Do you think the soul has weight? If so, does your body weigh less when your soul leaves it? That is exactly what Dr. Duncan MacDougall wanted to know.
So in 1907 Dr. MacDougall placed a bed on balanced scales and put dying people on his new contraption. As each person lay dying he carefully recorded body weights.
Of the six people he tested, four were dying from TB, one from diabetes and one from an unknown cause.
The results? Each person lost an average of 21 grams the moment they stopped breathing.
Could this be from the loss of oxygen, bodily fluids or sweat? Dr. MacDougall said no, giving fairly valid reasons for each.
Next he ran the same experiment on 15 dying dogs. None of the dogs lost weight after death.
Dr. MacDougall’s experiment was highly criticized, particulary due to the small number of subjects in his study, the imprecise method of measurement and the manner in which he found subjects.
Yet Dr. MacDougall’s conclusions are still discussed today.
What do you think – do souls have weight?
I absolutely love philosophical theories about the soul. Do I think the soul has weight, yes, but it would be so minute it might barely register on a physical scale. Good stuff!
Jenny, have you read about souls leaving the body during surgery and then returning? And then the person wakes up to tell how they saw themselves on the table? I think that is amazing!