Discussion Why does this soul live in 'me'? Or, why was I born as 'me'?

[peace_van]

This question has been bothering me since I was a child.
At the time I was born, trillions of lives came into existence. (Another question, why did my consciousness choose this timestamp?)
But why do I feel this body but not others?
How did my mind and feelings relate to this physical existence?
Why and how is this me?
I hope there's a scientific explanation, if any.

Also consciousness seems not to move between bodies. (One can temporarily dissociate with the help of drug? Is this the same?)
It feels like confined.
If it's possible, I wish I could switch between different livings, to feel the life of other people, or even a cat, a dog, a mosquito...
Maybe it's partially achieved when we read others' stories, fictions or watch movies, play video games, etc.

 

[sserafim]

This question has been bothering me since I was a child.
At the time I was born, trillions of lives came into existence. (Another question, why did my consciousness choose this timestamp?)
But why do I feel this body but not others?
How did my mind and feelings relate to this physical existence?
Why and how is this me?
I hope there's a scientific explanation, if any.

Also consciousness seems not to move between bodies. (One can temporarily dissociate with the help of drug? Is this the same?)
It feels like confined.
If it's possible, I wish I could switch between different livings, to feel the life of other people, or even a cat, a dog, a mosquito...
Maybe it's partially achieved when we read others' stories, fictions or watch movies, play video games, etc.

I'm wondering this as well. Why did I have to be me when I could've been literally anyone else? I wish I didn't have to be myself, I hate being neurodivergent and living in this neurotypical world. Some people say that our soul chose our current incarnations, and I would say to that that my soul fucked up. It intentionally chose a hard life full of suffering. Why…

 

[SmollMushroom]

This question has been bothering me since I was a child.
At the time I was born, trillions of lives came into existence. (Another question, why did my consciousness choose this timestamp?)
But why do I feel this body but not others?
How did my mind and feelings relate to this physical existence?
Why and how is this me?
I hope there's a scientific explanation, if any.

Also consciousness seems not to move between bodies. (One can temporarily dissociate with the help of drug? Is this the same?)
It feels like confined.
If it's possible, I wish I could switch between different livings, to feel the life of other people, or even a cat, a dog, a mosquito...
Maybe it's partially achieved when we read others' stories, fictions or watch movies, play video games, etc.

Consciousness does not move between bodies becouse it's the product of your brain.
Wondering why "you are you" and why have you born in this time, it's just like asking why a snowflake with a particular shape has been generated from cloud 'x' exactly at that moment. It's just random.
That's my opinion anyways.

 

[EternalShore]

This question has been bothering me since I was a child.
At the time I was born, trillions of lives came into existence. (Another question, why did my consciousness choose this timestamp?)
But why do I feel this body but not others?
How did my mind and feelings relate to this physical existence?
Why and how is this me?
I hope there's a scientific explanation, if any.

Also consciousness seems not to move between bodies. (One can temporarily dissociate with the help of drug? Is this the same?)
It feels like confined.
If it's possible, I wish I could switch between different livings, to feel the life of other people, or even a cat, a dog, a mosquito...
Maybe it's partially achieved when we read others' stories, fictions or watch movies, play video games, etc.

Seems interesting~ I would just say it's because God created you to be that way~ But why did He is the real question~ And if you're anything like me and considering you're here, you probably are a little, why did He choose to curse us like He did?! :(
same tho! :( I've always wanted to be able to transform into anything I wanted since I was a kid! >w<

 

[Forever Sleep]

I believe there are theories that consciousness is simply a by product of how the brain functions. To me, I can see how self awareness could be a good trait for survival. Having a sense of self and self importance may be beneficial towards the drive to reproduce and survive. Evolution favours creatures that do that. So- why couldn't consciousness be something that just evolved along with the rest of us?

If you had been born into a different body, your brain would have developed differently- according to that person's genetic makeup, plus- the upbringing and outside stimuli you would have been exposed to. You would be a different person, with a different sense of self.

That's what I think anyway. I don't think consciousness is a separate entity that chooses us at birth. I really hope that it doesn't survive beyond death to get reincarnated.

I don't think we have a fully developed sense of self when we are born. I think it's something that develops as our brain does. So- that suggests to me that it is linked to the brain- rather than being some independent source.

