A common misconception of atheists is that we do not believe in the supernatural: ghosts/spirits, souls, reincarnation, etc. While this may be true for many atheists, it is not an inherent attribute. What you must first realize is "atheism" is disbelief in god(s). It says nothing else. Buddhism is an atheistic religion.
With that out of the way, I must admit I have been contemplating the existence of a soul. Again. When I first read about atheism, I immediately accepted that there wasn't a god, yet I had immense difficulty rejecting the concept of a soul. Why is this? Surely "soul" couldn't have been driven into me any more than "God" was. Less, if anything.
A soul is said to be what makes us human. It gives us our morals, it separates us from common animals. Obviously this is not a physical object, which is why I do not like godisimaginary.com's rebuttal. Really that site should have just focused on "heaven/hell" instead of getting mixed up in "soul."
If souls do exist I imagine all sentient beings having one. But, I feel that there would be different levels/depths to it. Just like how animals (some of them at least) can feel basic emotions, but humans feel deeper and more complex emotions. If the soul (as I propose it) exists, that would be the source for our emotions. Can we really put emotions down to chemical reactions? To instincts?
Anyways: when we die, these souls would go back from whence they came. Which would be some sort of spiritual force that encompasses the entire universe. It would be centered on places with the most life. It would almost be like energy. It would be entwined in nature, the essence of everything, but all the while only "active" in the aforementioned sentient beings.
Now this sounds all nice and pretty, but is it true? Well there's no way to prove it, is there? Which makes me think that it is probably not true.... If you are going to credit emotion to a soul, you also must credit personality to that soul. But I believe, firmly, that our personality stems from the way our brains developed and were wired.
Looking at this objectively, I do not believe in souls. Rather I think such concepts as "soul" "spirit" and "mind" are really just the brain in a field we don't associate with it. Namely, emotion. The brain is associated with logic and structure and concrete-ness. Hence why we feel the need to invent other concepts for our abstract emotions. In reality they are one.
And so, while my version of the soul might make me feel at peace with the world, I know that it is fantasy. If I were to still believe in it, despite its unlikeliness, I would be just as bad as the religious fanatics who refuse to look critically at their faith.
Note: I am not saying that any religious beliefs are wrong (how would I know?) rather, I am just asking that you accept the possibility that they might be.
I feel happy after making this post because I am truly fulfilling the purpose of my blog. I was confused about this subject, I wrote out my thoughts, and came to a solid conclusion. I am leaving ignorance.
07 December 2008
14 November 2008
Oh, It Is "Love"
Most everyone has had a high school crush. Oh the drama of it! Whether acted upon or not (in my case, not) it affects you profoundly. That dreadful part of the mind, the positive swamp of feelings, passively stagnant for so long, suddenly is stirred about, and all sorts of unwonted things come forward. Most teenagers say it is true love, they believe it, they live it, they love this "love."
But those few teens with logical minds (whom I fancy myself among) suffer horribly. I recognize it as a crush, something that will be meaningless to me in the long run, shallow, et cetera. Yet I can not stop myself getting caught up in this mess. Curse feelings, you clouded illusions: how I wish to cast you off and see clearly!
I know this is not love, logically it cannot be. Now I know emotions and logic do not go together, but be patient reader, explanations follow. I hardly know the person in question. I find myself envisioning his personality instead of actively seeking to know it. I am projecting the personality I wish him to have onto him, ignoring what is already there. I realize this, I see this, but I cannot stop myself doing it.
And here, you see, is the awful realization where teenage hormones come in contact with introverted thinking, and an underdeveloped extroverted feeling attempts to come into play.
The hormones of course are the main source of the problem, illogical and impossible things that they are. Wreaking havoc and flitting in and out without pattern or explanation.
The Fe attempts to judge the other person's own feelings, but in reality just blunders about making a mess of my mind. Like lazy coworkers, whom you cannot prove aren't working because you don't really know what their job is.
The Ti, normally incredibly helpful and decisive, is at a loss. In a field where logic means literally nothing, Ti is useless. In fact, it is worse than useless, it is a complete drawback. While it attempts to present results of systematic analyzation, it is ignored by its fellows.
And I am stuck containing all of these conflicting forces. I listen to the Ti carefully, but am prevented from acting upon it by the hormones. I look expectantly to the Fe so as to figure out how to react to all these things, but the poor thing isn't ready for such a job as this.
Reader, I do not expect nor want pity nor acknowledgement of my current internal struggle. If I did I would not be presenting this anonymously, would I? But I must have an outlet for such things, so you will excuse my pathetic melodrama.
But those few teens with logical minds (whom I fancy myself among) suffer horribly. I recognize it as a crush, something that will be meaningless to me in the long run, shallow, et cetera. Yet I can not stop myself getting caught up in this mess. Curse feelings, you clouded illusions: how I wish to cast you off and see clearly!
I know this is not love, logically it cannot be. Now I know emotions and logic do not go together, but be patient reader, explanations follow. I hardly know the person in question. I find myself envisioning his personality instead of actively seeking to know it. I am projecting the personality I wish him to have onto him, ignoring what is already there. I realize this, I see this, but I cannot stop myself doing it.
And here, you see, is the awful realization where teenage hormones come in contact with introverted thinking, and an underdeveloped extroverted feeling attempts to come into play.
The hormones of course are the main source of the problem, illogical and impossible things that they are. Wreaking havoc and flitting in and out without pattern or explanation.
The Fe attempts to judge the other person's own feelings, but in reality just blunders about making a mess of my mind. Like lazy coworkers, whom you cannot prove aren't working because you don't really know what their job is.
The Ti, normally incredibly helpful and decisive, is at a loss. In a field where logic means literally nothing, Ti is useless. In fact, it is worse than useless, it is a complete drawback. While it attempts to present results of systematic analyzation, it is ignored by its fellows.
And I am stuck containing all of these conflicting forces. I listen to the Ti carefully, but am prevented from acting upon it by the hormones. I look expectantly to the Fe so as to figure out how to react to all these things, but the poor thing isn't ready for such a job as this.
Reader, I do not expect nor want pity nor acknowledgement of my current internal struggle. If I did I would not be presenting this anonymously, would I? But I must have an outlet for such things, so you will excuse my pathetic melodrama.
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