<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>On May 22, 2010, at 2:26 PM, Damien Broderick wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">If it turns out that there *is* something like a "soul" that flits from body to body and that comprises the core of continuing identity, I'd probably change my opinion.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></blockquote></div><div><br></div><div>Actually there *is* something like a soul, it's not identical but information is as close as you can get to the traditional concept of the soul and still
remain<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> within the scientific method. Consider the similarities:</span></div><div><br></div><div>The soul is non material and so is information. It's difficult to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">pin down a unique physical location for the soul, and the same is true
for<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> information. The soul is the essential, must have, part of
consciousness,<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> exactly the same situation is true for information. The soul is
immortal<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> and so, potentially, is information.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p>But there are also important differences too:</o:p></p><div><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">A soul is unique but information can be duplicated. The soul is and
will <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">always remain unfathomable, but information is understandable, in
fact,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> information is the ONLY thing that is understandable. Information <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">unambiguously exists, I don't think anyone would deny that, but if
the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> soul exists it will never be proven scientifically. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><br></div><div> John K Clark</div>
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