The human soul is one of the central points of most religions and, depending on the context, it can be seen as an indisputable issue that does not need proof of its existence. However, can science be able to size and weigh the soul? In 1907, Dr. Duncan MacDougall published an article in a magazine stating that the weight of the human soul is 21 grams.
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Who was Duncan MacDougall?
The doctor in question was Duncan MacDougall, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1866 and moved to Massachusetts when he was 20. He then received a medical degree from Boston University.
As a professional, he has volunteered for incurable patients at a charity hospital in the town of Haverhill. Also, in mid-1907, MacDougall assumed that the soul has a physical weight and tried to measure the mass a person loses when the soul leaves the body.
MacDougall concluded that the human soul weighs 21 grams
MacDougall's conclusion, reached over a century ago, is that there is a human soul and that it would weigh 21 grams, but according to experts, the evidence obtained by his experiment is questionable and controversial. Furthermore, no other researcher has corroborated his findings.
To prove the existence of this substance, Dr MacDougall proposed a series of experiments to verify the weight of the human soul. Tests were carried out on six people who were dying of various causes.
As vital signs were significantly diminished and death was almost the only way out, the patients were moved onto a very large scale, of industrial magnitude, where measurements were taken. Despite having six participants, a weight of 21.3 grams was confirmed in only one of the cases, reinforcing the limitations of the study.
When asked by the magazine about the test's validity, researcher and director Donald Everhart noted that the experiment's sample was too small to be reliable. Another issue to consider is the accuracy of the scales used.
Variants that may have altered the result
After all, immediately after the last breath, the body goes into the process of recession. Soon, the muscles relax and release some unwanted substances, such as feces, urine and gases, for example.
The body of the deceased also perspires easily and the lungs are emptied. At this point, different variants may have influenced MacDougall's experiments, which makes the weight of the soul (its existence) a great unknown.