I don't know if this is stupid question to ask but I want to know what people here(Muslims and non Muslims) think of soul in scientific terms.
Although there have been some attempts by scientists towards this...it is just a tiny fraction. The scientific community at large does not bother to study concepts such as soul. Science only concerns itself with things or phenomenon that is quantifiable, measurable...can be studied/observed/detected etc.
Having said that...below is what I think...using scientific knowledge(not a reflection of my religious beliefs).
In quantum mechanics there is a concept of "conservation of information"...kind of like "conservation of energy". To illustrate it using an example...
...let's say u leave a cup of hot coffee on ur dining table and leave for work. A few hours later some other person comes to ur house and finds that cup of coffee that is now at room temperature. This person has no way of knowing if the coffee was at room temperature to begin with...or if it was hot earlier and cooled down...or if it was cold earlier and warmed up. However that information about the coffee's previously hot state(which then gradually cooled down) still exists...if this person could magically become all knowing...and possessed the knowledge of the quantum state of every single atom in the universe at all times...
...he can see how the energy was transferred from one molecule to the next and work his way backwards to figure out that the coffee was initially hot
...kind of like if u record a video of orderly billiard balls that are hit and scattered...and play it backwards.
Now on to the next part...keep the above concept of "conservation of information" in ur head.
Next up...the human brain. Medically a person is pronounced dead...when brain death has occurred. Ppl who are brain dead(no brain activity) can be kept alive on life support(as in keeping their body alive)...but there has never been a case of anyone who was brain dead(and on life support) ever waking up. This means once someone's brain has died...that person is gone for good.
Moreover...a person's personality is also linked to their brain. In some cases ppl's personality has been observed to have changed after they suffered a brain injury. In short ur morality, personality, thoughts, memories, and everything that make u...u
...is basically ur brain.
Now circling back to the "conservation of information"...this means that all the quantum information of the atoms that make up ur brain at every single point in time is technically never gone.
Is that the eternal soul? Who knows...
@Joe Shearer this seems like a topic that might interest u.
...also I haven't had time yet to read that article u sent me...been busy for the most part...will get around to it hopefully soon.