¶ … Soul AND the experience machine).
I would unequivocally not plug into such an experience machine that could grant one the thoughts and sensations of achieving any goal, or having any such experience, that one desires. There is more at stake in life and in the world than simply feeling good. Prudent, discerning individuals with a penchant for the actual natural aspect of life realize that other than raw sensation, there are other things of importance such as helping people and establishing a foundation upon which generations can effectively build. In fact, I might even posit that this latter concern is actually one of the chief aims of life, to provide a precedent or an example of some remarkable accomplishment so that the rest of humanity can benefit. Striving to set such a precedent animates me; pretending in a machine does not.
After reading Asma's reflection on the soul, it becomes obvious that the author does have a few noteworthy points. One is that the soul is impossible to measure in empirical terms (so why such a measurement would take up as much space in his essay is beyond me, and largely irrelevant to any conception of the notion of soul). Secondly, Asma (year) denotes the fact that the term soul is used in a number of colloquial expressions which have meaning to society whether or not a soul actually exists. That is also a valid statement. However, it largely appears as though the empirical evidence seeking professor has overlooked the primary tenet related to the soul, which is that although references to it in contemporary language are often trite and cliche, they stem from a real feeling, a real expression, which is not related to neither the mind nor the body but to a third dimension of human existence known as…the soul.
References
Asma, S.T. (). The Soul.
