What are you asking? Do you believe you are in hell now, and are asking if you can study your way out? Or do you want to study now to avoid hell later? Or do you mean to study now to escape some future internment? I believe there are people who will invent a “science” for anything you can name. Most of these “sciences” are divisions of the great and immortal ancient art of separating you from your money.

So… you think I’ve got a soul.

This is going good so far.

There’s no need to study.
The following link is an escape portal from Hell: https://www.fluther.com/chat/1/leave/

@JLoon I think no such thing. I’m trying to understand what YOU think.

There’s no science of the soul, and probably no such thing as a “soul”.

There are scientific studies of consciousness which look at “neural correlates of consciousness”, and some philosophical topics pertaining to the nature and ontology of consciousness.

There’s philosophy of mind.

There’s philosophy of space and time.

There’s philosophy of self.

We experience a ‘flow of time’ in seemingly continuous self-awareness, with our ‘self’ existing on a continuum of time from our earliest memories to death. This apparent continuity of consciousness and the self is perhaps what motivates ideas about the ‘soul’.

My own view is that the flow of time, the continuity of consciousness and the sense of self are all illusory. Ontologically, consciousness is a moment to moment reconstruction: like being annihiliated and recreated billions of times a second.

“Dear God, if there is a God, please save my soul, if I have a soul”...Agnostics Prayer

If you apply science you will find that there is no god, no heaven, no hell, no soul, and you will be free of it!

@kritiper – That sounds like a lot of hard work.
@ Nomore lockout – Amen…and awomen.
@Kropotkin – You could be a Buddhist, but I could be wrong.
@stanleybmanly – Just answer the question dude, trying figure out what I think will only spoil your day.
@Brian1946 – Is that escape portal a dating site?
At everyone else : Try watching the video I linked to this question. You may not agree, but I think it’s at least interesting.

I don’t think the existence of a metaphysical soul or an afterlife will be proven with science. I think that some of what we may think of as the soul or the “spark of life” or a near-death experience could be explained with science by studying the brain. I think there are many unanswered questions about the nature of consciousness. But I don’t think that any of this means you can “study” to improve conditions in the afterlife. Even if we can frame scientifically some of what we think of as a “soul”, that doesn’t mean we’ve accounted for any continuation of consciousness after death or the existence of an afterlife. Not yet, at least.

Yes, I watched the video. I thought it was interesting, particularly the part about the difference between brain activity in a child vs. an adult.

@Demosthenes – I barely passed the one physics class I took, so the study reference was mostly a joke.

But I think I can agree with most of your answer. Consciousness may or may not be linked to some concept of a soul, but it does seem to be a self evident phenomena.

What fascinates me is the possibility that some form of energy may survive after what we understand as physical death. One of so many things that makes me wonder.

@JLoon I’m not a Buddhist.

@Kropotkin – Hmmm… then why do you smell like incense?

@JLoon Easier than being a theist, that’s for sure…
You might be surprised at how easy it is.

@kritiper – I demand more choices!!

I want a religion with no rules, and science with no grades.

@JLoon That stuff gets wafted around in Catholic churches too.

@Kropotkin – AHA!!

I mean, amen.

But I DID answer your question. Let me put it more plainly than you did your query: anyone can call anything a “science”. Now your turn: are you in hell? Or is this a question about a possible hellish future?

@stanleybmanly – It sounds like your warning me not to buy any moon rocks from these scientists. Thanks for caring ;)

But actually I don’t think that’s what they’re selling here, and not what I’m shopping for. As far as where I’m at in my personal universe, I think heaven and hell are always possibilities in each moment of time. That’s the life I’ve got after all my good intentions and bad behavior – just like everyone else.

I think the notion of a soul isn’t totally irrational, and something that science could study without necessarily proving anything – the way astrophyicists consider dark matter. But no matter how things turn out I’m pretty sure I’m not going to get my virginity back. So don’t waste your prayers…

@JLoon Sorry. Beggars can’t be choosers.

Hell is real and everyone will burn in searing agony forever. There is no escaping it.

Heaven is just an illusion or fantasy that people made up because the brain cannot cope with the reality and terror of burning and suffering and agony forever and ever.

Religions that offer comfort and promise salvation from Hell might be a comfort to help you through this life.

@Yellowdog – Sounds like you’ve got big plans.

@kritiper – I’m not begging, it’s a DEMAND! Give me what I want and nobody gets hurt ;)

@JLoon

“Give me what I want and nobody gets hurt ;)”

I’ll give you what you want, but please hurt me anyway! ;-D

@Brian1946 – HA! Anything to wash away those sins :)

This song’s philosophy is you are soul

@doyendroll – It’s our song :)

@JLoon I guess you’ll only be hurting yourself. And that’s called masochism. Have fun!

@kritiper – You’re reading your own thoughts dude. There’s a term for that too…

Pleasant thread. Toss in Trump and politics and you have a prescription for nausea. Or a nervous break down.

@Nomore_lockout – Fluther’s best and brightest. Glad you could make it ;)

Got the wrong bear up a tree, but thanks anyway : ) Needless to say, between thoughts of burning for eternity, and sitting on needles waiting on Ga. election results I’m ready to go drink some bleach.

@JLoon slowly, very slowly we are getting somewhere. But whether you know it or not, you are making it feel like pulling teeth with you. Your mind is racing faster than you can write. You didn’t mention YOUR hell might be a consequence of sin, nor that it is designed with non virgins in mind. Are you asking us if there is a scientific rationalization for such a place? THINK ABOUT IT. I’m not looking for snappy patter. We’re convinced already of your capabilities.

@stanleybmanly – The pulling teeth analogy could go both ways friend ;)

Really, I’m hoping you watched the video I linked here. Because the ideas in it are more what this question is actually about.

I STUDIOUSLY watched that video. And saw in it not a single reference to hell, damnation or punishment of any sort. And it is only now that I understand the reference to be a mere afterthought—the joke of your question. Turns out, it was the only part of the question I found intriguing, the idea that studying might be so gruesome a punishment that it might free one from hell. As for that first part, you would not believe how many variations of that question appear here. Just wait. It’ll pop up dozens of times before your opportunity to crack a book in the fiery study hall.

@stanleybmanly – Oh my.
And I thought I could make you smile :D

What are you talking about? The 2 of us are a barrel of laughs!

@stanleybmanly – Thats exactly what I meant!

You so bad… ;p