The Current State of Scientific Research Into the Soul
That topic seems to be the purpose of
Discover
Magazine's article, "Soul Search: Can
Science Ever Decipher the Secrets of the Human Soul?" It's in the June 2007
issue, now in print but not (as far as I can tell) on the web
yet.
The article is quite an eclectic hodge-podge. It
begins with an apocryphal story of a Tibetan lama who died in 1998 and became a
"rainbow body." That is, in the days following his death, his body just
evaporated away until "nothing remained--just a few hairs left on the pillow."
The author, Jane Bosveld, wonders, "Did these things truly happen? Certainly
they were real to Lama A-chos and perhaps even to Father Tiso." (Lama A-chos was
a witness to the alleged event. Father Tiso is a Benedictine monk with a
doctorate in Buddhist studies who helped record witnesses' testimony. I'll come
back to that comment later.)
Whether it happened or not, it provides the lead-in for an overview of
"an interface between what we might call mystical phenomena and observable properties that one day may be documented.... the contentious place where people are searching for proof of the existence of the human soul."
So we move from there to historical efforts to prove the soul is real, like Duncan MacDougall's infamous experiments that purportedly showed that bodies lost 21 grams of weight at death, which he took to be the departing of the soul. I'd like to think that if I have a soul I'm a bit more of a heavyweight than that. Gerard Nahum, director of medical affairs for a pharmaceutical company, wants to rig up
"an extremely sensitive scale and an array of electromagnetic sensors. 'In principle, it's a pretty simple experiment,' he says.... 'When a conscious body dies... all of what's embodied in it cannot just simply disappear.'"
Researchers all over are looking into reports of near-death experiences (NDEs) and out-of-body experiences (OBEs). There are some mysterious things going on there. Reporting on conversations with a Dutch cardiologist, Pim van Lommel, Discover writes,
"At the moment of an NDE, 'these people are not only conscious, their consciousness is more expansive than ever." ... If consciousness is the product of brain activity, near-death experiences should not happen. At the very least, the contrary evidence suggests that the standard understanding of consciousness is incomplete."
Attempts to document OBEs as actual excursions around a room have been unproductive. Researchers note with some wonder, though, the life-changing effects of these experiences:
"Basically, they come back believing that the golden rule is the way the universe works, just like gravity. What you do to other people gets done to you, so they come back with a different attitude toward almost everything.... the changes... have persisted [up to 20 years]."
That version of the Golden Rule reflects the way it is expressed in at least 20 world religions, though not in Christianity. Other religious leaders expressed it as, "be careful how you treat others because you might get the same back," or (slightly better), "don't treat others the way you wouldn't want them to treat you back." It's a negative statement. Only Jesus Christ said it in a manner of positive giving: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Then we move to the inevitable speculations about quantum mechanics. This is introduced as "the most surprising evidence for the soul;" but there's no evidence in the paragraphs that follow, just speculations about how quantum mechanics might provide room for the soul to operate in a naturalistic world. Roger Penrose, superstar in physics and studies of the mind, reportedly says that consciousness
"came from the Big Bang. In this view, consciousness--all consciousness--was created at the same moment when the universe was created. If the soul exists, it, too, might be anchored to our moment of cosmic origin. This is what Italian astrophysicist Paola Zizzi terms the 'Big Wow,' shorthand for her description of the connection between 'the very early quantum computing universe and our mind.'"
(It's unclear in context whether the second sentence there came from Penrose or from the article's author.)
There is even research under way to test whether past lives have any support scientifically.
So according to Discover, that's where we stand. Scientifically, that is, we still know nothing at all. The author can still somehow allow that Lama A-cho's rainbow body experience was "certainly real" to him (even though he was dead!) and to Father Tiso. This is strange postmodern language, coming from a magazine that is unwaveringly devoted to scientific realism--or is it more patronizing than postmodern?
The lack of scientific observational evidence for the soul comes as little surprise to those who, like myself, hold to a substance-dualist view of persons (technically explained here, informally explained here). The soul just isn't the kind of stuff you will find with scales or with electromagnetic sensors. "Proof" of the existence of the soul is found in Biblical revelation, supported by philosophical arguments that show the difficulty of explaining how we are as persons if we did not have souls. (It's not my purpose this time to go into those arguments; suffice it to say that they have been made, and of course not everyone agrees. If they did, Discover wouldn't be worried about this kind of research now, would they?)
NDE patients' changed lives and perspectives are intriguing, though I can't say what I make of them. Their golden rule (if accurately reported here) is not the ideal; but it still appears possible they encountered something that changed them.
