Philosophy question of the month-November

[GeraldFord]

Is biology all that separates men from women? In other words, are there male souls and female souls? Or one kind of soul? Are the different character traits in men and women  inherent or do to socialization?

[Sin Cut]

and what about transvestites?

[Izzy]

Bah, women's obsession with money, celebrity and shoes are the key differences

[MCT]

I know that men have more gray matter than women, and women, more white matter than men. Also, men have more penises (all the better to fuck you with, my dear... ), which makes it easier for us to write obscenities on our friends' front lawns during the winter months; in colder climes that is.

So yeah, there is a bit of a difference between the soul of a female and the soul of a male. And personally, I believe it all comes down to penis size. Well the length, anyway. Girth doesn't always give mirth...

On a serious note, here's an article if you (yes, YOU!) are interested:

http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050120_brain_sex.html

[GeraldFord]

Bah, women's obsession with money, celebrity and shoes are the key differences

And is that due to nature or nurture?

[Sakib]

and what about transvestites?

firstly yes there is men and women. Why? because men and women, there is a difference of 0.01% (something like that). Transvestite will return to their original state

[MCT]

Is biology all that separates men from women? In other words, are there male souls and female souls? Or one kind of soul? Are the different character traits in men and women? inherent or do to socialization?

The theistic concept of the Soul?is largely quixotic and wholly seperate (IMO) from the essence of your question regarding male/female "souls". That being said, here's an angle:

Our biology makes us what we are. It hands us the physical side of the human condition, which, through our physical brains, ultimately leads to human consciousness.

Now, in a strict biological sense we can look at chromosomal differences, hormonal differences during our developmental stages in the womb, and finally, our resulting genitals for a strict determination of gender. But I think it's more our consciousness, our individual sense of self that makes the final determination of who we are. Because even through the prevailing societal wind and the invasive social pressure that surrounds us, we are still "ourselves" when we are alone.

Basically, our consciousness allows us to create a world where we can rise above the animals. And once there, it's wherever we wanna go...

[unoturbo]

It's not really possible to say if there are male and female souls as it's not really possible to say what a 'soul' is.

If you were to put your soul inside another body what exactly would you have to transfer? Would it be purely your brain? Or is your soul more analogous to software and it can run on any brain? If this is true then your soul is bounded by the brain it lives in and since female and male brains are physically different, this would appear to make male and female souls different.

Imagine if you could transfer your soul to an insect's brain. It doesn't have the capacity to allow free thought so what would you become? You couldn't be 'you' as you perceive yourself now, you would simply be 'alive' but not self aware. Similarly people that have brain injuries can completely change their personality.

Based on this I can only conclude that all life has the same soul but the hardware it runs on (your brain) and the stimulus it receives (hormones, social environment, etc.) determines how it behaves.