I guess I see it a bit like a battery. It's a component that makes us function as humans. If you took a battery out of a torch and put it into a remote control, it wouldn't change what it does in essence. I expect consciousness as an experience is similar for people. It's just that I know I'm me because I've lived my whole life in this body. You've lived your whole life in yours. Maybe a tape recorder is a better example than a battery. My consciousess has simply recorded everything that has happened to me. It's been genetically programmed to have certain traits and the rest I have learnt.

I'm not utterly certain in my beliefs though. I don't understand dreams for one. Where do those images come from? I'm sure I have dreamt of places I've never seen before. Why do we share similar dreams? Dreams like flying are common. Where is our reference for that? Sometimes that kind of thing does make me wonder whether there is something deeper we all tap in to. I don't know. I'm kind of scientifically biased but I do still have a spiritual bent.

It's a mystery definitely and I definitely find consciousness so weird. It makes sense to me that I know that I'm me. As in- it makes a kind of evolutionary sense. Still- how I know that- I don't know. Plus- do animals have that sense? I think some do more than others.

I guess as well- if it is an evolutionary strength, I start to wonder if it is going wrong! I think the reason we can feel so unhappy and contemplate killing ourselves is precisely because of our sense of self. We realise we are deeply unhappy.

 

[peace_van]

I believe there are theories that consciousness is simply a by product of how the brain functions. To me, I can see how self awareness could be a good trait for survival. Having a sense of self and self importance may be beneficial towards the drive to reproduce and survive. Evolution favours creatures that do that. So- why couldn't consciousness be something that just evolved along with the rest of us?

If you had been born into a different body, your brain would have developed differently- according to that person's genetic makeup, plus- the upbringing and outside stimuli you would have been exposed to. You would be a different person, with a different sense of self.

That's what I think anyway. I don't think consciousness is a separate entity that chooses us at birth. I really hope that it doesn't survive beyond death to get reincarnated.

I don't think we have a fully developed sense of self when we are born. I think it's something that develops as our brain does. So- that suggests to me that it is linked to the brain- rather than being some independent source.

I guess I see it a bit like a battery. It's a component that makes us function as humans. If you took a battery out of a torch and put it into a remote control, it wouldn't change what it does in essence. I expect consciousness as an experience is similar for people. It's just that I know I'm me because I've lived my whole life in this body. You've lived your whole life in yours. Maybe a tape recorder is a better example than a battery. My consciousess has simply recorded everything that has happened to me. It's been genetically programmed to have certain traits and the rest I have learnt.

I'm not utterly certain in my beliefs though. I don't understand dreams for one. Where do those images come from? I'm sure I have dreamt of places I've never seen before. Why do we share similar dreams? Dreams like flying are common. Where is our reference for that? Sometimes that kind of thing does make me wonder whether there is something deeper we all tap in to. I don't know. I'm kind of scientifically biased but I do still have a spiritual bent.

It's a mystery definitely and I definitely find consciousness so weird. It makes sense to me that I know that I'm me. As in- it makes a kind of evolutionary sense. Still- how I know that- I don't know. Plus- do animals have that sense? I think some do more than others.

I guess as well- if it is an evolutionary strength, I start to wonder if it is going wrong! I think the reason we can feel so unhappy and contemplate killing ourselves is precisely because of our sense of self. We realise we are deeply unhappy.

Makes sense and enlightening. Yes scientifically one does not have self-consciousness in their infanthood, so it's developed afterwards, and many living species do not have this function.

According to my knowledge dreams are what brain takes to relax, it randomly combines and permutes fractions of your life experience, possibly enhancing certain features of that experience. When you dream of places you've never seen before, your brain is utilizing your imagination and creating scenes from what you have seen. Maybe it's like AI painting? Given a text prompt, AI 'imagines' a scene from the training data that it digested before. Neurology and psychology are mysterious, but I'm not sure whether it's good science. I'm afraid it would realize Yuri's mind control technology in the game Red Alert 2...

Suicidal thoughts are based on self-awareness, indeed. From my personal view, for the individual, it's a mechanism of self-protection, and for the mankind species, it's a process of genetic selection, not necessarily a bad thing. When one envisions sufferings are set in their future and they have no way to change, the wise choise may be to ctb. And what leads to this situation can be attributed to the person's inability to adapt to the (social) environment. Darwin's evolution theory states that the fittest survives. That's the cruel reality. I hope this world is created equally for everyone anywhere on the neurodiversity spectrum, gender spectrum, etc, but not specifically for those 'fittest'. As the intelligent, mankind should work towards this goal, but not defending Darwin's theory, I think it's for the uncivilized.

