- Anything Else -

5 senses and the soul

In Reply to: Name calling... posted by Stuart Gort on April 08, 1999 at 13:29:34:

About opinions: You believe you are right. I believe I am right. This seems fair to say, and it is an objective statement. I do not believe I am a better person than you, therefore I do not believe you are a worse person than me. **I believe (and have argued with you) that some of your beliefs and practices are at the expense of others, that they are hurtful and harmful. I believe the same about myself, and I am trying to change those things about myself, and I would love to see you change that about yourself.** Obviously I believe certain actions are "better" than others... it is better to walk 2 miles than to drive your car two miles. I do not make the extension from this that it means one PERSON is better than another. I will say it again, I am no better than you Stuart, and I don't care who knows it. Would you say the same? Perhaps you might. Perhaps you might not. I think (please clarify) that you believe you are superior to at least a small handful of people on this planet because of your beliefs and practices. I make no esuch extension, and I believe in christianity there is similar language which suggests people love people despite their actions. For me this means considering them equal.

About Souls: What does one look like Stuart? What does it feel like? How do you know who does and does not have a soul? I believe there was a time when, according to some black people had no soul, then they had 2/3 of a soul or some such nonsense. I think "retards" (people labelled mentally handicapped) and "lunatics" (people labelled insane or deranged) had no soul. Who is qualified to make these decisions? God I suppose you'll say. Alas, there is no way to make progress in this debate. I find it a morally convenient argument to suggest that animals, trees, plants, rivers, mountains, and the planet have no souls of their own. To suggest otherwise would make many many of our practices morally reprehensible. (By the way, I thought you found it immoral to be cruel to animals, say by beating a dog. Does the dog not require a soul for this to be true, or is there some other characteristic?)

So your definition of the word 'superior' so far has the possession of a soul as a prerequisite. Is there anything else that is required, or are you not superior to some other humans? (Did Charles Manson ever have a soul? If so what happened to it?)

Follow Ups:

• What I tried to post before Shaun USA April 19 1999 (0)
• 3/5 of a person, not soul Shaun USA April 11 1999 (0)