is it normal to look at your body as a computer? Options

[x_itchy_b_x]

is it normal to look at ones body as a computer? sometimes i feel like a robot... well i am sorta.
Ok so im a giant bio computer that takes in information by my sensory inputs, like sight sound taste ect. it just takes in information then my brain puts it together in my head through chemical reactions. my heart is a pump to circulate oxygen, my veins are like a fuel system. my nervous system are the wires used to communicate to the brain and tell me whats going on. i look at my hand and know obviously its a bunch of bones and veins and muscles. ive heard from certain religions that the body is just a vehicle for the soul, the true essence of yourself. and food and things on earth are kinda like software... and when i put (load) them in my computer i get different results.. lol like vitamins and drugs (legal ones like caffeine ect,)

i don't really have a point with this lol, but does anyone else think about stuff like this?

[Culpable04]

our bodies are not computer and nor like one, computers are like human, in History the man has worked to develop something close to human, processors, robots and other inventions are meant to simulate human capabilities, so computers are made to be like us not the other way around, but your comparission is excellent and actually that idea is used on some basic medicine classes so students get a sence of how sistems work together to get the human machine to operate

[x_itchy_b_x]

sweet, yeah its insane to think we can clone and actually make these computers, or humans. technology is like an adaptation of ourselves (im not sure what a clone would be if it were done on a human level, would it have a soul?)

[Culpable04]

sweet, yeah its insane to think we can clone and actually make these computers, or humans. technology is like an adaptation of ourselves (im not sure what a clone would be if it were done on a human level, would it have a soul?)

the answer to that is very controversial. your religion beliefs ( if you have any ) wil help you to formulate an answer fo that.

[Mike]

I think that there is a far greater correlation between humans and cars rather than humans and computers.
As any computer scientist will tell you, analog data can't be mapped on a computer, which makes it impossible for a computer to truly represent the world around us, or us for that matter. Cars have internals that (in my opinion) are far closer to our bodies than computers.

[amysmojo]

are you high? lol

[shin]

are you high? lol

muahaha i was thinking the same thing or he's got too much time doing nothing..

[easternpiro1]

whatever he had be had before coming to THAT epiphany...I WANT SOME!!!

[x_itchy_b_x]

haha you guys are funny. im just sitting at work.

[jayi12-15psi]

I believe that a cloned human would have a soul, why wouldn't it? There's only one way to find out...

[uberschall]

there is a theory in philosophy that calls computers "the chinese box." the idea is this: say you put someone who does not know anything of chinese into a sealed box with a slot on each side. you give him a big manual, of sorts. pieces of paper with symbols in chinese are inserted in one slot, he references the manual...and outputs a piece of paper with a corresponding symbol on the other side. in a nutshell, he is following guidelines to perform a task, but he will never understand the chinese symbols. even as computers become more powerful, they will never be sentient beings.

the bigger question might be this:

say you believe that you have a "soul." given your understanding of the science that governs your body (electrical impulses in your nervous system, chemical reactions in your stomach, etc.), how do you explain any connection between YOUR body and YOUR soul? how do you classify a connection between the natural and the supernatural?

[raz128]

the bigger question might be this:

say you believe that you have a "soul." given your understanding of the science that governs your body (electrical impulses in your nervous system, chemical reactions in your stomach, etc.), how do you explain any connection between YOUR body and YOUR soul? how do you classify a connection between the natural and the supernatural?

I guess that's pretty similar to the whole sceince vs religion debate. e.g. big-bang and theory of evolution vs Adam and Eve.

[Culpable04]

let's the controversy begin

[BloodyStupidDave...]

i don't really have a point with this lol, but does anyone else think about stuff like this?

Yup. If you really want to blow your mind, read around the subject of the ghost in the machine, an idea first put forward by Gilbert Ryle and René Descartes. The central idea is that many workings of the mind can be described as clockwork yet no matter how far you delve, there is always a ghost-like kernal that seems to defy being described as purely mechanical (the spirit, soul, consciousness).

Do you have a background in either social science or computers?

See also: Descartes' Myth, The Concept of Mind, Dualism, God the Watchmaker
Category: Behavioural theory, Philisophy of Mind

This post has been edited by BloodyStupidDavey: Jan 23, 2007 - 3:03 PM

[Rayme]

Id like to think of ourselves has having souls..but there is alot to consider. Like physical restriction on its development. For an example, people brain disorder or accidents that damage the brain...these can strongly changes a person's entire personality..that much makes you think about how the whole "soul thing". But in the end, we are all slaves of our body...

[x_itchy_b_x]

oh yeah the ghost in the machine is an awesome thing to ponder.
i like all this type of stuff. thanks for those recommendations Davey.

[devilsden97]

ive heard from certain religions that the body is just a vehicle for the soul
but does anyone else think about stuff like this?

My vehicle for my soul is turbocharged......im nearly pushing 19psi.....u should hear my BOV after mexican food...lol

[jayi12-15psi]

I do not believe in the idea of a soul as it is commonly described. I believe that your soul is your brains simple understanding of physical happenings of the world around it. Your brain keeps memory and it learns from that, your souls personality is simply the sum of your building blocks of memory combined with genetics. It's like when you're using photoshop and there is a record of your changes to the photo, deleting these changes from the list changes the present form of the photo.

I guess what I'm trying to say is... youre brain is like a computer in some aspects, not all. I'm also saying your soul is more like a brain reflex, it makes your body feel things by controlling chemicals in the body to make it happy. When you die, your brain is losing the ability to sustain your body and your brain-body connection is severed = /(soul)

YOU HAVE NO SOUL