 

[R_N]

I don't really believe in souls, just anatomy to a certain degree. So like some other people said I feel the sense of you and what you are comes from the brain. And if you were another body you would be a completely different human being with another brain.

I don't believe in souls controling bodies. I believe that brain is what controls us.

So not exactly the reply you are looking for since it is coming from someone like me I am sorry lol. I bet there are some spiritual people here tho.

 

[Forever Sleep]

Makes sense and enlightening. Yes scientifically one does not have self-consciousness in their infanthood, so it's developed afterwards, and many living species do not have this function.

According to my knowledge dreams are what brain takes to relax, it randomly combines and permutes fractions of your life experience, possibly enhancing certain features of that experience. When you dream of places you've never seen before, your brain is utilizing your imagination and creating scenes from what you have seen. Maybe it's like AI painting? Given a text prompt, AI 'imagines' a scene from the training data that it digests before. Neurology and psychology are mysterious, but I'm not sure whether it's good science. I'm afraid it would realize Yuri's mind control technology in the game Red Alert 2...

Suicidal thoughts are based on self-awareness, indeed. From my personal view, for the individual, it's a mechanism of self-protection, and for the mankind species, it's a process of genetic selection, not necessarily a bad thing. When one envisions sufferings are set in their future and they have no way to change, the wise choise may be to ctb. And what leads to this situation can be attributed to the person's inability to adapt to the (social) environment. Darwin's evolution theory states that the fittest survives. That's the cruel reality. I hope this world is created equally for everyone anywhere on the neurodiversity spectrum, gender spectrum, etc, but not specifically for those 'fittest'. As the intelligent, mankind should work towards this goal, but not defending Darwin's theory, I think it's for the uncivilized.

Interesting and I agree. With dreams though- I'm always amazed at how powerful our brains are when they are subconscious. We create an entire world and participate in it. Even my best day dreams don't compare in vividness to my dreams at night. I guess being awake and processing all the living requirements our bodies need, our brains have less power to work with.

I believe that even people born blind still can have visual dreams though. That seems odd. Where is the reference for that?

 

[peace_van]

I don't really believe in souls, just anatomy to a certain degree. So like some other people said I feel the sense of you and what you are comes from the brain. And if you were another body you would be a completely different human being with another brain.

I don't believe in souls controling bodies. I believe that brain is what controls us.

So not exactly the reply you are looking for since it is coming from someone like me I am sorry lol. I bet there are some spiritual people here tho.

I believe there are theories that consciousness is simply a by product of how the brain functions. To me, I can see how self awareness could be a good trait for survival. Having a sense of self and self importance may be beneficial towards the drive to reproduce and survive. Evolution favours creatures that do that. So- why couldn't consciousness be something that just evolved along with the rest of us?

If you had been born into a different body, your brain would have developed differently- according to that person's genetic makeup, plus- the upbringing and outside stimuli you would have been exposed to. You would be a different person, with a different sense of self.

That's what I think anyway. I don't think consciousness is a separate entity that chooses us at birth. I really hope that it doesn't survive beyond death to get reincarnated.

I don't think we have a fully developed sense of self when we are born. I think it's something that develops as our brain does. So- that suggests to me that it is linked to the brain- rather than being some independent source.

I guess I see it a bit like a battery. It's a component that makes us function as humans. If you took a battery out of a torch and put it into a remote control, it wouldn't change what it does in essence. I expect consciousness as an experience is similar for people. It's just that I know I'm me because I've lived my whole life in this body. You've lived your whole life in yours. Maybe a tape recorder is a better example than a battery. My consciousess has simply recorded everything that has happened to me. It's been genetically programmed to have certain traits and the rest I have learnt.

I'm not utterly certain in my beliefs though. I don't understand dreams for one. Where do those images come from? I'm sure I have dreamt of places I've never seen before. Why do we share similar dreams? Dreams like flying are common. Where is our reference for that? Sometimes that kind of thing does make me wonder whether there is something deeper we all tap in to. I don't know. I'm kind of scientifically biased but I do still have a spiritual bent.

It's a mystery definitely and I definitely find consciousness so weird. It makes sense to me that I know that I'm me. As in- it makes a kind of evolutionary sense. Still- how I know that- I don't know. Plus- do animals have that sense? I think some do more than others.

I guess as well- if it is an evolutionary strength, I start to wonder if it is going wrong! I think the reason we can feel so unhappy and contemplate killing ourselves is precisely because of our sense of self. We realise we are deeply unhappy.

