Many thinkers have opined that the human being is not only the sum of his body. You have to add your thoughts, emotions, dreams, hopes, goals ... Some call it soul. For them, the body without the soul is meaningless.
There was a doctor in the early XNUMXth century who took this interpretation of the soul a step further. This doctor was called Duncan McDougall and he was convinced that the soul was a physical part that resided in some part of our body and, therefore, should have a certain weight.
So convinced was he that he began to conduct a study with people. The study had great scientific, even ethical, shortcomings. He weighed people before he died and once dead he weighed them again. I was convinced that soulless people would weigh less.
Conclusions of his study: Despite major shortcomings in the rigor of the study, some curious conclusions could be drawn for the rest of the scientific community. It was established that the body of a dead person weighs exactly 21 grams less than when it was alive.
Will the soul weigh 21 grams? Although it is a grotesque theory, it is commonly known and a movie titled 21 grams alluding to this theory. Doubtless Dr. Duncan MacDougall was convinced that the soul weighed exactly 21 grams.