Current Forum: What is a person? Read 55 times  Date: Mon Sep 16 2002 11:13 am Author: DY Subject: Re: What is a person?   Wow this is a great question. I guess I would say a person consists of their soul.. I think the soul is the most important part of a person. It determines if they intentions in life are evil or kind. I have always wondered what kind of soul a person must have to be able to perform the act of MURDER or HARM to others. Are they born with that kind of soul or is it possible that over years their soul becomes corrupt. Are we like dolphins...I guess dolphins have the most gentle souls and I think many people can relate good souls with dolphins. It is a living thing like a person and has feelings and emotions. I say that because of their unique crys...Its like when you hear a dolphin cry.. it can either bring joy to you heart or tear it apart. Are we like plants.. hmm.. I guess plants are alive...(like that plant from little shop of horrors..) they need nurturing in order to survive. Maybe a little..Oh yeah.. it is said they like music too.. who doesn't...lol Are we like rocks...? they are masses of stone... I guess some people can become so out of it that their souls become made of stone and they have no feelings and do evil things...(look at bin laden, his heart must be made of stone). Are we like spirits... ? Yes.. i think that within your soul you must have a spirit that gives you the influence and disposition of being. Have I made myself clear.. Or have i made it more confusing??

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 38 times  Date: Tue Oct 1 2002 5:16 pm Author: HS Subject: Re: What is a person?   I agree. A persons soul is the most important part of them,when a person is born it is already predetermined whether they have a good influence over our world or whether they will reak havoc among everyone around them.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 36 times  Date: Wed Oct 2 2002 9:59 am Author: DS Subject: Re: What is a person?   How can that be? Wouldn't enviornment, social issues, family life, etc all have an influence on what a person will become? Are you saying that God (in whatever form you believe him to be) predetermines who is good and who is evil?