But there's still an ultimate problem: why is this my brain? Randomness is one possibility, there can be others.

 

[peace_van]

Interesting and I agree. With dreams though- I'm always amazed at how powerful our brains are when they are subconscious. We create an entire world and participate in it. Even my best day dreams don't compare in vividness to my dreams at night. I guess being awake and processing all the living requirements our bodies need, our brains have less power to work with.

I believe that even people born blind still can have visual dreams though. That seems odd. Where is the reference for that?

Visual dream content, graphical representation and EEG alpha activity in congenitally blind subjects
How the blind dream
It seems disputed on whether people born blind can 'see' in their dreams. It's really magic to me if they do.

 

[EternalShore]

Makes sense and enlightening. Yes scientifically one does not have self-consciousness in their infanthood, so it's developed afterwards, and many living species do not have this function.

According to my knowledge dreams are what brain takes to relax, it randomly combines and permutes fractions of your life experience, possibly enhancing certain features of that experience. When you dream of places you've never seen before, your brain is utilizing your imagination and creating scenes from what you have seen. Maybe it's like AI painting? Given a text prompt, AI 'imagines' a scene from the training data that it digested before. Neurology and psychology are mysterious, but I'm not sure whether it's good science. I'm afraid it would realize Yuri's mind control technology in the game Red Alert 2...

Suicidal thoughts are based on self-awareness, indeed. From my personal view, for the individual, it's a mechanism of self-protection, and for the mankind species, it's a process of genetic selection, not necessarily a bad thing. When one envisions sufferings are set in their future and they have no way to change, the wise choise may be to ctb. And what leads to this situation can be attributed to the person's inability to adapt to the (social) environment. Darwin's evolution theory states that the fittest survives. That's the cruel reality. I hope this world is created equally for everyone anywhere on the neurodiversity spectrum, gender spectrum, etc, but not specifically for those 'fittest'. As the intelligent, mankind should work towards this goal, but not defending Darwin's theory, I think it's for the uncivilized.

I know that I refuse to believe it's true for that reason, but the whole concept of Darwinism rather makes me sad because it means that if I die, I'm a failure and nothing else matters. :(

 

[Meditation guide]

Universal consciousness manifesting in various ways to gather various experiences. Like a tulip that has hundreds of varieties. Universal consciousness is just an observer, through your five senses.

You have millions of living bacteria in your gut that are not part of you. Each of them is asking the same question, who am I and why am I here. Do they all know they are inside a body such as yours? No.
Do we know we are all part of an outer consciousness? No.

 

[sserafim]

I believe there are theories that consciousness is simply a by product of how the brain functions. To me, I can see how self awareness could be a good trait for survival. Having a sense of self and self importance may be beneficial towards the drive to reproduce and survive. Evolution favours creatures that do that. So- why couldn't consciousness be something that just evolved along with the rest of us?

If you had been born into a different body, your brain would have developed differently- according to that person's genetic makeup, plus- the upbringing and outside stimuli you would have been exposed to. You would be a different person, with a different sense of self.

That's what I think anyway. I don't think consciousness is a separate entity that chooses us at birth. I really hope that it doesn't survive beyond death to get reincarnated.

I don't think we have a fully developed sense of self when we are born. I think it's something that develops as our brain does. So- that suggests to me that it is linked to the brain- rather than being some independent source.

I guess I see it a bit like a battery. It's a component that makes us function as humans. If you took a battery out of a torch and put it into a remote control, it wouldn't change what it does in essence. I expect consciousness as an experience is similar for people. It's just that I know I'm me because I've lived my whole life in this body. You've lived your whole life in yours. Maybe a tape recorder is a better example than a battery. My consciousess has simply recorded everything that has happened to me. It's been genetically programmed to have certain traits and the rest I have learnt.

I'm not utterly certain in my beliefs though. I don't understand dreams for one. Where do those images come from? I'm sure I have dreamt of places I've never seen before. Why do we share similar dreams? Dreams like flying are common. Where is our reference for that? Sometimes that kind of thing does make me wonder whether there is something deeper we all tap in to. I don't know. I'm kind of scientifically biased but I do still have a spiritual bent.

It's a mystery definitely and I definitely find consciousness so weird. It makes sense to me that I know that I'm me. As in- it makes a kind of evolutionary sense. Still- how I know that- I don't know. Plus- do animals have that sense? I think some do more than others.

I guess as well- if it is an evolutionary strength, I start to wonder if it is going wrong! I think the reason we can feel so unhappy and contemplate killing ourselves is precisely because of our sense of self. We realise we are deeply unhappy.

