Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Littlejohn Dellar on November 29, 2011 at 9:57am

Muscles relaxing would have no effect on the mass (weight) of the body.  The volume of air held in the lungs of the average human being when filled is about 6 litres (0.006 m³), and the density of air is about 1.2 Kg/m³ at 20C. 

 

Therefore we have a mass of air of 1.2 x 0.006 Kg ie about 7g.

Permalink Reply by Alice on November 30, 2011 at 5:46pm

wow - when I said that I didn't think air really weighed anything.... so if I'm reading your post right?  It could be the air that was making the body less heavy?

Permalink Reply by Littlejohn Dellar on December 1, 2011 at 4:14am

Well, yes.  If you have a really good set of scales like they have at your doctor's office or health centre, try standing on them and inhaling to the maximum extent you can, then exhale and watch the display.

Permalink Reply by Alice on December 1, 2011 at 5:31pm

that's a really cool idea....

Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on November 29, 2011 at 2:41pm

 A couple of weeks ago my daughter and two grown grand daughters sat with Bear, their beloved Great Pyrenees on a veterinarian’s examining table suffering from advanced cancer.  As the vet prepared chemicals to put Bear down the girls sat on each side and my daughter held his head and looked into his eyes.  She understood Bear knew what was happening and he looked, with gratitude, into her eyes.  Of course I am anthropomorphizing this dogs behavior, but the feelings of Laura and Michelle and Laurie and Bear were all in sync.

 Do dogs have souls? Do humans?  I don’t know.  I do know love when I see it.  I do know life when it is there and when it is gone.  What word should I use for this event?  

 

Permalink Reply by George on December 1, 2011 at 3:23am

The experimenter's name was Duncan MacDougall.  At the turn of the century he performed the experiment on dying tuberculosis patients.

According to Snopes.com,

"MacDougall's results were flawed because the methodology used to harvest them was suspect, the sample size far too small, and the ability to measure changes in weight imprecise. For this reason, credence should not be given to the idea his experiments proved something, let alone that they measured the weight of the soul as . His postulations on this topic are a curiosity, but nothing more."

 

He only used 6 patients in his experiments, of which 2 results were discarded.  So the experiment was unscientific as the sample was ridiculously small.

Permalink Reply by David Raphael on December 1, 2011 at 5:16am

As others have said, believing in a soul is as irrational as believing in god or flying celestial teapots.

If 'a soul' has mass it would also be detectable when the subject is alive.

 

Attributing unprovable, unverifiable beliefs and hypotheses to tangible events is not rational.

 

Saying 'people have souls. People lose 21grams at death. Therefore souls weigh 21 grams'

is exactly the same as saying: 

'god creates worlds. We live on a world. Therefore god created this world'

Is exactly the same as saying:

'Santa Claus brings presents at christmas. I received presents at christmas. Therefore Santa exists and brought me the presents'

 

To be logically consistent, the rationale you used to realise that you are an atheist, should also be applied to other claims about the universe.

Permalink Reply by Joseph P on December 1, 2011 at 6:47am

Okay, now you've gone too far, attacking Santa.

Permalink Reply by james boag on December 15, 2011 at 7:46pm

It;s nonsense, a little like the statue of Elvis on the moon.

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