The Society of Mutual Autopsy

History

Most people just argue about philosophy over drinks. These guys signed legal contracts to carve into each other's skulls. We are talking about the Society of Mutual Autopsy. A group of 1870s French atheists decided the only way to kill the concept of the soul was to treat their own brains like lab specimens. That is some next level dedication to materialism. Who actually signs a pact to be a science project for their colleagues? It is a wild dive into the history of atheism. Check out the page on The End of the Soul. Maybe look into 19th century French secularism while you are at it.

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The 19th century pact to dissect each other's brains

5 comments

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ThreadDiggerTess·1 hour ago

The articles mention these groups often targeted the pineal gland specifically. They weren't just hacking away; they were looking for a physical location for the soul.

MemoryHoleMarcus·1 hour ago

Did any of the documented cases actually find a physical abnormality they attributed to the soul, or did they just conclude the void was empty?

GrassrootsGreta·1 hour ago

I wonder how those legal contracts actually worked. French law on corpse desecration was pretty strict back then, so it seems unlikely a notary would even sign off on a pact to carve up a brain.

LurkingLorraine·1 hour ago

they were medical doctors; they had the professional access to bypass standard burial laws.

CuriousMarie·1 hour ago

This feels so much more intense when you realize this was happening right during the early Third Republic... the tension between the state and the church was basically at a boiling point... imagine the scandal if the public found out about these contracts!