Do you believe animals have souls?

[Katzndogz]

Animals have souls.

 

[Derideo_Te]

What do you mean by soul then? Doesn't it imply a "self"?

Good question.

Hence my " If anything has a soul..." cop out.

Until somebody shows me exactly what they mean by "soul", the question isn't really a question, its a rhetorical question demanding that I first agree that there is such a thing as a soul.

I may believe there is, but is my idea of what "soul" means exactly what the inquisitor meant?

I find it rather silly to argue about something that nobody can prove exists.

And it gets even sillier when they want to debate whether animals have something that nobody can prove exists, isn't it?

Where can such a goofy debate lead?

It leads us to where I suspect the author wanted us to go...a debate about whether a soul even exists.

And that debate is a complete waste of our time.

The debate is meaningless unless one first agrees to the premise that there is such a thing as a soul.

I don't think any other species is essentially different than ours. We have evolved to have more intelligence, opposable thumbs, and the ability to speak. That in no way suggests we have something, a soul, which lives after our physical body dies. We are no different than the other animals on this planet.

All living things have what is recognized as a "life force" or "spirit". This is not quantifiable in physical terms but it is recognizable as existing when we observe what happens each Spring.

Religion sells the concept of an "afterlife" as a reason to embrace their "faith" but had to deal with the question of how does the "life force/spirit" transform from what we can observe into this "afterlife". So to explain this process they invented the "soul" as a container for the "life force/spirit" to move from here to the "afterlife".

So if the "soul" exists then all living things must have an "afterlife". This will be gratifying to those that want to be reacquainted with their pets but it will mean that so do all viruses, parasites and other diseases since they too are no less living things. Hence the need to try and draw a line as to what does and doesn't "deserve" to have a "soul" and to consign some unfortunate "souls" to eternal "purgatory" rather than a blissful "afterlife".

The entire premise of a "soul" is based upon little more than wishful thinking and it has been exploited by those who use it for their own ends. So yes, the concept of a "soul" is as fictional as that of a "creator". However for those who wish to believe that it exists they have every right to do so. Personally I prefer dealing with reality.

 

[dblack]

If any live has a soul, all life has a soul.

What do you mean by soul then? Doesn't it imply a "self"?

Good question.

Hence my " If anything has a soul..." cop out.

Until somebody shows me exactly what they mean by "soul", the question isn't really a question, its a rhetorical question demanding that I first agree that there is such a thing as a soul.

The 'soul', in my view, is that thing each of us refers to when we say "I". Its existence is certainly provable and doesn't imply an after-life. The 'soul' may very well be permanently attached to a human brain, dying when the brain ceases to function. It might be purely a product of encoded information and preservable in other media. But we don't understand it's nature well enough (yet) to know for sure. I see no reason why it's not a valid subject for scientific inquiry.

 

[longknife]

American Indians believed they do - and, as I have a small % of Cherokee, I do too!

 

[BreezeWood]

Do you believe animals have souls?


of course ... and the Flora as well.

 

[tyroneweaver]

I'll represent the Mormon thought

Yes, we believe all animals have souls

 

[BreezeWood]

American Indians believed they do - and, as I have a small % of Cherokee, I do too!

are you also from Oklahoma and planing to run for the Senate from Massachusetts by chance ? ... good luck.

 

[PratchettFan]

I do. Anything alive, I believe has a soul in some form or another. Life force, energy core, soul...whatever you want to call it.

Your thoughts? Do you believe animals have souls...or are souls only bestowed on humans?

I believe if any living thing does then all living things do.

 

[ima]

I'll represent the Mormon thought

Yes, we believe all animals have souls

Even if they don't wear magic underwear?

 

[PratchettFan]

If any live has a soul, all life has a soul.

What do you mean by soul then? Doesn't it imply a "self"?

Good question.

Hence my " If anything has a soul..." cop out.

Until somebody shows me exactly what they mean by "soul", the question isn't really a question, its a rhetorical question demanding that I first agree that there is such a thing as a soul.

I may believe there is, but is my idea of what "soul" means exactly what the inquisitor meant?

I find it rather silly to argue about something that nobody can prove exists.

And it gets even sillier when they want to debate whether animals have something that nobody can prove exists, isn't it?

Where can such a goofy debate lead?

It leads us to where I suspect the author wanted us to go...a debate about whether a soul even exists.

And that debate is a complete waste of our time.

I would agree that any discussion in the absence of information is a waste of time. Yet, here we both are doing precisely that.

I think these discussions really aren't about whether there is a soul, or a god, or which belief is true. At least not for me. They are about how people think. By seeing how other people think, you gain insight into how you think. By seeing how others believe in what I consider to be untrue myths, it helps me identify my own myths.

