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Comment by DoreenMichele | Hacker News Reader

If that's a sincere inquiry and not witty criticism of the implicit assumption in the title that they do, you might look for the book written by/about the first heart-lung transplant recipient.

I saw an interesting interview with her many years ago. She talked about experiences where she seemingly channeled the personality and preferences of the donor for a time following the surgery.

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That's an interesting example of information being stored in parts of our body besides our brain which is a theory gaining more popularity. I wouldn't be surprised if further study confirmed this.

A soul usually implies a religious / supernatural energy that survives our death. It's an inherently non-testable theory.

I think the question if "do humans have souls?" is just an example of how the question "do elephants have souls?" can have no testable answer, just personal opinion based on your belief system.

She also had interesting dreams about the guy who donated her organs and similar. Some belief systems would see that as in line with souls being real.

It's all a simulacra in 4D anyway. I think it's fine to go with whatever mental models float your boat in that regard.

(Mind you, I reserve the right to do the same thing and don't feel compelled to agree with anyone else about such topics.)

Seems to me that mind alteration due to an organ transplant is solid evidence against the existence of the soul.

I didn't chime in to initiate debate on the subject. I was merely suggesting a potential resource for someone potentially interested in exploring the topic for themselves.

I generally do not debate such things.

Thanks, I think it was a relevant anecdote.

I don’t think “souls” are stored in a hunk of meat. Sounds like religious people searching for evidence.

You are entitled to your opinion. And religious people are equally entitled to look for evidence that supports their world view, if they so desire.

I feel like having evidence of faith undermines the idea of faith.

And some folks feel like having evidence that corroborates their beliefs is good for their sanity. Or they simply enjoy learning about such things.

Different strokes for different folks.

But it’s not evidence... so what does that say about their sanity.

Please don't do religious flamewar on HN. It's tedious, and leads to worse.

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