Full Idea
The soul is merely a vain term of which we have no idea and which a good mind should use only to refer to that part of us which thinks.
Gist of Idea
There is no clear idea of the soul, which should only refer to our thinking part
Source
Julien Offray de La Mettrie (Machine Man [1747])
Book Reference
La Mettrie,Julien Offray de: 'Machine Man and Other Writings', ed/tr. Thomson,Ann [CUP 1996], p.26
A Reaction
I have always found the concept of the soul particularly baffling. It seems that it is only believed in to make immortality possible, with no other purpose to the belief, let alone evidence. I suspect that Descartes agreed with La Mettrie on this.