Dreams have always intrigued me as well. Some people say that some of our dreams may be past life memories, or of parallel lives/alternate realities. Sometimes I get precognitive dreams where the thing I dream about ends up happening in real life or I eventually see a place in real life that I've seen in my dream before.

 

[Jarni]

These have all been my favorite questions since childhood. As a result, I'm very afraid that we're going to be somebody (virus, animal, human being, whatever) forever.

Eternally "being in the body" of somebody, "feeling somebody".

We talk about reincarnation, but reincarnation is a more narrow and limiting concept.

It's not about the soul, it's about feeling the body, the packaging of something.

I have the impression that it's impossible to be "nothing". And that's no fun at all.

 

[sserafim]

These have all been my favorite questions since childhood. As a result, I'm very afraid that we're going to be smb (virus, animal, human being, whatever) forever.

Eternally "being in the body" of sb, "feeling sb".

We talk about reincarnation, but reincarnation is a more narrow and limiting concept. It's not about the soul, it's about feeling the body, the packaging of sth.

I have the impression that it's impossible to be "nothing". And that's no fun at all.

What's smb or sb? Some being?

 

[Jarni]

What's smb or sb? Some being?

edited :-)

 

[Forever Sleep]

Dreams have always intrigued me as well. Some people say that some of our dreams may be past life memories, or of parallel lives/alternate realities. Sometimes I get precognitive dreams where the thing I dream about ends up happening in real life or I eventually see a place in real life that I've seen in my dream before.

I've had this too! Where something I dreamt happened a few weeks or months later. It was the most banal of things too but super weird. I've wondered if there is a logical explanation to it- deja vu or something- my brain not registering the event quickly enough, so I felt like I experienced it twice but I'm sure the first one was a dream. It makes me question things like predetermination and linear time. My Nana was a very spiritual lady. I always hoped I would have some of her gift. I guess that's mainly why I'm not a complete cynic when it comes to spirituality and mysteries. Interesting though- past lives or alternative realities. That would make a cool film.

 

[executioner1983]

I don't have the answer to all of your questions but I might be able to answer your first one. The self does not exist, there is no "you" or "me". It's something we made up, it's like a sloppy attempt at simplifying life when in reality it only overcomplicates it. Imagine yourself in a black void, with no body and no surroundings. What would that feel like? Who would you be? The answer to both is nothing. When you are born you are given a body, a family, and a piece of earth to grow up in. All these things turn you into the person you are today. Realistically, you have no control over the person you are today. You are given a shape and when you exist, you are allowed to decorate the outside of that shape, but the inside will always stay the same. It's like when you see the color blue, you might like it or you might not, but that doesn't make you the color blue.

 

[Jarni]

I've had this too! Where something I dreamt happened a few weeks or months later. It was the most banal of things too but super weird. I've wondered if there is a logical explanation to it- deja vu or something- my brain not registering the event quickly enough, so I felt like I experienced it twice but I'm sure the first one was a dream. It makes me question things like predetermination and linear time. My Nana was a very spiritual lady. I always hoped I would have some of her gift. I guess that's mainly why I'm not a complete cynic when it comes to spirituality and mysteries. Interesting though- past lives or alternative realities. That would make a cool film.

It's quite strange in my experience for the dreams : since Covid made me very ill several years ago, nothing has been happening in my life, and I don't go out at all. But I've never been sick in my dreams. My brain shows me all sorts of things.

Before being ill, I used to have prophetic dreams, or my brain would show dreams related to things I hadn't given enough thought to during the day.

Now all of this is totally not true. My brain just can't show me all the time alone in bed.

 

[peace_van]

Universal consciousness manifesting in various ways to gather various experiences. Like a tulip that has hundreds of varieties. Universal consciousness is just an observer, through your five senses.

You have millions of living bacteria in your gut that are not part of you. Each of them is asking the same question, who am I and why am I here. Do they all know they are inside a body such as yours? No.
Do we know we are all part of an outer consciousness? No.

That's a brand new concept that interests me! But it's so abstract.
Can I understand it as the God's consciousness from a spiritual view?
It exists, but humans can never know what God thinks.

