If souls do exist, I think it's completely coincidental that anyone thinks they have one. Every decision or action we come to is self contained within the neurological signals in our brain. It does not follow that some immaterial wisp is at the controls of a biological mechanism.
I think it's just a way for people, unsatisfied with life, to attach some greater meaning to their existence. However, if you think of yourself as a physical mind with physical reactions to physical stimulous, then it might follow that your physical concerns have a far greater impact than any immaterial concerns your physical mind chooses to believe in.
Any thoughts?
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Are thoughts physical?
thinkwithme
Level 7
Jan 15, 2018
0
Skado asked a similar question, but I think my answer fits here:
A thought can certainly be measured through physical means. For example, an MRI can detect when a person is counting seconds based on activity in the brain. In that way, a physical component is apparent.
However, any immaterial component wouldn't be so obvious, as there aren't immaterial measuring sticks with which to detect it. Until such a method is developed, I don't think it's reasonable to assume thoughts are anything but physical.
@Sheitelhau Isn't physical something you can touch? We observe evidence of thought processes occurring. Still we are limited really in what we are able to observe. It seems like a thought is a type of energy. This leads me to ponder the idea that energy is not created or destroyed, it is transformed. How our energy is transformed maybe is linked to the concept of the soul.
@thinkwithme A brain surgeon could certainly touch "thoughts," in that he could touch the neural clusters they are contained in. However, an astronomer can't touch the sun or any distant star, but he could calculate its mass, shifts in its electromagnetic field, and even how fast it's spinning.
Insofar as transformation of energy is concerned, energy is a physical thing. For example, photosynthesis converts energy from light into the energy binding atoms in glucose. However, in this way, any form of energy can be converted to any other form of energy: solar sails convert light into kinetic energy, solar panels convert it into electrical energy, and any change of energy results in a portion of thermal energy.
It is reasonable to say that a thought comes from a transformation of energy, but neurological science shows us that it isn't its own form of energy. Neurons release concentrations of salts in response to stimulus, with the salts transferring their ionic energy to the next neuron in a chain. And, the larger the clump of neurons the more complex the manifested thoughts are. With smaller creatures such as fruit flies, scientists have been successful in manipulating these neural pathways to force certain reactions given a stimulus.
However, the human mind is simply so massive in comparison to a fruit fly, that the work to properly map and simulate a human brain would take decades of research and computing power even further away. This certainly has not stopped researchers from trying however.
This article might be a good read if you're interested:
[wired.com]
@Sheitelhau I just wonder if it is possible that consciousness may exist where humans are not capable of observing it.
@thinkwithme I've wondered similar things in that regard. However, I don't think such a thing is responsible for decision-making, as there's already an explanation for that.
As in so many things, Monty Python summed it up best.
"Exec #2: Yeah, I've had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: People aren't wearing enough hats. Two: Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia.
Exec #3: What was that about hats again?"
- from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Paul4747
Level 8
Jan 14, 2018
0
The mind is the soul. The body is the physical living vessel containing the soul. They are two in one being, a duality of sorts Separate but one. The concept of the soul being separate from the body exists in homo sapiens, neanderthals, and other human ancestral types but not other primates. We assume this because of ritualized burials of the dead where great apes and chimps do not. This does not mean these primates do not also have souls, just no concept of the soul.
Religions come into play to attempt to understand what happens to the mind (soul) after the physical living Vessel (body) dies, having recognized the mind and body being separate. We know what happens to the body. it decays but still exists as matter cannot be destroyed (only transformed). This gives rise to the question, does the mind (energy) cease to exist? No, because like matter it cannot be destroyed, only transformed. Religions believe this mind/soul transformation occurs somewhat intact as an entity. I believe the energy of the mind/soul just dissipates like a ripple on the pond or a fart in the breeze and becomes undistinguishable.
ollieberry
Level 7
Jan 14, 2018
0
The word 'soul' is a very religious word. It has nice possibilities if your a 'good' person and unpleasant possibilities if your an 'un-nice ' person. I'd rather think of myself (being) as a 'mind' which is something that the brain 'causes' There. Now no doubt all you lot out there who are into deep philosophical reasoning's will have a lot of fun picking holes in my statement (reasoning) Go for it 
Skyfacer
Level 7
Jan 13, 2018
0
Some have pointed out that nearly every word you use to describe integrity and the soul is the same. When we say for example that a person stopped doing what they claimed to believe in (no integrity) that they "sold their soul". I prefer to think of it that way. As an agnostic I am unwilling to say either way what happens if anything after death but I am willing to say a person can sell their soul or lose their soul or save their soul.
engineer_in_nj
Level 6
Jan 13, 2018
0
Is that to say you're willing to believe in souls or willing, and prefer, to use the idioms?
@Sheitelhau I am saying that when people use the word soul they often just mean integrity. A concept I am quite happy to believe exists.
As I've said before, "our souls" definitely exist 
zanyfish
Level 6
Jan 13, 2018
1
You say that as if it should be known what you've said before. How is it definite? By what rationale? Can you measure this thing that definitely exists, or is there some better way to prove it's existence?
@Sheitelhau Sorry - it's a joke based on the phonetics of "our souls".
@zanyfish aaaah, I see. Went over my head in type.
Is a thought a physical thing?
skado
Level 9
Jan 13, 2018
0
A thought can certainly be measured through physical means. For example, an MRI can detect when a person is counting seconds based on activity in the brain. In that way, a physical component is apparent.
However, any immaterial component wouldn't be so obvious, as there aren't immaterial measuring sticks with which to detect it. Until such a meathod is developed, I don't think it's reasonable to assume thoughts are anything but physical.
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