Soul

===Physics===
Physicist [[Sean M. Carroll]] has written that the idea of a soul is incompatible with [[quantum field theory]] (QFT). He writes that for a soul to exist: "Not only is new physics required, but dramatically new physics. Within QFT, there can't be a new collection of 'spirit particles' and 'spirit forces' that interact with our regular atoms, because we would have detected them in existing experiments."<ref>{{cite web|first=Sean|last=Carroll|url=https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2011/05/23/physics-and-the-immortality-of-the-soul/|title=Physics and the Immortality of the Soul|date=May 23, 2011|type=blog|access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref>

[[Quantum indeterminacy|Quantum indeterminism]] has been invoked as an explanatory mechanism for possible soul/brain interaction, but neuroscientist Peter Clarke found errors with this viewpoint, noting there is no evidence that such processes play a role in brain function; Clarke concluded that a [[Cartesian dualism|Cartesian]] soul has no basis from quantum physics.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Clarke|first=Peter G. H.|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278262613001711|title=Neuroscience, Quantum Indeterminism and the Cartesian Soul|journal=Brain and Cognition|date=November 21, 2013|volume=84|issue=1|pages=109–117|doi=10.1016/j.bandc.2013.11.008|pmid=24355546 |access-date=March 21, 2024|issn=0278-2626|quote=Quantum indeterminism is frequently invoked as a solution to the problem of how a disembodied soul might interact with the brain (as Descartes proposed), and is sometimes invoked in theories of libertarian free will even when they do not involve dualistic assumptions. [...] I conclude that Heisenbergian uncertainty is too small to affect synaptic function, and that amplification by chaos or by other means does not provide a solution to this problem. Furthermore, even if Heisenbergian effects did modify brain functioning, the changes would be swamped by those due to thermal noise.}}</ref>