Anubis: The Weigher of Souls

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The usual depiction of the Last Judgement at this time is one of Christ seated on a throne surrounded by the Apostles who sit in judgment with him. The dead are seen below rising from their tombs. On the right of Christ angels conduct those who have been judged favourably to heaven. On the left, devils carry the damned down to the torments of hell. St. Michael holding the scales often appears in the lower foreground of the image. a b c d e f g Park, Rober L. (22 September 2008). Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science. Princeton University Press. pp.102–103. ISBN 978-1400828777. MacDougall stated his experiment would have to be repeated many times before any conclusion could be obtained. The experiment is widely regarded as flawed and unscientific due to the small sample size, the methods used, as well as the fact only one of the six subjects met the hypothesis. [1] The case has been cited as an example of selective reporting. Despite its rejection within the scientific community, MacDougall's experiment popularized the concept that the soul has weight, and specifically that it weighs 21 grams. At this time, depictions of the Last Judgement usually show Christ seated on a throne surrounded by the Apostles, who sit in judgment with him. Below, the dead rise from their tombs. On the right of Christ, angels conduct the favourably judged souls to heaven. On the left, devils carry the damned down to the torments of hell. St. Michael often appears in the lower foreground of the image, holding the scales.

This panel may have formed a single image for private devotion or it may have been part of a larger scene depicting the ‘Last Judgement'. The archangel Michael was one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages. People throughout Europe revered him for his powers of protection and because of the part he was thought to play at the Last Judgement. While MacDougall believed that the results from his experiment showed the human soul might have weight, his report, which was not published until 1907, stated the experiment would have to be repeated many times before any conclusion could be obtained. [4] [5] Reaction [ edit ] The New York Times article from 11 March 1907Despite its rejection as scientific fact, MacDougall's experiment popularized the idea that the soul has weight, and specifically that it weighs 21 grams. [1] [5] The title of the film 21 Grams references the experiment. [2] [4] [5] MacDougall, Duncan (April 1907). "The Soul: Hypothesis Concerning Soul Substance Together with Experimental Evidence of the Existence of Such Substance". American Medicine. 2: 240–243. Hollander, Lewis E., Jr. " Unexplained Weight Gain Transients at the Moment of Death". Journal of Scientific Exploration 15 (4): 495-500 Also at Rotherfield is the very rare Incredulity of Thomas, possibly once part of a Passion Cycle, but equally possibly a detached and separate subject from the first.

Carriger, Gail (2 September 2010). Soulless: Book 1 of The Parasol Protectorate. Hachette. ISBN 978-0748121489. An article by Snopes in 2013 said the experiment was flawed because the methods used were suspect, the sample size was much too small, and the capability to measure weight changes too imprecise, concluding: "credence should not be given to the idea his experiments proved something, let alone that they measured the weight of the soul as 21 grams." [4] The fact that MacDougall likely poisoned and killed fifteen healthy dogs in an attempt to support his research has also been a source of criticism. [3] [4] Aftermath [ edit ]

Scepter and ankh

MacDougall reported his results in 1907 in the journal American Medicine and the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. He also snagged a write-up in The New York Times. Unanswerable questions Following the publication of the experiment in American Medicine, physician Augustus P. Clarke criticized the experiment's validity. Clarke noted that at the time of death there is a sudden rise in body temperature as the lungs are no longer cooling blood, causing a subsequent rise in sweating which could easily account for MacDougall's missing 21 grams. Clarke also pointed out that, as dogs do not have sweat glands, they would not lose weight in this manner after death. [2] [3] Clarke's criticism was published in the May issue of American Medicine. Arguments between MacDougall and Clarke debating the validity of the experiment continued to be published in the journal until at least December that year. [3] MacDougall then repeated the experiments on 15 dogs and found no loss of weight — indicating, to his mind, that all dogs definitely do not go to heaven. Grams, Missing Cosmonauts, Sound of Death (TV episode). Dark Matters: Twisted But True. 28 September 2011. a b c d e f g Mikkelson, Barbara; Mikkelson, David P. (27 October 2003). "Weight of the Soul". Snopes. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014 . Retrieved 31 July 2018.

Ishida, Masayoshi. " A New Experimental Approach to Weight Change Experimentsat the Moment of Death with a Review of Lewis E. Hollander's Experiments on Sheep". Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 5–28, 2009Sum, Ed (16 February 2016). "A Historical Analysis & Review into The Empire of Corpses". Otaku no Culture. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017 . Retrieved 16 July 2017. In Christian teaching, at the Second Coming of Christ the dead will rise from their tombs and be judged and sent to heaven or to hell. The Archangel Michael holds the scales of judgment and weighs the souls of the resurrected. A righteous soul will weigh the balance of the scales downward. In this panel we see small devils trying tip the balance in their favour.

a b Hood, Bruce (1 June 2009). Supersense: From Superstition to Religion – The Brain Science of Belief. Hachette. p.151. ISBN 978-1849012461. In 1911, The New York Times reported that MacDougall was hoping to run experiments to take photos of souls, but he appears to not have continued any further research into the area and died in 1920. [4] His experiment has not been repeated. [5] Similar experiments [ edit ] Faceless Old Woman" (Podcast). Welcome to Night Vale. No.26. 1 July 2013. Proverb 1: The human soul weighs 21 grams, smells like grilled vegetables, looks like a wrinkled tartan quilt, and sounds like bridge traffic. This panel may have formed a single devotional image or it may have been part of a larger 'Last Judgement' scene. St. Michael was one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages, revered throughout Europe for his powers of protection and because of the part he was thought to play at the Last Judgement. MacDougall, Duncan (1907). "Hypothesis Concerning Soul Substance Together With Experimental Evidence of the Existence of Such a Substance". Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. 1 (1): 237. ISBN 9785874496289.In Christian teaching, at the Second Coming of Christ the dead will rise from their tombs to be judged and sent to heaven or to hell. St Michael holds the scales of judgment and weighs the souls of the resurrected. A righteous soul will tip the balance of the scales downward. In this panel we see small devils trying to tip the scales in their favour. a b c d Wiseman, Richard (1 April 2011). Paranormality: Why We see What Isn't There. Macmillan. pp.32–34. ISBN 978-1743038383.