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 38 times  Date: Thu Oct 3 2002 3:26 am Author: LJ Subject: Re: What is a person?   I agree with you DS. I don't think god would want to create a person predetermined to evil. I so think our environment as a whole and the way the person reacts to those environment determines who they are. But at the same time, don't animals have soul? I think they do, but then if they have soul that means we have to label them as human. That wouldn't be quite right i guess.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 41 times  Date: Thu Oct 3 2002 12:35 pm Author: DS Subject: Re: What is a person?   LJ: I do believe that animals have souls. There are other traits that separate the human species, for example, the abiilty to reason. Whether or not "soul" exists is really a religious or spiritual personal belief. The other traits of humans are based in observation and scientific proof.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 37 times  Date: Thu Oct 3 2002 2:03 pm Author: DSe Subject: Re: What is a person?   I think biological factors only play a small part in a persons development, because you may be predispositoned to lean towards a certain behavior but the great thing about being human is that you still have a choice. You do not have to become what your parents are. For example both my parents smoke and I do not. That is because the environment that one grows up in has just as much if not more to do with the shaping of that individual. With the vast amounts of knowledge so readily available at the touch of a finger there is no longer any excuse for uninformed actions, such as being an alcholic or an abusive parent just because one of your parenta were. Humans can change who they are, they can better themselves, through education, and by understanding what they wish to accomplish. I think we are remarkable creatures, even though we have along way to go with bettering ourselves in science, and even in understanding each other. The diffrence between us and animals is that they do things mainly out of instinct, we have to have reason to act, but no matter how hard a tapewormies tries it will only be as good as the rest of the tapeworms. A humans ability to better himself is endless.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 31 times  Date: Fri Oct 4 2002 10:00 pm Author: HS Subject: Re: What is a person?   That's true but you have to remeber their god and their is the devil who once was good but because of the evil intenions of his heart he turned away from God and is now the cruader the evil.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 26 times  Date: Sat Oct 5 2002 9:50 pm Author: OM Subject: Re: What is a person?   I agreed with you DS and LJ, what determined what a person a can turn of is our invironment. What a person see while is growing up it's what it helps to determined if that person is going to be bad or good.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 32 times  Date: Sat Oct 5 2002 9:55 pm Author: OM Subject: Re: What is a person?   I agreed with you DS, the difference between a person and a animal is that animals do'nt have the avility to think rationally. They do't know how to think, i mean they act by instinct.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 28 times  Date: Sat Oct 5 2002 10:25 pm Author: HS Subject: Re: What is a person?   That is very true. Animals do act on instinct, while we always tend to rationalize every thing we do.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 27 times  Date: Sat Oct 5 2002 10:28 pm Author: HS Subject: Re: What is a person?   That also is very true. For instance if a child sees fighting in the home all the time they may turn out to be a very violent person.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 38 times  Date: Sun Oct 6 2002 9:07 pm Author: GE Subject: Re: What is a person?   Not all the time is possible that whatever you see at home you are going to turn the same. Sometime those experiences might turn you better.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 26 times  Date: Mon Oct 7 2002 9:33 am Author: EK Subject: Re: What is a person?   LJ I believe you have just hit the crux. If animals have souls do we label them humans. To me the answer is no. A human is a human. And hey let's not for get that we are mammals and though even I cringe at saying this(typing really) thus we are creatures, animals too. I think the difference comes in where the professor posed the question, in the word person. What makes us different if we are, why do we deserve the title person, what else could be classified as "person" based on your definiton of person. It forces us to look beyond being human.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 33 times  Date: Mon Oct 7 2002 9:41 am Author: EK Subject: Re: What is a person?   OM do you believe all animal acts are by instinct. I know we can teach animals learned behvaior, and they can think enough to plan. To give you two examples to support my argument: Leaned behavior: I love fishes but any animal will learn this after a while, I shake my fish food against the aquirium and they all line up waiting to be fed. I do not think they were doing this when they were first born, it has become a learned behavior because of years of me shaking the little bottle against the aquirium right before i feed them. Planning: Have you ever seen feeding time at the zoo? Some of the animals rush ight to the food, others sit right there and decide which food they will go for, almost it seems to me devisng their course of action before they move. Instinct would tell them to just go ahead and attack the feed pile. Well those are just my thoughts.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 33 times  Date: Mon Oct 7 2002 9:45 am Author: EK  Subject: Re: What is a person?   HS then there is also the argument that a lifestyle such a s that one will lead a child to become a very passive and quiet person. The theory is that their will to fight was so destroyed by what they witnessed that they are virtually unable to defend themselves in any way such as disagreeing with others, arguing, standing up for themselves. I just like contradicting, so tell me what you think.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 27 times  Date: Mon Oct 7 2002 7:06 pm Author: HS Subject: Re: What is a person?   I disagree the enviorment your around most times will influnce the way you act to different experinces in your life.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 26 times  Date: Mon Oct 7 2002 7:11 pm Author: HS Subject: Re: What is a person?   I agree when you witness abuse you will most likely be afraid to express yourself or tell people what you really think of them.In my opinion being around such an enviroment will affect you all through your life.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 24 times  Date: Mon Oct 7 2002 11:13 pm Author: SA Subject: Re: What is a person?   HS, I took psychology class last semester,and we had an interesting topic "Which is crucial in forming human personality, nature or nurture?" I did some research and actually both, the genes we get from our parents and the environment have huge role in shaping us and our personalities. SA.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 26 times  Date: Tue Oct 8 2002 9:22 am Author: DE Subject: Re: What is a person?   I totally disagree, I for one was raised in a drug infested neighborhood and I never so much as tried it. There was lot's of violence around me, not my home, but outside of it. I have seen things most people will never see in there lifetime. It didn't make me a violent person. You have a choice and if you choose it to be that way then that's what it will be. Granted, not everyone is the same and some people will see violent and will be violent, but some choose to do the opposite, because they are tired of living that way. Another example, serial killers, some of them come from very good and loving environments and they still turn to violence, i.e. Jeffrey Dahmer. He had a very ordinary childhood and he turned out to be one of the most grusome killers in American history.

Current Forum: What is a person? Read 17 times  Date: Wed Oct 9 2002 1:18 am Author: AA Subject: Re: What is a person?   i dont know about animals havin soul......imagine a cat selling its soul to the devil for a house full of mice........come on now........i think that it is the soul that separates us from all other living things