 

[peace_van]

I don't have the answer to all of your questions but I might be able to answer your first one. The self does not exist, there is no "you" or "me". It's something we made up, it's like a sloppy attempt at simplifying life when in reality it only overcomplicates it. Imagine yourself in a black void, with no body and no surroundings. What would that feel like? Who would you be? The answer to both is nothing. When you are born you are given a body, a family, and a piece of earth to grow up in. All these things turn you into the person you are today. Realistically, you have no control over the person you are today. You are given a shape and when you exist, you are allowed to decorate the outside of that shape, but the inside will always stay the same. It's like when you see the color blue, you might like it or you might not, but that doesn't make you the color blue.

This ideology coincides with that in Buddhism? Buddhism also states that there is no unchanging, permanent self, soul or essence in phenomena, and everything lives in a black void, even though they do have certain origin, they will disappear once the origin disappears. (It's hard for me to express the doctrines in English...)

I feel we are talking about two different things. What I exactly mean in my questions should be 'sense' or 'genes', why do I feel with my senses but not others? Why was I assigned this set of genes but not others? Say I stay in a black void room with someone else, they may sense differently from me. Normally both of us feel nothing, but due to their past experiences or genes, they may feel more fear than me, for example. They may wonder 'why am I not as calm as him?' So we have different senses. As you said 'all these things turn you into the person you are today, you have no control over the person you are today', the different genes and life experiences have shaped us into different selves and we can hardly control that ongoing process, but I would like to rewind the time and life experience back to our birth (say we were born at the same time). At that moment, we didn't have self-consciousness, but we did have senses, and the senses could be different due to different genes. How is the difference assigned to different individuals?

Imagine at the time of birth (I don't believe in reincarnation), infants surrounding the God ask for their set of genes. The God may say, 'oh I like you, so I will assign you with this superior genes set and give you birth in the Royal family; oh you are a bad guy, I will make you disabled'... After the process the infants are born. This explanation is purely spiritual, but I'm wondering if there's any science on how this process happens.

 

[executioner1983]

This ideology coincides with that in Buddhism? Buddhism also states that there is no unchanging, permanent self, soul or essence in phenomena, and everything lives in a black void, even though they do have certain origin, they will disappear once the origin disappears. It's hard for me to express the doctorines in English...

I feel we are talking about two different things. What I exactly mean in my questions should be 'sense' or 'genes', why do I feel with my senses but not others? Why was I assigned this set of genes but not others? Say I stay in a black void room with someone else, they may sense differently from me. Normally both of us feel nothing, but due to their past experiences or genes, they may feel more fear than me, for example. They may wonder 'why am I not as calm as him?' So we have different senses. As you said 'all these things turn you into the person you are today, you have no control over the person you are today', the different genes and life experiences have shaped us into different selves and we can hardly control that ongoing process, but I would like to rewind the time and life experience back to our birth (say we were born at the same time). At that moment, we didn't have self-consciousness, but we did have senses, and the senses could be different due to different genes. How is the difference assigned to different individuals?

Imagine at the time of birth (I don't believe in reincarnation), infants surrounding the God ask for their set of genes. The God may say, 'oh I like you, so I will assign you with this superior genes set and give you birth in the Royal family; oh you are a bad guy, I will make you disabled'... After the process the infants are born. This explanation is purely spiritual, but I'm wondering if there's any science on how this process happens.

Yes you are correct, it is buddhism. And I see, I understand now. I guess I don't have an answer to your question as to how the differences are assigned. My intuition wants to tell me there is no science behind it since there would be no reason for it. Like when you speak about your God scenario and how he punishes or rewards people based on whether they're good or bad. I guess I just can't really see that being the case since you would need to classify the infants as one or the other when in reality they're neither. I don't believe in reincarnation either but I do agree with the buddhist view of the self which would make it impossible to label your hypothetical infants as either good or bad sense they would all be apart of the same consciousness.

 

[peace_van]

Yes you are correct, it is buddhism. And I see, I understand now. I guess I don't have an answer to your question as to how the differences are assigned. My intuition wants to tell me there is no science behind it since there would be no reason for it. Like when you speak about your God scenario and how he punishes or rewards people based on whether they're good or bad. I guess I just can't really see that being the case since you would need to classify the infants as one or the other when in reality they're neither. I don't believe in reincarnation either but I do agree with the buddhist view of the self which would make it impossible to label your hypothetical infants as either good or bad sense they would all be apart of the same consciousness.

At this point maybe randomness is the only reasonable answer )
I'm not envying others' genes set, rather I'm more convinced of Buddhism.
There's little we can change for our fate. At the beginning, our fate has mostly been determined by a random assignment.
Next, everything happens in a chained fashion, controlled by history and environment.