What is a soul?

Good questions, I can't answer any of them as I think the concept of a soul is redundant unless required by some other belief. I'd like to know the answer to this as well. The soul is a distinct entity that has awareness independant of my own? Am I interpreting your meaning correctly?

Hi Nemesis, a couple of questions about your position, Do you regard altruistic behaviour by chimps as a different sort of morality? Is morality unique to humans because we are the only animals who think about it? If so, what is the altruistic behaviour that we share with chimps? This sounds like you are defining the soul as the sum of our parts, my gestalt self. It is just a label for a thing that has no existence outside of me. This is not to say that I don't accept your position that I transcend my physical substance. The matter that makes up my body is replaced throughout my life, I am materially not the same person that was present at my fifth birthday, yet I remember it. That memory is a property of me that does transcend the matter I am made of. I could label as 'soul' the property which enables me to remember those events which I (the current 'I') was not physically present at. That doesn't make it holy or divine. I think many people do not believe in a soul because the concept is redundant.I'm interested in dogrelata's question about from when the soul originates, from a dogmatic perspective obviously.

Yes. Hm, I do. I do however accept that my parts are not solely the matter that make me. I would consider synapse firing to be a part of me. By my definition of soul (created for this discussion) it would end at death, yes. Hmm. I guess it depends on how we define human. If simply a member of Homo sapiens, then at conception, or at birth if you don't accept that while within the womb the human has no independence. If we mean human with the required capacities and abilities then sometime after that. Vague answer I know.edit :
Sorry, regarding my thoughts when a human becomes a human, as it relates to a soul; by my definition the soul grows with you.Having offered an alternative non-eternal definition for soul I'll run with it. In reality, I think the concept as it is generally used is redundant - especially as a non physical motive force or similar.Edited by Sour, : expanded thoughts on when a human becomes human as it relates to the soulEdited by Sour, : spelling

Understood. From my experience talking to people who believe in a soul, it's the bit that remains after death. When you ask what it actually is, you get a different answer for each person you ask.