There was really only ever one experiment where someone weighed people before and after death. The study only looked at 6 patients and only 1 of them showed the results they were looking for, yet that flawed experiment is more than enough for people to want to believe the human soul has weight.

@FatherOfNyx Personally, I am a materialist. Like Sam Harris apparently, I believe that consciousness is an illusion caused by the brain. There is no soul, no matter how much we wish there were. You know, it is easy to believe in ghosts.

@Grecio A materialist is one of my many labels as well, I was just saying that there has only ever been one experiment that weighed people before and after death and it was a very flawed experiment.

I don't personally believe consciousness is an illusion though, more like a byproduct of evolution.

@FatherOfNyx Change of subject slightly, we only have a small degree of control over our brain. We can be going 60 mph and be thinking about our next vacation when a car pulls out and our foot will hit the brake pedal before we even know it. Also, have you ever tried to sit still with eyes closed and think of nothing for 1 minute? You can't do it. Bye the way, why is "Father" in your pen name? Thanks..

@Grecio It has a double meaning. The inner workings of my mind have always been chaotic. Schizophrenic genes, head trauma, anxiety.. whatever the cause, my thoughts are all over the place pretty much 24/7. So I've always seen myself as chaos incarnate. In Greek mythology, the goddess Nyx is the daughter of Chaos.

I also named my daughter's middle name as Nyx. Being that she is my daughter and I've always felt chaotic, I thought it was fitting. If I were one to believe in mysticism or fate, I'd believe I set her up cause she ended up having a very chaotic birth..

As for the side note, I agree. We have very little control of our brains and the things we do. I still don't believe we don't have consciousness. You use it to train your subconscious which you then let run on autopilot. You hit the brake subconsciously because you consciously trained your subconscious to do just that. That's one of the many functions of your consciousness, training the subconscious.

Don't link consciousness to a soul just because the religious do. There are many aspects of humanity that many non-religious people reject mostly based on the grounds that the religious make use of it. Free will, consciousness, morals, circumcision (hot topic), meaning of life.. things get absorbed by religion and that causes many people to see them as an aspect of religion when it's really an aspect of humanity.