Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] stem cell research - was more on data fabrication - soul?

[Stephen Montgomery-Smith <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

Christian M. Cepel wrote:
> Mike Miller wrote:
>
> > I would say that "the soul" is part of your mystical belief system and 
> > that there is no such thing as a "soul."  You can define the term, but 
> > not in a way that allows us to undertake scientific studies of "the 
> > soul." So I would say that there is very little value in the concept.
>
>
> One definition for "the soul" has no religious connotations attached. 
> Many consider the soul to be the same essence that is life.
>
> Why when something has been dead for only a very brief time can we not 
> restart the machine.  Yes I know that we can in a lot of cases, but 
> likewise in many cases we cannot.   
>
> Maybe this is more philosophical than practical.  It just gets to me 
> that we can jumpstart all the organ systems needed for the body to work, 
> but once that essence is gone, it's gone.  Kinda depressing.

I consider a soul to be the "me-ness" that identifies me as me.  I think 
that everyone senses this, and cannot explain it.

My sense is that radical materialists (i.e. those who only believe in 
the material world, and not in anything spiritual beyond that) are in a 
very small minority.  I keep arguing with Mike on this point, but I do 
feel that he is the exception, and in a sense my argument with him is 
just between me and him.  But I do know other people who think like he 
does, for example, my mother.  I myself struggled to accept this point 
of view, but just couldn't.  That's why I started dabbling in religions, 
ending up in Christianity.

Back to stem cell research - the question is, when does the blob of 
cells gain a soul.  For example, does one need to have a nerve system 
before this soul comes into being?  I have to say that I long pondered 
this last question as a teenager.  I couldn't ever answer it, but I came 
to feel more and more that a soul did not require a nervous system.

While I don't know if most people would agree with me, I do think that 
most people would think that this is a meaningful question.

Stephen

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