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Soul

Will Clones Have Souls?
The Spiritual Future of Artificial Intelligence

By Michael Levy

There is much controversy today over the cloning of human beings. Scientists have successfully cloned sheep and other animals and it can only be a matter of time before we have walking, talking replicas of ourselves. I am not getting into the discussion of whether it is wrong or right, for that will be a debate that will rage for a long time to come. Science and religion have always been at loggerheads with each other. There is no wrong or right and many wars are caused by strong beliefs that rely on the ego's view of the world. The only truth is spirit's truth, not just the stand-alone human ego.

Will a clone have a soul? I asked this question recently on a spiritual forum and the views of some very well respected spiritual folks were quite mixed. I concluded that it all depends on how we define a soul and who we think we are. Many philosophers have come up with a variety of answers, but humanity as a whole has not settled on any one answer.

Let's imagine a future scenario: Will is fifty years old and an atheist. Will has undergone many cosmetic surgeries for vanity. Does Will have a soul? Of course he does; right? He may not recognize God, but that does not mean God does not exist. Atheists may not know if they have a soul; that does not mean they do not have one.

Now Will is very wealthy and decides he would like a clone of himself for posterity. The clone is made and is physically identical to how Will looked when he was young – all natural with no cosmetic surgery. The clone studies hard, grows up very religious and becomes a priest. Does the minister have a soul? Will God disown the minister? Who is to cast the first stone? Is the 'Will' of God the same as the 'Will' of the clone?

Now more than ever folks need to understand who they are and the reason they exist. If we go through life with no idea of who we truly are, we will get more and more lost in the high-tech revolution. We need a sound foundation to build our lives upon.