Here's how Bosveld leaves it:
"As the Buddhist holy man Lama A-chos told Father Tiso, 'This is not a matter for the eyes; it is a matter for the heart.' The ongoing search for the soul may require both."
And here is how I will leave it: Discover will not give Intelligent Design the time of day because it's a "pseudo-science." Here we have rainbow bodies, reincarnation, and the "Big Wow." Can you say, "double standard"?
Whether it happened or not, it provides the lead-in for an overview of
"an interface between what we might call mystical phenomena and observable properties that one day may be documented.... the contentious place where people are searching for proof of the existence of the human soul."
So we move from there to historical efforts to prove the soul is real, like Duncan MacDougall's infamous experiments that purportedly showed that bodies lost 21 grams of weight at death, which he took to be the departing of the soul. I'd like to think that if I have a soul I'm a bit more of a heavyweight than that. Gerard Nahum, director of medical affairs for a pharmaceutical company, wants to rig up
"an extremely sensitive scale and an array of electromagnetic sensors. 'In principle, it's a pretty simple experiment,' he says.... 'When a conscious body dies... all of what's embodied in it cannot just simply disappear.'"
Researchers all over are looking into reports of near-death experiences (NDEs) and out-of-body experiences (OBEs). There are some mysterious things going on there. Reporting on conversations with a Dutch cardiologist, Pim van Lommel, Discover writes,
"At the moment of an NDE, 'these people are not only conscious, their consciousness is more expansive than ever." ... If consciousness is the product of brain activity, near-death experiences should not happen. At the very least, the contrary evidence suggests that the standard understanding of consciousness is incomplete."
Attempts to document OBEs as actual excursions around a room have been unproductive. Researchers note with some wonder, though, the life-changing effects of these experiences:
"Basically, they come back believing that the golden rule is the way the universe works, just like gravity. What you do to other people gets done to you, so they come back with a different attitude toward almost everything.... the changes... have persisted [up to 20 years]."
That version of the Golden Rule reflects the way it is expressed in at least 20 world religions, though not in Christianity. Other religious leaders expressed it as, "be careful how you treat others because you might get the same back," or (slightly better), "don't treat others the way you wouldn't want them to treat you back." It's a negative statement. Only Jesus Christ said it in a manner of positive giving: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Then we move to the inevitable speculations about quantum mechanics. This is introduced as "the most surprising evidence for the soul;" but there's no evidence in the paragraphs that follow, just speculations about how quantum mechanics might provide room for the soul to operate in a naturalistic world. Roger Penrose, superstar in physics and studies of the mind, reportedly says that consciousness
"came from the Big Bang. In this view, consciousness--all consciousness--was created at the same moment when the universe was created. If the soul exists, it, too, might be anchored to our moment of cosmic origin. This is what Italian astrophysicist Paola Zizzi terms the 'Big Wow,' shorthand for her description of the connection between 'the very early quantum computing universe and our mind.'"
(It's unclear in context whether the second sentence there came from Penrose or from the article's author.)
There is even research under way to test whether past lives have any support scientifically.
So according to Discover, that's where we stand. Scientifically, that is, we still know nothing at all. The author can still somehow allow that Lama A-cho's rainbow body experience was "certainly real" to him (even though he was dead!) and to Father Tiso. This is strange postmodern language, coming from a magazine that is unwaveringly devoted to scientific realism--or is it more patronizing than postmodern?
The lack of scientific observational evidence for the soul comes as little surprise to those who, like myself, hold to a substance-dualist view of persons (technically explained here, informally explained here). The soul just isn't the kind of stuff you will find with scales or with electromagnetic sensors. "Proof" of the existence of the soul is found in Biblical revelation, supported by philosophical arguments that show the difficulty of explaining how we are as persons if we did not have souls. (It's not my purpose this time to go into those arguments; suffice it to say that they have been made, and of course not everyone agrees. If they did, Discover wouldn't be worried about this kind of research now, would they?)
NDE patients' changed lives and perspectives are intriguing, though I can't say what I make of them. Their golden rule (if accurately reported here) is not the ideal; but it still appears possible they encountered something that changed them.
Here's how Bosveld leaves it:
"As the Buddhist holy man Lama A-chos told Father Tiso, 'This is not a matter for the eyes; it is a matter for the heart.' The ongoing search for the soul may require both."
And here is how I will leave it: Discover will not give Intelligent Design the time of day because it's a "pseudo-science." Here we have rainbow bodies, reincarnation, and the "Big Wow." Can you say, "double standard"?
Posted: Fri - May 11, 2007 at 08:29 AM |
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Published On: Dec 06, 2007 01:04 PM
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