The Soul Catcher (2012)

“Suddenly, coincident with death, the beam end dropped with an audible stroke hitting against the lower limiting bar and remaining there with no rebound. The loss was ascertained to be three-fourths of an ounce.”

Dr. Duncan MacDougall

New York Times, 11 March 1907

In 1901, American physician Dr Duncan Macdougall speculated through his experiment that the human soul has weight. He weighed his six patients who were in the process of dying from tuberculosis, and 21 grammes were reduced after the each patient passed away.

The existence of the human soul has constantly been disputed in human life. Although there have been a number of experiments and substantial research from scientists and physicians to find evidence of the soul, many people still deny its existence.

The Soul Catcher is a speculative device about the existence of the human soul. The device is designed to calculate the weight of 3 different biological conditions of the human body: breath, heart rate and forehead energy.  This project postulates the empirical existence of the human soul by taking a more medical, scientific perspective on this spiritual topic. Consequently, it gives people the opportunity to form their own opinion about the existence of the human soul.

Thanks to:

Wonseok Jung (mechanical design advice)

Josephine Rout (model)