Full Idea
The idea of the soul could be easily trashed if science does not countenance essences, but science does countenance essences in the form of what are known as 'natural kinds' (such as water, salt and gold).
Gist of Idea
The idea of the soul gets some support from the scientific belief in essential 'natural kinds'
Source
Owen Flanagan (The Problem of the Soul [2002], p.181)
Book Reference
Flanagan,Owen: 'The Problem of the Soul' [Basic Books 2003], p.181
A Reaction
The existence of any essences at all does indeed make the existence of a soul naturally possible, but scientific natural kinds are usually postulated on a basis of chemical stability. Animals, for example, are no longer usually classified that way.