 

[ima]

There's no such thing as a soul. No proof. Debate's over.

 

[PratchettFan]

What do you mean by soul then? Doesn't it imply a "self"?

Good question.

Hence my " If anything has a soul..." cop out.

Until somebody shows me exactly what they mean by "soul", the question isn't really a question, its a rhetorical question demanding that I first agree that there is such a thing as a soul.

The 'soul', in my view, is that thing each of us refers to when we say "I". Its existence is certainly provable and doesn't imply an after-life. The 'soul' may very well be permanently attached to a human brain, dying when the brain ceases to function. It might be purely a product of encoded information and preservable in other media. But we don't understand it's nature well enough (yet) to know for sure. I see no reason why it's not a valid subject for scientific inquiry.

In my view, the soul would be everything which is not what we would refer to as "I". The self is just window dressing applied to the foundation of the soul.

There is nothing which is not a valid subject of scientific inquiry. However, that inquiry does require observable data and I don't believe that is currently available. So while it may be a valid subject, it is not a realistic subject right now.

 

[PratchettFan]

There's no such thing as a soul. No proof. Debate's over.

That is a statement of pure belief. You presented no proof to support it. Apparently the debate continues.

 

[Gracie]

If any live has a soul, all life has a soul.

What do you mean by soul then? Doesn't it imply a "self"?

Good question.

Hence my " If anything has a soul..." cop out.

Until somebody shows me exactly what they mean by "soul", the question isn't really a question, its a rhetorical question demanding that I first agree that there is such a thing as a soul.

I may believe there is, but is my idea of what "soul" means exactly what the inquisitor meant?

I find it rather silly to argue about something that nobody can prove exists.

And it gets even sillier when they want to debate whether animals have something that nobody can prove exists, isn't it?

Where can such a goofy debate lead?

It leads us to where I suspect the author wanted us to go...a debate about whether a soul even exists.

And that debate is a complete waste of our time.

Are you married? Have kids?

Do you love your spouse and kids? If so..prove it. Prove love exists.

 

[Skull Pilot]

I do. Anything alive, I believe has a soul in some form or another. Life force, energy core, soul...whatever you want to call it.

Your thoughts? Do you believe animals have souls...or are souls only bestowed on humans?

The soul is a mystical construct.

 

[MaryL]

I am not convinced anything has a soul. I ate a nice piece of beef yesterday.I am reminded of the American Indian: They used used to bless the spirit of the animal they killed and ate, they also understood they were part of the food chain and where going to be eaten by another animal . That was a given. I thank that cow that died that gave her "soul" for me to live another day. I just wish whatever comes next to eat me can be so forgiving.

 

[dblack]

In my view, the soul would be everything which is not what we would refer to as "I". The self is just window dressing applied to the foundation of the soul.

What does that mean? No offense, but unless you're just going for some kind of zen koan puzzler, that sounds like "black is white". What meaningful definition of "soul" would not at least encompass the concept of self?

 

[Foxfyre]

Doesn't it ever occur to anybody that if a 'thread is a waste of time', they are doubly wasting time pronouncing a thread as a waste of time?

Personally I don't know whether animals have a soul or not. But I know my soul cries out in anguish whenever any living creature is abused, tortured, neglected, or otherwise made to needlessly suffer and our furry friends also seem to know when we suffer, so what does that mean? And I can't imagine a heaven without the delights of a playful kitten, a loving dog, and running horses. And I do believe in heaven.

So I don't know. But I hope so.

 

[dblack]

Doesn't it ever occur to anybody that if a 'thread is a waste of time', they are doubly wasting time pronouncing a thread as a waste of time?

Apparently it doesn't. But it's probably a waste of time trying to convince them, eh?

 

[The Irish Ram]

According to the Bible, they don't have souls in the Biblical sense that humans do. They were creations not God breathed on, the way Adam was.
But we do know that God cares about every one of them. The birds wake up and sing His praises and He provides their daily food. The sparrow doesn't store up resources for tomorrow. They sing.
And not even a sparrow falls that doesn't get His attention.
And that which we do to the smallest living thing we do also to Christ.
He made a covenant with the animals to keep them from killing us. It's why I can lead a horse around with a little rope. What He gave them in return we aren't privy to, but being a loving Father, I'll bet they are all doing well.
There are animals in Heaven. Christ will be riding one the next time this earth sees Him.
God said He would keep no good thing from us.
I can't wait to see all my good furry babies. I hope they have been laying at Christ's feet, waiting to hear my voice again.