Is there such a thing as a human soul? Are we tiny cogs in a vast cosmos, or do we have special value? In the modern scientific age, questions such as these become more and more difficult to answer. In this book, however, Keith Ward presents a balanced, strongly argued and convincing case for the existence of the human soul in the context of scientific discovery. Drawing on a range of disciplines and writers, from Nietzsche, through Darwin, Freud and Marx, to contemporary philosophers and scientists, Ward's study of the key protagonists in the debate on the soul is authoritative and comprehensive. Covering such thorny issues as individual freedom, morality, the role of religion and the limits of scientific investigation, In Defence of the Soul builds rational bridges between apparent contradictions to shed light on an area we would all like to understand more fully.