Hey there everyone! I am taking an online philosophy class and as it happens, I don't know that many people in the real world. For my class, we are constantly having to ask other people questions, and I thought "Well hey, Subeta has all walks of life. I bet they would have amazing outputs!" So I come to you Subeta with philosophical questions if you do not mind.

Yes, I had a previous question that I asked before, so if you want to look at that, take a peak at the spoiler, but there's a different one that I must work on this time.

So, the background. Let's all think about Søren Kierkegaard. How do you say his name? I am actually not sure. I pronounce it like sore-ehn, but it may actually be more like sear-ehn, however I am not sure. Who was Kierkegaard? A philosopher, poet, theologian, etc. Of course, all of those important guys are. What is important about him this time? He has three stages of life: aesthetic, ethical, and religious. The aesthetic stage is categorized as the "pursuit of pleasure" and that is in fact pleasure of all sorts whether it be art, music, or sensuous pleasure. The aesthete is to be crafty, seductive, and energetic. The aesthete's life is amoral. An example is Don Juan, the seducer. According to Kierkegaard, most people live in this stage of life, even without meaning to. The ethical stage involves making a commitment to the societal norms, principles, and customs. The ethical individual is earnest and chooses and ethical code to live by. The last stage is the religious stage where one "leaps" towards the religious life and commitment to God. Everything centers around God. There is no dread or meaninglessness.

Do we all agree with Kierkegaard that we all must be in the aesthetic stage? What stage do you believe that you are in? How do you know which stage you are in, and why aren't in you the others?

If you all do not mind, I would love to know what you all think.

The soul is who you really are. Not that the body isn't important, but that the soul is what you really are.

I don't know how it came into being, but I believe when your body dies your soul is reincarnated into another body. Each life you lead can be vastly different from your previous one and that some people are better at recalling their past lives than others.

The function of the soul? To live? I don't believe there is really any solid purpose to life, so I don't know why the soul has to exist in the first place.

I think the soul came in to being when we started doubting if people were actually devils or not. You know when people say "you have no soul". They mean to say that you are not a human a person, not that that should define you as a person. I think the soul coming into being is kind of like how the Gods for the Greeks and the Romans, something to make a connection to so that things make sense.

Personally I think the soul is your brain that creates chemicals and produces electric currents in your brain to create thoughts. It is a manifestation of what thinks makes us "human" in the convenience sense of are you a good person or are you a bad person. This can take on different levels, but on the top I think having a soul is like having feelings and being able to process and understand them.

"Tell me, what exactly is the function of a rubber duck?" - Arthur Weasley, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets What is the function of something that we have no functional and tangible purpose for? To believe in something, to have fun with something, to be. The soul for some is a guide, for some it is something that just exists as a ball of glowing light, for some they are words that represent something that does not exist but still can give meaning to life. The soul is something for us to believe in when there is nothing else left to believe in when it comes to the great beyond. .

Body, Soul, Spirit Diagram

It's hard to explain what I believe without dragging God into it, but that's basically what my beliefs are founded upon.

I live in a Christian family and follow the same faith as my family. In this belief, there are many different ideas as to what we, humans, are. The idea that my contemporary Baptist church's youth leader has come up with is that we are three parts: Body, Soul, and Spirit. Now, without getting too into the body and spirit portions, here is basically what all of the parts pertain to.

The body, of course, is the physical manifestation of what is going on outside and inside of us. Our bodily state is affected by the world around us first and then by our soul and spirit. The soul is affected by the body and affects the spirit. Our soul feels the emotions that come into play in different situations in our life. (Examples: Frustration, giddiness, nervousness, etc.) These more specific emotions come with different situations. The spirit is the home to the larger emotions and states of being, such as joy, anger, depression, etc. The emotions we feel in our soul are affected by the emotions we feel in our spirit. (Example: Nervous with an angry spirit is more threatening than nervous with a sad spirit.)

Our soul is affected by both the body and the spirit, and is the most constantly changing part of our being. The soul is home to all of the emotions we experience on a day to day basis, and is very specific when compared to the spirit. The spirit will be changed by large, life-changing events in one's life, where as the soul is what is changed by things as simple as a change in the weather. Our conversations and interactions with others are affected by our soul, and this can be seen by how dramatic people are. If people are overly dramatic, it is most likely that their soul changes more often than someone who is less dramatic.

The soul can present different emotions based on the state of the spirit. For example, you meet a man who is very happy, and this shows in all he does. Even when he is angry or frustrated, he does not stay that way for long and often finds a way to solve the problem. You notice a gradual change in the man, making him angrier and more confrontational as the weeks and months pass. Eventually you see that he is almost unbearable, then all of it calms down and he is just cold, calculating, and distant. You may just see a man who changed since you knew him, but he was affected by the stress presented to him by slowly losing a loved one, and therefore you experienced his downfall firsthand.

