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Rasputini,
Welcome to the forum, I am fairly new as well...
This is where we get into trouble, because it is impossible to empirically "prove" the soul's existence (yet). What I "believe" is that you have the cart before the horse. The brain and in this case the cerebral cortex is a physical manifestation of the expanded consciousness, not vice versa. Our physical structure is the outer shell of what we are, more of a reflection on the physical plane of an inner reality. The release of the energy of the atom has shown that science was right in asserting that all is energy. Material the size of a baseball can level a city if it is acted upon in a certain way. If left alone the energy would just slowly dissipate but shows no outward sign of the potential power within. We are similarly Plato's "shadows on the cave wall", or Narcissus' reflection in the pool of water. If consciousness was the product of physical form rather than the directing force behind it than we would be able to re animate someones body after repairing the physical structure damaged by a gunshot or other injury. Just put the blood back in and we are ready to go...
The human being is a combination of the animal consciousness of the body which we have in common with all animals and is responsible for things like muscle memory and autonomic functioning and then there is the soul which is the observer or self consciousness. That, the rat or the dog does not have. Animals have been taught sign language and in this have differentiated consciousness of a sort but they do not gain any awareness of their awareness. That is the difference. Now whether you think that is a product of the brain or the brain is a tool of it comes down to belief because it can't be proved one way ore another.
There have been medical cases I know of anecdotally where brain function is inhibited but the awareness is not. These people are trapped in a malfunctioning body. They cannot express what their consciousness is experiencing. An autistic person, under your framework would not be as human because consciousness is a product of the brain which is cross wired, for lack of a better term. For me that is a human consciousness trapped in a prison unable to penetrate the walls in the same way you or I can and in a sense the "veil" is thicker between them and reality.
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