In the comments section for a Q&A with professional skeptic Michael Shermer, a reader named Caleb B. writes:
Here’s my question: what is it about the idea of a soul that even people who confess to not have one are hesitant to sell it? I have been trying, for the better part of ten years, to buy a soul. I’ve offered a dollar amount, between $10 and $50, for someone to sign a sheet of paper that says that I own their soul. Despite multiple debates with confessed atheists, no one has signed the contract. I have been able to buy several people’s Sense of Humor and one guy’s Dignity, but no souls. Additionally, will any Freakonomics reader take me up on this? I’m willing to spend $50 on souls.
He has so far received at least one offer, from reader Jared Doom:
Caleb B., I will absolutely sell you my soul. To be fair, this won’t preclude me from selling it again to other suckers who (a) believe in souls and (b) believe they can be readily transferred on purchase. To be clear I’m offering because I don’t believe (a)
If nothing else, perhaps this blog has a future as a market for hard-to-purchase goods?
and 
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I’ll sell my soul to anybody for £30.
I will sell you my soul too, but I will need an offer in Pounds Sterling (payment by paypal will be fine though).
Also, I intend to make like Lord Voldemort and split my soul into several pieces, and in future I may issue further shares in my soul (FTSE: IRSL), should a reissue look likely, I will notify you so that you can make a further purchase to avoid devaluing your holding.
Make me an offer…
You can buy souls on eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Selling-my-soul-Ebay-/220909300492?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336f386b0c
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Selling-15-my-soul-Need-cash-fix-car-Devil-would-not-take-/180766850099?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a168b3c33
Reminds me of one of my mother’s favorite quotes:
“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.”
? C.S. Lewis
Who knows?
It’s an interesting concept – to “own someone’s soul” – but one must ask; What’s the net value of a soul? The Webster dictionary offers the top 3 definitions :
The first 2 are theological at best. You can’t touch, see, hear, etc any of these things – rendering them basically useless (unless you’ve got some power/ability to utilize intangibles I don’t know about… )
1. the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life
2. a) the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe
3 seems to be a bit more definitive –
3. a person’s total self
If we accept Webster’s 3rd definition of a soul – that would include the thoughts/actions/ideas of a person – and the body. The two sides to that coin are:
a) if you own my thoughts/actions/ideas – do you own all my intellectual property? (let’s say I invent something brilliant – do you own it?/reap the benefits?) Do you also own partial responsibility for my actions? (What if I commit a crime? Do you suffer partial blame/punishment?)
b) Personally – I would like to think that my physical body is worth more than a mere $50. Based on the amount of my gym membership, I’d have to raise the price substantially
Thoughts?
There’s another definition, common in Christian theological circles, that says the soul is separate from the “spirit” and constitutes stuff that most of us want to keep: our minds, wills, and emotions (sometimes summarized as “personality”).
How exactly do you sell your mind, will, and emotions? Wouldn’t selling your will make you the new owner’s slave? Wouldn’t selling your mind make them own the intellectual property to everything you do or say for the rest of your life? Is it even possible to sell your emotions?
I’ll sign a meaningless sheet of paper for fifty bucks if you like.
Henant Mehta, who writes the Friendly Atheist website, famously sold his soul on EBay.
It is illegal in the United States to sell body parts. As the “soul” is traditionally seen as an intangible part of the human body it is therefore illegal to sell within the U.S.
Secondly, the “soul” is considered inalienable, and much like inalienable rights, it cannot be taken away by act of commerce.
Also, some people, even atheists, just don’t want some douche bag holding a piece of paper with their name on it. It just looks bad socially.
I would be perfectly willing to sign such a soul selling contract even for free. So if anyone believes I have a soul and wants to own it, be my guest…