The soul is a delicate thing, affected by the spirit and body, but we determine what our soul puts forth. When presented with a difficult situation, we choose whether to appear a pessimist or optimist, and this is something unique about our souls as a whole. They can be determined by who we are (our spirits) and what we do (our bodies), instead of the other way around.

I hope you found this helpful!

EDIT: The fangirl's definition of the soul is, "That's where the feels hit."

First, I would like to thank you both for your wonderful responses! Also, ping your friends. I would love to see what everyone is thinking!

You have an interesting point. I know that a lot of people believe in reincarnation, but I never considered being able to remember your passed lives, which is strange since I think of all sorts of things all the time. I think that it would sort of make sense when you really look at the world. It could be an explanation for those who believe they are truly supposed to be the opposite gender or are in the LGBT community. Just to let everyone know before anyone gets offended, I am not against any of that; actually, I feel like the world should legalize love no matter what gender you are, but that is a whole different issue. What I am meaning to say is that the concept of possibly being female in a previous life would be a valid explanation as to why a male may truly feel like he is female or is homosexual, and vice versa. I really love that you have brought up the idea of bringing reincarnation. That is an excellent thought!

So you are saying that the soul is not a true and real thing, but something we have come to believe in to speak of a person themselves?

Hello my very Christian buddy. So, to you, the soul changes. Interesting. Most people say that a soul is the only thing that is consistent and never changes. I find that very intriguing. Now, I know that God and religion obviously play a huge part in how you view the soul and, well, a lot of things. Bringing in different people with different backgrounds is a fantastic way to look at things. This way, you are able to see how everyone views things differently and how they view them the same. It was indeed very helpful

Always glad to help :)

Yes

I'm glad I was actually helpful. I'm always afraid of offending people when I talk about my beliefs. It's not that I am just terrified of judgement, it's that I don't like offending people in general. It's annoying and tedious.

Do you think you could actually offend me? Ever?

That is fascinating. I am truly fascinated in the different ways people view the same subjects. What brought you to that belief?

Well, as we're not allowed to discuss religion on this site...I can't really go into detail on what I think about the soul, although it is a topic I do like to talk about. I can't really think how to say what I think unless I mention...religious things, lol. ^^;;

But I would like to mention the fact that I almost failed my philosophy class in college. I managed a C. The professor didn't like anyone who didn't agree with his ideas on things and he was...well...a facist pig, to be polite. -_-

Well he seems like a wonderful man

I don't have to worry about you. It's other people I have to worry about.

Remember that I am the most important and therefore you don't have to pay attention to how anyone else feels.

I have other people as well. I'm not a total loser. Anyway, I don't want to clog your thread with useless conversational drivel, so off I go!

Well I came to that belief at religions and what they mean to people. I understand that we are not supposed to talk in depth about this. But if we go to the basis of any kind of religon/cult/other it is the need to find ground in what we see in this world and make sense of it and possibly give us guidance and a path. I do not want to seem like I am criticizing anyone or any religion, but I think we all need a base to build our understanding on. For example, my adoptive mother converted to Buddhism from not believing in anything after being diagnosed with cancer, and I think she needed to have something to base the fact that everything will be ok, and possibly a way to tell a 6 year old that she is not going to be gone forever, she will be back but probably not in the same body. Another example is Science, we have science because some people needed a reason for how everything works. The soul is something to give a base to believe that there is more to life than just living then dying with no rhyme or reason, it gives people a possible reason and belief.

I have another question for everyonei f you all don't mind! I would love to know what everyone thinks.

So, the background. Let's all think about Søren Kierkegaard. How do you say his name? I am actually not sure. I pronounce it like sore-ehn, but it may actually be more like sear-ehn, however I am not sure. Who was Kierkegaard? A philosopher, poet, theologian, etc. Of course, all of those important guys are. What is important about him this time? He has three stages of life: aesthetic, ethical, and religious. The aesthetic stage is categorized as the "pursuit of pleasure" and that is in fact pleasure of all sorts whether it be art, music, or sensuous pleasure. The aesthete is to be crafty, seductive, and energetic. The aesthete's life is amoral. An example is Don Juan, the seducer. According to Kierkegaard, most people live in this stage of life, even without meaning to. The ethical stage involves making a commitment to the societal norms, principles, and customs. The ethical individual is earnest and chooses and ethical code to live by. The last stage is the religious stage where one "leaps" towards the religious life and commitment to God. Everything centers around God. There is no dread or meaninglessness.

Do we all agree with Kierkegaard that we all must be in the aesthetic stage? What stage do you believe that you are in? How do you know which stage you are in, and why aren't in you the others?

If you all do not mind, I would love to know what you all think.

You have my answer. poof