Most elementary particles, including neutrinos, were merely theoretical until
science discovered a way to detect them and confirm their existence. This
methodology of theory and experiment is a well-trodden path. Nothing new
or difficult here. So, we theorize the existence of a soul and the next step is
to devise experiments that could detect it or its interaction with our physical
selves. After all, we do have lots of humans around to test, and every one of
us is supposed to have a soul (even the heathens, otherwise there would be
no one languishing in torment for the enjoyment of the saved in the afterlife
– I am assuming that there is no TV in the afterlife, so looking down upon
those in hell is probably the best that can be done as far as entertainment
goes. I think of it as the “FOX News” of the afterlife). So, in short, there are
lots of handy material for study.
So why isn’t There a “Find the Soul” Project like there was for the
Human Genome?
But with billions of believers and billions of available dollars to fund research,
why hasn’t organized religion financed a search for the soul? To demonstrate
beyond doubt that a soul exists would be a tremendous accomplishment.
The technical expertise is available, as aptly demonstrated by our ability to
detect something as seemingly insubstantial as a single electron neutrino.
The study could be done, and the results published in a properly peer
reviewed paper. Everyone would know the “truth.” They can still argue about
which god(s) are right and which are wrong, but at least they will have
defined the argument somewhat, and everyone would be comforted by the
prospect of continued existence in some form after a physical death (or not,
as Buddhists and Jains arguably seek the soul’s ultimate oblivion–perhaps
they know how boring eternity could be…).
So why hasn’t any country that considers itself to be “under God” funded
such a research program? A trip to the moon was a laudable goal, as was
detection of the neutrino, and billions have been spent on finding the Higgs
Boson (the infamously misnamed “God particle”) and in making observations
P a g e | 153