So, here is a question, something I have been thinking about lately, but for now I wont post any links because I am tired.

Basically every 7 years or so your body has been completely replaced by new cells. So then, how is it that we remain generally "the same" as people.

Some people would argue that this is where "souls" come in to play. In case you don't know, a soul is pretty much like a ghost. It is what "goes to heaven or hell" after we die if you are Christian and what is thought to be locked in an endless cycle of death and rebirth if you are Hindu. It is usually an eternal thing, your real presence in the universe.

So, what do you think? What keeps us the same? It is important to note that (unless I am mistaken) this question has yet to really be answered.

Personally I was raised Catholic, so the idea of souls will most likely always be somewhere in my head. However, for people in similar situations, one thing I learned recently is that Judaism, which is the precursor to Christianity, does not really teach that souls exist (or at least they didn't originally), so is that really something worth trusting?

Sorry for the shoddy nature of this post, but I'm tired and don't have any links on hand to further detail what I mean.

Interesting, I was thinking something like this.


Also, Odlov, where are you? This reminds me of something you posted a while back about uploading people on to computers and such.

Cells aren't the only things constantly being replaced - our souls/egos are always being replaced as well....or, rather, changed. Is there a real difference between dramatic change and replacement? Not really.

Our ego (soul) changes every second. Every new bit of information received, every new thought - changes us a little. Sometimes you can, in a matter of minutes, transform into a radically different person with different perspectives and behavior.

We are not really the same people we were 7 years ago, for example.
Let's see....the only things Odlov from today and Odlov from 7 years ago share is their origin, and some memories of past experiences which allow me to remember young Odlov as a previous state of myself. Some memories are all there is actually connecting us.

If i got hit over a head with a shovel and suffered total amnesia, that Odlov from 7 years ago would be gone forever from my memory. I would cease to associate myself with him.

Yes they are. All cells in human body are replaced over the course of 6-7 years.

But that doesn't matter. The cell replacement is so slow that it wouldn't interfere with any processes, in the brain or anywhere else.

I stand corrected D:

Doesn't do anything for the fact that our ego changes drastically though.

I've read on it briefly before.
If i can recall shorter-term memories are stored in electrical states of neurons.
fundamental memories like language are encoded in brain structure..."neurological passageways" or sumwhat.
So, the brain structure does change throughout your life....even though the number of neurons may not increase.

hm, both very good points. It could be argued that there are several aspects of our selves that stay the same, but honestly in thinking about it they seem pretty small and hardly worth mentioning. It does still leave open though things like how a traumatic experience can scar someone from a very young age. I guess the cells passing on memory work to cover that though, and probably since the shape and makeup of your brain might not change in ways that could effect that I guess it would work in a really similar way as long as you are alive.

:/ since I made the thread I want to post some dramatic thing that can't be explained, for the sake of keeping ideas going, but I cant. Anyone got anything? :P

You grow because your cells duplicate them selfs, the original cell and the duplicate both contain the same DNA. So even if all our cells replace them selfs, it's basically the same.