There are no implications to flights of fantasy, there is no soul, the body is a complex biological machine and there's no reason we can't either learn to prevent the machine from breaking or learn to grow another for spare parts.
Actually, I agree with you. It's just that "soul" is the name I give to that complex biological machine.
And I think it's only fair. Though the word "soul" is mostly used in conjunction with dualistic assumptions, it has a deeper meaning that is fairly independent of dualism: Your soul is whatever makes you who you are. Your soul is what really matters about you. Whether the soul is separate from the body and survives it is another question.
I also have a specific reason to use that word: its emotional impact. For instance, one reason I think we should stop death is because it means the destruction of the soul. Even a devout Christian would understand my concerns (and go on to reassure me, but that's another story).
Religion isn't hijacking the word, it's their word, you seem to be the one hijacking it. You can't take your own personal definition of word and expect to communicate well. That we're even having this discussion proves that. Worse, you admit to using the word for its emotional impact and seem proud that deceiving a Christian by using it would work, this utterly intellectually dishonest.
Okay, I am the one who hijack the word[1]. But I don't think this is deception. I use the greater emotional impact because it is the one that actually match reality. I would say "destruction of the soul" to a Christian because only that would convey the right idea. If I say "death", the guy would think about going somewhere else instead of true death. That would be deception (or at least miscommunication).
For the same reason, I don't like to say "passed away", "gone", or "departed". Plain "died" is more accurate.
Reasonable response, so let me explain further; it's deceptive because that's not what most people mean by should and by using the word you're giving them a false impression of what you're trying to say. The fact is you're not going to go into this explanation of what you mean by soul in every conversation and many of those people wouldn't grok the implications of what you're saying on their own beliefs; you said soul, and then a bunch of nerdy babble, and they'll just remember you said soul and they agree with that part.
Imagine that every time you say soul, nearly everyone hears "immortal soul", because that's basically the truth. Find a better word to communicate what you really think, soul is not that word. The truth is what you're describing is "mind", not soul. It may be pretty to redefine a word, or take a different personal meaning, but it does not aid communication, it hampers it and deceives those who aren't willing to dig deeper into a discussion.
Nevertheless, how do I talk about true death to a believer in immortal souls? The best path I found so far is something like "imagine that your soul is actually destroyed when you die". It focuses directly on what I want to talk about: true death, the real deal, not some half-death with an escape hatch.
The advantage with this approach is that it emphasises the common ground between monotheists and transhumanists: true death is simply not acceptable. Therefore if it is a problem, and we have any chance of fixing it, then we must take that chance.
It also avoids some problems: If I say we don't have (immortal) souls, then he may soon draw conclusions I'm totally not about (worst case, he could think I'm a nihilist). If I avoid the word "soul" altogether, he could think I'm afraid of the afterlife.
People who believe in immortal souls don't believe in true death, you can't talk to them about it anymore than you can get them to imagine there's no god; they can't, it's just outside their worldview. These are people that can't be reasoned with because these beliefs aren't based on reason. Adapting their language but meaning different things by the words doesn't help you communicate, it only feels that way, because they're agreeing based on what they think those words mean, not with what you mean by them.
It is one thing to not believe something, and another to not even being able to do counter-factual reasoning. I don't believe in the afterlife, but I can sure imagine it. I've read enough stories about that.
Conversely, one could believe in the afterlife, and be able to imagine a world without it at the same time. Or a world where there is an afterlife, but where souls can actually be destroyed, or dissipated into the aether. I can recall at least 2 such stories: the anime Bleach, and The Night's Dawn Trilogy novel. I'm sure there are other examples.
Now, I reckon I can't help someone who can't even play the "what if" game.
Would you feel different if the cloned body (or body parts) were grown in a fashion such that it was never intelligent or aware? Such as without a full brain or even without a head? Would it then be a soul?
Thats why I didnt want to mention that or answer to loup. I didnt not wanted to end up with religion debate on whether there is God and Soul, and if Soul can be transferred etc. This was pure speculation on how to live forever. That is, if you could live happily ever after knowing you tricked your twin-brother/sister and gave him falling apart body with a 5 years life-expectancy.
We are getting really into science fiction now. Perhaps if you could somehow monitor and capture every single signal sent from human brain to its body from the moment brain formed itself (I know there is a flaw here...), then if you could record that transmission for 25 years, perhaps (Im really in year 2350 now, I think) you could program a computer that would re-play that transmission into a growing body (to mimic brain) and as a result at age 25 had a healthy body without human brain. This, I think, would cut-off all skeptics that believe Soul is attached to mind, not body itself.
Maybe I shouldn't have use the word "soul". My vision is, we do not have souls, we are souls. Body + Brain = Soul, so to speak. Death is when that soul is irrevocably destroyed (meaning, even the information required to reconstruct it is lost forever).
So, while convoluted, your solution sounds like it is acceptable. Be careful however to play a record of a past life, instead of, say, actually simulating a brain in a silicon chip, Gunm style. Because that simulation would most certainly be a soul as well (I don't believe in philosophical zombies).
