Nukemall:
No problems at all, except realism. I prefer explanations which I can take seriously. Something which might be possible. Together with that comes my dislike for unrealistic explanations. Perhaps the following rambling somewhat explains my point of view.
Superbob:
Indeed, a very interesting matter... but the school of thought you mentioned is clearly flawed. When considering such issues, one should keep in mind three concepts.
<font color=yellow>Energy.
Matter.
Information.</font color=yellow>
You mentioned the laws of matter and energy, but forgot information. While matter and energy are constant in closed systems, information is not. In closed systems, information can only decrease, because entropy increases. Remember the concept of entropy? All processes increase overall entropy, the opposite of organized information.
Sadly enough, what we consider soul is exactly what entropy destroys: organized information. Memories, experiences, personality, thoughts, ideas, desires. They are all information. Organized information trying to understand itself and the world. Entropy destroys that, unless matter stores and energy maintains it.
Energy and matter remain constant (forever changing their form) but entropy only increases. Using energy and matter can locally decrease entropy (plants collect sunlight and build intricate structures of life). But the price is always greater overall entropy (the Sun wastes huge amounts of energy in absolutely random manner).
The same applies to sentient beings. To maintain and change ourselves, we must feed ourselves and repair our bodies. Again, energy and matter preserve and transform information, by creating greater overall entropy.
Now you might ask: how does that relate to soul? Very directly. We define soul as information. Information cannot exist without media. The media of our soul is our brain, billions of cells and countless billions connections, each cell and connection in constant change.
That is our soul, information flowing in natural computers. We download it from the environment in the process of learning. We change and modify what we learned, explore and create something new. Eventually, we pass it back. Back to the world, and other creatures like ourselves. Not as abstract and impossible soul, <font color=yellow>but quite real choices, words and deeds.</font color=yellow>
Depending on conditions, much of soul may actually die before body, should the brain carrying it wear out. When life ends, this information cannot escape entropy. Because media fails, energy disappears and change stops. Hard disks can withstand this for years, paper for centuries, metal and stone for millennia. The human brain can withstand it too... for minutes.
Unlike energy and matter, information is not constant, even in closed systems. In processing systems adapted to constant learning and change, it lasts mere minutes before disintegrating. Its disintegration cannot constitute transfer. Why? Because the trace of energy which escapes is random and chaotic, and far too weak.
To read and transfer the huge amount of information maintained by a human mind, you would need immensely greater energy. Why? Because such transfers of information, especially to/from systems like brain, is usually slow, painful and inefficient. Learning is always difficult. Forgetting is easy. Because one goes against entropy, while the other goes along.
This is why I consider such concepts unrealistic, and also the concept of telepathy (beyond remote messaging and sensing current intent). They require processes which go against everything we know about information and entropy.
If anything remains of soul, it is what passed back to the world. The part accepted by new generations, the part which created the world they live in. This part continues its eternal change, its quest for understanding perhaps? Not the part which faded from a dead body. The part which was given back to the world via choices and words and deeds... hopefully beneficial deeds which created a better future...
