Question

In 1907, Dr. Duncan MacDougall performed a series of experiments in which he attempted to measure the weight of the soul as it left a dying person. In his experiments, MacDougall placed a dying person on a scale and measured their weight immediately prior to and following death. MacDougall determined the change in weight to be approximately 21 grams. From these experiments, he concluded that the soul exists and has mass. What is the fundamental scientific flaw in his conclusions?

Answer 1

The error in his conclusions is to assume that the loss of weight is due to the subtraction of the soul, because there is no scientific proof that has allowed to validate the presence of the soul in life and the absence of it in death. A correct conclusion of his experiments is that when humans die they lose 21 grams of their weight. However, the experiment carried out does not allow us to recognize the causes of this weight loss through the scientific method

Answer 2

Dr. MacDougall experimented on six dying patients to conclude that souls have physical weight. Only one out of the six persons lost about 21 grams of weight.

This experiment was widely regarded as flawed and unscientific because of the small sample size, the methods used to prove the hypothesis and the fact that only one of the six subjects met the hypothesis.