The Soul Fallacy: What Science Shows We Gain from Letting Go of Our Soul Beliefs

Musolino, a psychologist at Rutgers University, challenges the dualistic hypothesis that the soul is “detachable” from the body. He defines the hypothesis clearly—“Human beings are composed of a physical body and an immaterial, psychologically potent, and immortal soul. Body and soul are distinct entities and the soul can continue to exist and function independently from the body after we die”—and offers compelling data to demonstrate that such a belief is utterly inconsistent with a scientific perspective. Along the way, he carefully explains how science is dependent upon a materialistic, rather than a supernatural, worldview; how easy it can be to fool ourselves into believing things that are untrue; and how scientists approach the concept of falsifiability. Musolino concludes that acknowledging the nonexistence of the soul should not be troubling since such a position can actually enrich life enormously. He also describes how belief in a soul has clouded our debates about many important issues, including abortion, end of life decisions, and the nature of our criminal justice system. Although the book is engaging, it is repetitive and focuses on rebutting claims made by a narrow set of popular texts by “New Dualists.” [em]Agent: Gillian MacKenzie, Gillian MacKenzie Agency. (Jan.) [/em]