[Advaita-l] Concept of soul

[Mahesh Ursekar]

Pranams Murali-ji:

I am sorry, sir but I think you contradict yourself:

U say:
>> (4) b.      The soul is a result of life. i.e sufficiently complex
adaptive systems
>> can interact and behave to create the existence of an entity that has a
>> distinct but dependent existence on the components that create it. In
this
>> model, the sould ceases to exist when the body does.

And also:
>> Given the above issues, the notion of a synthetic life inherently does
>> nothing to the theory of the existence or non-existence of the soul

If the (maybe disputable) claim of the scientists bears fruit and that
they are able to create synthetic life which mirrors organic life (i.e.
build some kind of rudimentary cell), they they have would have established
4(b). And that demolishes the second view that synthetic life has nothing to
do with the soul!

Thanks, Mahesh


On 8/25/07, Murali Karamchedu <murali_m_k at msn.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> Dear List Members,
>
> Here are some things to consider when we ponder on the question of life,
> synthetic life, soul and philosophy.
>
> 1.      The contemporary definition of science is that it is a system of
> acquiring knowledge ( and a body of knowledge) based on the 'scientific
> method' that is based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable
> evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning [ 1]
>
> 2.      Life as such is more difficult to define, however scientists
> currently
> working on understanding information and processes related to life systems
> have a working definition somewhat as follows [2]:
>
> a) To delineate itself from its environment through the production and
> maintenance of a membrane equivalent, most probably a rudimentary or
> quasi-active-transport membrane necessary for selective absorption of
> nutrients, excretion of wastes, and  overcoming osmotic and toxic
> gradients,
>
> b) To capture, transduce, store, and call up energy for utilization [do
> work],
> c) To [be able to] actively replicate, not just passively polymerize or
> crystallize.
> d) To write, store, and pass along seemingly conceptual information that
> "gives orders"for what is to be manufactured in the future, and to
> actually
> bring to pass those processes and "factory products" out of
> linguistic-like
> coded (codon) messages ('recipes') into physical biochemical, biological,
> and thermodynamic reality." [This includes the ability to respond to the
> environment and evolve].
>
>
> These are scientists from institutes like the Santafe Institue
> (http://www.santafe.edu ) that try to model information, biochemical and
> physical processes of life systems - popularly known as Alife
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_life ) - as self organizing, self
> perpetuating, complex adaptive systems. When scientists working on
> recreating life-processes talk about their work - either as simulations,
> or
> synthetically - it is some variant of the above that they are trying to
> create.
>
> 3.      Distinct from life is the notion of a 'soul'. There are wide
> ranging
> definitions for this depending on ones philosophical and religious
> leanings.
> However, as a distinct non-empirical entity, one cannot either prove or
> disprove the existence or non-existence of a soul based on empirical or
> observable evidence or based on inferential methods that are based on
> empirical evidence. This is not a problem of lack of scientific tools or
> insight, but one of domain. An analogy is no amount of physical evidence
> or
> inference can prove or disprove the existence of things like mathematical
> formula independent of the existence of a thinking individual. This
> problem
> itself has been considered by many scientists and philosophers of science
> in
> different ways.
>
> 4.      Because of the above inadequacy, one can speculate about the soul
> in the
> following ways:
>
> a.      There is no soul
> b.      The soul is a result of life. i.e sufficiently complex adaptive
> systems
> can interact and behave to create the existence of an entity that has a
> distinct but dependent existence on the components that create it. In this
> model, the sould ceases to exist when the body does. a) and b) are
> effectively the position taken by materialists or cArvAkAs.
> c.      Life is an occasion for the soul express itself and experience the
> phenomenal world.
>
> Given the above issues, the notion of a synthetic life inherently does
> nothing to the theory of the existence or non-existence of the soul, and
> as
> such will continue to be a speculation; unless one admits a different
> means
> of knowing such as sruti or revelation.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Murali Manohar
>
>
>
>
>
> 1.      Isaac Newton (1687, 1713, 1726). "Rules for the study of natural
> philosophy", Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Third edition.
> The General Scholium containing the 4 rules follows Book 3, The System of
> the World. Reprinted on pages 794-796 of I. Bernard Cohen and Anne
> Whitman's
> 1999 translation, University of California Press ISBN 0-520-08817-4, 974
> pages.
> 2.      Self-organization, Autocatalysis and Models of the Origin of Life
> by
> Regina Monaco & Fatima Rateb de Montozon, Published by the Santafe
> Institute
> (
> http://www.santafe.edu/education/csss/csss05/papers/monaco_et_al._cssssf05.pdf
> )
>
>
>
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