It sounds like science fiction, but a serious philosophical argument, taken seriously by physicists and philosophers alike, suggests it might not be. Here’s Nick Bostrom’s actual argument, what physics has and hasn’t found, and why the honest answer is more interesting than either believing it or dismissing it outright.
“Soul” is one of the most-used words in the English language and one of the least defined. Plato, Aristotle, Hindu Vedanta, Buddhism, and modern neuroscience all give genuinely different answers to what persists in a person. Here’s an honest comparison of what each tradition actually claims — and where, remarkably, they converge.
What is real? Why is there something rather than nothing? Do we have free will? Metaphysics asks the questions science hasn’t answered yet — and some it never will. A beginner’s guide to the deepest questions.