That nothing can tarnish the soul. only the glass that it stands behind, the mind. In his mind, his heart and even his spirit, Hitler was a sick and evil man. but in his soul, he was neutral.

but isnt the spirit the soul?

So we are born neutral and not pure of heart as some (not me)would like to believe?

I'm not sure if the soul or spirit & mind are separate things. I know soul or spirit is related to emotion but think about this. If you take alcohol or drugs like ecstasy it affects your mood (& your brain). We know mood is emotion. If the mind is related to the brain & your mood can be determined by your brain, then emotion is just another function of the brain.

(now I hope I'm not getting off topic) No one is born with knowledge. Without knowledge, we know nothing. Our personality is determined by genetics. Therefore, no one is born good, evil or "chose" to be. The way we react to the outside world is determined by that. I would say the same for perception..we may all know something exists but that doesn't mean we feel the same way about it. I'm not sure if universal understanding of any one thing will ever exist..alot of people want to change the world but can't. I can become famous but not everyone will care (that's fine & I'm not just settling for that..not everyone has to, since not everyone is significant to me. Alot of people never will be). That's why I don't bother to change people or expect people to understand everything but if it helps, I explain myself.
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When you've got nothing or discard it all, only then you are truely free..but we all have desires. Satisfacton, not freedom, is what we want.

perhaps the soul is as malleable as the mind when it comes to things... that a person can become permanently tainted (or at least strongly) by things that occur or things that they may do or even think of doing...

To go back to the checker metahpor.... such changes would be like moving the position of the shards. It's all two-dimensional, so there will always be the same amount black as white, and when the blacks form large clusters, the white is simply moved outside of center, but is no less present.

underlying good beneath a veneer of evil... naaah... some people are just bad...

More that in such cases, evil is stronger in the person's soul, but is just as substantialas the good, and, therefore, not indefeatable.

hmm...

*walks away for the day tired and caffeine needy*

I would like to resurrect this thread. I have changed my views on it drastically since I started it. And i'm less of an immature asshole than when I started it, so furhter discussion on the matter with me will be less stupid (i'll actaully read what you say!!). Basically, what I believe now, is that we are... well, The Universe is all composed of the same different kinds of matter is various spatial and temporal conditions right? This is the Human Condition. Don;t ask "what do you mean is the Human Condition," because THIS is the human condition. We are living it.

tell that to a wombat...

Haha. Yes, and that's the wombat condition. My point si that the conditions and circumstances that any given system of matter exists under is their soul. My soul is the Richard condition. That is to say, that my soul is the sum of my conditions (temporal and spatial) and circumstances (biological and philosophical) that I, Richard am living under. Soon enough I'll die and my soul will be whatever happens to me then.

how fatalistic... i prefer to think that when you die, your soul will become what MY subconcious wants it to become.

*chuckles*

hey, dont laugh if you dont want to become fodder for shrimp spirits...