I am having a hard time discerning what is meant by 'soul'.

I guess I feel it is my calling to question this entire discussion. Asking questions is what I do best.

Is the age of a soul directly related to intellectual maturity? It just always seems that when things like the soul or a metaphysical higher 'level' of being are directly discussed, there is always some connection to some esoteric knowledge of the interdependent fibers of existence.

Can we, being mere players in a game, effectively explain the processes that create the game itself? Is it logical to assume that we can step outside the game itself and objectively observe the inner workings of the game?

Now to question that premise and ask, how can we assume that their is a game at all? Maybe we do not have an innate function, and all of this talk of 'soul' is just a means that we pass time. Maybe the only function of humanity is simply to be... and all perceived functions are artificial means in order to be.

edit: If we have no function, it makes creating an artificial function no less credible as it is a means for us have perceived purpose and exist.

"If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him." Voltaire

[edit on 2-1-2010 by DINSTAAR]

well the op started with good intent, but someone who shouldnt be here decided to pee in someones else breakfast.

Maybe ill check later and see if conversation has gotten back on track

ok for all the people who think im a troll fine thats up to you

the motto on ATS is deny IGNORANCE right?

Aristotle Aristotle, following Plato, defined the soul as the core or "essence" of a living being, but argued against its having a separate existence in its entirety. In Aristotle's view, a living thing's soul is its activity, that is, its "life"; for example, the soul of an eye, he wrote, if it were an independent lifeform itself, would be sight. Again, if a knife had a soul, the act of cutting would be that soul, because 'cutting' is the essence of what it is to be a knife. Unlike Plato and the religious traditions, Aristotle did not consider the soul in its entirety as a separate, ghostly occupant of the body (just as we cannot separate the activity of cutting from the knife). As the soul, in Aristotle's view, is an actuality of a living body, it cannot be immortal (when a knife is destroyed, the cutting stops). More precisely, the soul is the "first actuality" of a body: its capacity simply for life itself, apart from the various faculties of the soul, such as sensation, nutrition and so forth, which when exercised constitute its "second" actuality, which we might call its "fulfillment." "The axe has an edge for cutting" was, for Aristotle, analogous to "humans have bodies for human activity." The rational activity of the soul's intellective part, along with that of the soul's two other parts—its vegetative and animal parts, which it has in common with other animals—thus in Aristotle's view constitute the essence of a human soul. Aristotle used his concept of the soul in many of his works; the De Anima (On the Soul) provides a good place to start to gain more understanding of his views.

DENY ME THAT..........

and call me a troll.. just because you have a view that is not logical like me telling you the world is round

you deny me my right to speak and call me a troll

You make me sick........

Originally posted by DINSTAAR
...
Can we, being mere players in a game, effectively explain the processes that create the game itself? Is it logical to assume that we can step outside the game itself and objectively observe the inner workings of the game?

Now to question that premise and ask, how can we assume that their is a game at all? Maybe we do not have an innate function, and all of this talk of 'soul' is just a means that we pass time. Maybe the only function of humanity is simply to be... and all perceived functions are artificial means in order to be.
...
[edit on 2-1-2010 by DINSTAAR]

Great questions. I personally have certainty that I have a soul because I experienced a tiny bit of the afterlife due to a really bad caving accident I had in my early 20's. One of my first memories after passing through was of being congratulated by an untold number of entities on my progress.

Because of that memory I am pretty sure there are goals we are trying to achieve. No idea what they are as most of the knowledge is stripped when you come back. Must be some reason we dont get to know the rules of the game.

One easy way to tell...

an old soul won't go around saying he/she is an old soul.

I am very familiar with the Michael teachings also, from a few years back anyway.

I don't see what it matters if someone is baby/infant/young/mature/old. We all have to move through the process. No cheating! hehe