though...

And how is that in any way evidence for a soul?

OT: What Denamic said. Until evidence is provided and a definition is given to these so called "souls" I'm just going to go with a big fat fucking no.

I'd rather live in a simple but spiritualistic, than in an advanced, but meaningles society.

Hell, we don't need progress. We can live just like the simpler folk back medieval times where you were lucky if you got past 30 and horses were considered modern means of transportation.

I think that this is one of the questions that don't need to be answered. I'm not saying that it doesn't, I'm not saying that it does. I'm saying that noone knows, and it's meant to be that way.

Every question needs to be answered, that's the force behind progress. Knowledge.
Well, except the meaning of life. That would just screw with our heads.

Progress isn't always needed.

Oh, yes it is.
Stagnation is the worst that could happen to our society.

Do you honestly think that technology is progress? Our society IS stagnant because of all of this technology. We're not evolving, we're creating more and more complex systems in place that make lives meaningless and will inevitably lead to our destruction. Sometimes, Prometheus needs to be chained. We should be focusing on things that will help enlighten us and give us wisdom, not on shiny new gadgets. What's the point of living past thirty if you're leading shitty, unhappy lives that consist of moving from one gadget to the next?
And I say the same thing about the planet having a soul as people and living things having a soul: We all have energies inside us that is constantly recycled as we live and die. Dying stars gave us life, as we die we provide phosphates and energy into the ground around us. The soul is but a part of the cycle, and it's great if we give that meaning.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

i have to say you are being a bit of a dickish in some of the reply's you giving it just seems like you say it your chose but when every someone gives say no you start moving the goal post .but that just my opinion

wow duuuuude! can you rewrite that please ? i almost understood it but then with the gives/say i was knocked out!

 

[Axeli]

No, although you can look it as a living being, since how it's almost completely covered in some kind of living organisms.

 

[zombie711]

No the planet has a heart. And all the planets make up a kingdom, one that is light. Got it memorized?

 

[drydry]

WHAT ABOUT PLUTO!?!?!?!? KNOW ONE CARES!!!!! JUST CUZ HE'S SO SMALL AND INOCENT!!!

 

[PhiMed]

Do you honestly think that technology is progress? Our society IS stagnant because of all of this technology. We're not evolving, we're creating more and more complex systems in place that make lives meaningless and will inevitably lead to our destruction. Sometimes, Prometheus needs to be chained. We should be focusing on things that will help enlighten us and give us wisdom, not on shiny new gadgets. What's the point of living past thirty if you're leading shitty, unhappy lives that consist of moving from one gadget to the next?
And I say the same thing about the planet having a soul as people and living things having a soul: We all have energies inside us that is constantly recycled as we live and die. Dying stars gave us life, as we die we provide phosphates and energy into the ground around us. The soul is but a part of the cycle, and it's great if we give that meaning.

I think that focusing on technological advancement as a cause for societal stagnation is taking the easy way out. It's blaming things for the actions of people. There are many people who focus on intellectual, artistic, and philanthropic pursuits despite being horribly convenienced with modern technology. These are people whose lives have meaning. The failure of the population at large to follow their lead is neither the fault of technology nor a new development. The motivations of humanity at large would not change if we all suddenly became Luddites.

 

[jthm]

What makes you think that anything (other than your shoes) have souls?

 

[Rickyvantof]

Souls do not exist period.
It's a stupid concept.

 

[Hirushia]

There's no proof that a soul even exists in the first place. People just assume they exist because you can't prove it wrong, which is ignorant. There's nothing that suggests they are real, just some guys a long time ago started saying they existed and people jumped aboard.

So to answer your question, no. Planets are just eroded pieces of poo that revolve around a star, and the argument about plants is dumb because 99.999999% of planets don't even have life.

 

[Angryman101]

Do you honestly think that technology is progress? Our society IS stagnant because of all of this technology. We're not evolving, we're creating more and more complex systems in place that make lives meaningless and will inevitably lead to our destruction. Sometimes, Prometheus needs to be chained. We should be focusing on things that will help enlighten us and give us wisdom, not on shiny new gadgets. What's the point of living past thirty if you're leading shitty, unhappy lives that consist of moving from one gadget to the next?
And I say the same thing about the planet having a soul as people and living things having a soul: We all have energies inside us that is constantly recycled as we live and die. Dying stars gave us life, as we die we provide phosphates and energy into the ground around us. The soul is but a part of the cycle, and it's great if we give that meaning.

I think that focusing on technological advancement as a cause for societal stagnation is taking the easy way out. It's blaming things for the actions of people. There are many people who focus on intellectual, artistic, and philanthropic pursuits despite being horribly convenienced with modern technology. These are people whose lives have meaning. The failure of the population at large to follow their lead is neither the fault of technology nor a new development. The motivations of humanity at large would not change if we all suddenly became Luddites.

The thing is, I think it WOULD. Once people are able to taste the fruits of their labor in more tangible, meaningful ways, they'd rather stick to that lifestyle. New generations would demand progress, though, because they don't know any better. It's proven that people that work with their hands on the fields or hunting for their livelihood are infinitely more happy than people who live in our more advanced society. Agriculture was the worst move in the history of humanity, because it allowed us to specialize and become...this. This soulless wasteland of unhappiness and massive, soulless corporations who believe they can own and control people.

 

[Weaver]

I think that this is one of the questions that don't need to be answered. I'm not saying that it doesn't, I'm not saying that it does. I'm saying that noone knows, and it's meant to be that way.

so what you say is that it's better not to find out about it...

I'm saying that it's impossible.

you should know that nothing is impossible! hehe

It's impossible for nothing to be impossible. If nothing was impossible then it would be impossible for something to be impossible, thus not everything would be possible.

First, define and prove that souls even exist before we speculate what has them.

someone said that you lose weight when you die... i don't remember how much though...

I heard about that. Apparently, some doctors weighed people with extremely sensitive equipment right before and right after they died, and they were always left with a difference of about 21 grams, so they concluded it must be a 'soul'. I don't know if it really was the soul or not, but until we have a better explanation it'll have to do.

And no one finds it completely suspect that something, entirely metaphysical by definition, somehow has physical interaction with the world? Descartes struggled with this exact same thing in the 15th century with how the body interacted with the mind. He presumed the mind to be a soul, but never came up with a satisfactory answer to the interaction between soul and body.

I don't believe in a soul, but I find it frustrating when science can find no evidence for it, people claim that's because it's immaterial and metaphysical, so can't be measured. Except now it apparently has weight, meaning it is NOT metaphysical meaning it has to have a location in the body, yet no one has EVER found it? I don't buy it.

 

[Hirushia]

You CAN convert to Buddhism, move deep in the Himalayas, and live a peaceful and simple life... No one's stopping you, but you contradict yourself (if I'm understanding you correctly) by going on the internet, which is arguably a pretty advanced aspect of an advanced society.

 

[Sephychu]

A soul being a concept I find hard to explain, defend or reason, I doubt the planet has one.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

WHAT ABOUT PLUTO!?!?!?!? KNOW ONE CARES!!!!! JUST CUZ HE'S SO SMALL AND INOCENT!!!

yea poor pluto!