In 1907, Dr. Duncan MacDougall recruited six terminally ill individuals to scientifically determine if souls had measurable weight. They were placed on a bed of highly sensitive scales that would be able to record any changes in their mass the exact moment they died. On average, MacDougall documented a difference of 21 grams between the weight when the patient was alive and when they died. In his report, he concluded this was the mass of a soul. With this conclusion, MacDougall asks us to question if it's possible for the soul to physically exist.

Not only was MacDougall's sample size too small, his methodology was flawed. According to his report, out of the six patients, the results from two had to be discarded because the patients died before MacDougall could weigh them, two more experienced a loss of weight only to regain the loss within a few minutes and another two experienced a loss of mass that continued to increase. In addition to the number of variables that could account for the changes in mass such as the involuntary movements the body makes, MacDougall and his team also had difficulties detecting the exact moment of death. While at this time it may not be possible for us to be able to determine to a degree of scientific certainty if a soul exists-physically or otherwise-it's still important for science to continue permeating the barrier to investigate the metaphysical.

MacDougall's disqualifying junk science has not discouraged others from pursuing the same line of questioning. Others have been equally mystified by the idea of using science and logic to prove the soul has a tangible existence. Some claim they have pictures depicting the soul as it departs while others theorize souls are comprised of the same dark matter particles that compose much of the mass in the universe. All believe they can scientifically prove the soul is more than a compilation of interactions between our neurons.

But why is the weight of a soul significant? If we can prove the soul has weight, it then has mass and, therefore, it must obey the Earth's gravitational forces. Perhaps more importantly, it would work to illustrate that the spiritual world after death may exist parallel to our own.

Across religions, souls have a uniquely universal significance. While each religion has a different ideology concerning spirituality, souls are seen as the essence of a person that gives us meaning. Even to some of the nonreligious, a soul is believed to make us who we are. To separate the soul from the body would corrupt this connection within an individual. Yet, Judaism, Islam and Christianity, among others, believe the soul can continue to exist even after death.

More recently in 1988, Dr. Becker Mertens, along with other Eastern German scientists as part of the Institute of Noetic Sciences that examines the human consciousness, conducted a series of experiments weighing more than 200 terminally ill patients. In each case, the weight loss was exactly .01 grams. Mertens told the German science journal Horizon that he and his team believe they discovered the soul was a form of unidentified energy. If the soul is energy, it then must be subject to the law of thermodynamics, which mandates that energy cannot be lost or destroyed and it can only change from one form to another. Theoretically, this would allow a soul to continue to exist after death.

I'm not a scientist and I don't particularly ascribe to the idea of a soul, but even with my own limited knowledge I find it hard to believe any of these theories could explain its existence. But even if the soul could be measured with an instrument, science here invariably encroaches into the realm of mysticism and religion. From our current capabilities, it does not appear that it's possible to distinguish whether a soul exists in a tangible form or it is merely a construct by our brain of our personality, morals and behavior.

As noetic science grows in popularity, individuals continue to be intrigued by the human consciousness. We want to believe that after our deaths some part of us continues to occupy space in the world. Perhaps this desire energizes the discussion of the physical presence of the soul, assuming that it exists. It would be the preferred truth to a soul only being a manifestation of our brains that exists while we are alive rather than an immortal entity that moves us into another world.

From my research, it does not appear anyone has recently undertaken significant attempts to determine the weight of a soul. It seems as if its one of those elusive truths that we are not supposed to know.

However, science inherently needs to seek answers to questions, while the metaphysical often does not have answers to offer. It is possible that a soul may exist without having weight or mass, and perhaps it would be futile to continue determining the truth of this possibility. But science would be doing society a disservice to shy away from exploring these extraordinary and new avenues. By continuing to examine the plausibility of the soul, the ability of the body to spontaneously heal itself or the existence of heaven, science would be furthering our own understanding of the world. And maybe one day they'll tip the scales.