Comments on: Do Dogs Have Souls?

http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/ reality bizarres the standard Sat, 18 Aug 2012 16:45:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.3 By: shantoruk http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1676 shantoruk Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:23:02 +0000 http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1676 BTW Sean, I think you're partly right that it comes down to humans having more neurons, but it also matters where the extra neurons go. Different parts of the brain have different purposes, and the human brain has proportionally a bigger neocortex than any other animal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_brain#Structure I don't know if there's anywhere you can draw a line. Humans and dogs are just points in a continuum of intelligence. The difference between humans and dogs is probably smaller than the difference between dogs and lizards, but small physical differences can make a big difference in reality. Think of how much society has changed in the last thousand years. Evolution doesn't do much on that timescale - probably the only thing that's really improved our brains during that time is better nutrition. But if you look at something like Wikipedia, I think it's fair to say that humans in 2009 are much more advanced/developed/powerful as a species than humans in 1009 were. And that difference is purely cultural (viewing technology as part of culture). And I think at the current rate of progress, we'll look pretty wimpy compared to humans in 2019. At least, I hope so - for example, having a space elevator by then would be pretty cool ;) By: shantoruk http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1674 shantoruk Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:51:48 +0000 http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1674 <i>When you pour water over a radio, or drop your cell phone - it no longer works correctly…or the person talking through the device starts sounding weird. From that, one could deduce that the electronics within the radio are the source of the ‘voice’.</i> I see what you're saying. But if I'd spent my whole life locked in a cell with a radio and never met another real person, that might be a reasonable assumption. I know that cellphones only relay messages between people because (1) that's how they're marketed (2) I also speak to the same people in real life (and they remember things from our cellphone conversations) (3) I haven't yet come across any AI that can simulate a human voice convincingly, let alone fake a conversation. If I could speak to somebody without interacting in any way with their body, I would believe in souls. But I can't. The only way I can communicate with someone is by sending sound waves to their ears, or text messages to their eyes (like I'm doing with you right now, via the internet). Since <i>everything</i> we attribute to the soul seems to be tied to the body (more specifically the brain) what reason is there to believe that souls exist as a separate entity? By: illiterate hippie http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1659 illiterate hippie Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:22:41 +0000 http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1659 How do we know the soul does or doesn't exist? If the mind (consciousness) is merely a property of the brain, is it not far-fetched to say the soul is a property of the body and mind? "…Body am I entirely, and nothing more; and soul is only the name of something in the body." By: taoseeker http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1654 taoseeker Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:09:09 +0000 http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1654 "If consciousness exists as an entity separate from the body, we would expect it to be unaffected by physical and chemical fluctuations in the brain." I wonder whether we can regard consciousness much like a signal from a radio or tv station. Its always on but the brain is the actual tv or radio, so if the radio is on the blink (read your drunk) the signal is not received as clearly and we are not as conscious as we normally are. I am of the opinion that the brain is crucial as a receiver of consciousness but is not the source of the same. By: deusxmachina http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1647 deusxmachina Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:14:33 +0000 http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1647 I think consciousness arises from the ability to observe something without any apparent "observer" and therefore influence otherwise totally random events, starting at the subatomic level, and working its way up to us humans via emergence. If particles have free will, so do humans: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/35391/title/Math_Trek__Do_subatomic_particles_have_free_will%3F I personally really like Phillip Pullman's concept of Dust in the His Dark Materials series. The idea that there is almost a "carrier-particle" of consciousness that arises whenever a probabilistic event occurs on the quantum level. These coalesce as complexity increases. All things would then have a certain amount of consciousness in them. Which is more or less the belief in eastern philosophy, a universal consciousness. It also means that an AI would in fact be conscious. Hopefully their karma will prevent a technological singularity leading to global robot takeover 0.o By: AngelsFall http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1641 AngelsFall Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:00:33 +0000 http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1641 Giroman, I'm just letting you know that I am writing that post down and keeping it someplace where I can see it, because that's brilliant. By: Giroman http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1640 Giroman Sun, 31 May 2009 13:23:47 +0000 http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1640 When you pour water over a radio, or drop your cell phone - it no longer works correctly...or the person talking through the device starts sounding weird. From that, one could deduce that the electronics within the radio are the source of the 'voice'. By: Mr. Tallyman http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1639 Mr. Tallyman Thu, 28 May 2009 09:23:07 +0000 http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1639 Also, I think it is important to understand animals.. they have no language, therefore, no super ego.. yet, they communicate using the most basic, subtle, gestures.. which are all relative to all living beings.. so.. is it a dog? or is it a god? (I know, I know, many of you are miffed. But open your mind up like a christmas gift ;) By: mrj http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1638 mrj Thu, 28 May 2009 06:12:18 +0000 http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1638 It seems pretty ironic to me that another large bit of evidence against the soul is memory loss, yet people claim to "remember" their past lives. Could the soul have its own memory bank? Maybe we've been asleep this whole time and we never could have known. But we wake up when we do OBEs. Or when we die. (according to some experiences). That may also be why so many OBEs are remembered very vividly too. By: Mr. Tallyman http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1637 Mr. Tallyman Wed, 27 May 2009 21:50:12 +0000 http://alittleweird.com/2009/05/25/do-dogs-have-souls/#comment-1637 "the human brain is the most complex object in this quadrant of the galaxy.." - Alexander have you seen the picture of the universal superstructure compared to the human brain nural clusters? Have a look at a video I posted in the 'weird video' discussion section here, called "a trip through the holographic universe" and at the end, it will show you what I am talking about. Its pretty heavy..