Are Ghosts Real? (a poll)

[CleverNickName]

It's a simple question: do you think ghosts are real?

For the sake of this very simple poll, we will use this definition of the word "ghost" from the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

"ghost (n)., a disembodied soul; especially the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness."​

So are you a believer or a skeptic? Vote for the option you agree with the most, and then add any nuance in the comments below. Bonus points for sharing real-life ghost stories (or real-life stories of debunking spooky claims).

 

[overgeeked]

No, ghosts aren't real. Low-frequency sound does weird things to people's brains.

Infrasound and Paranormal Activity: Are They Connected?

Can infrasound explain away ghosts, hauntings and other paranormal activity?

science.howstuffworks.com

 

[CleverNickName]

My favorite debunking story:

In my philosophy class at university, the professor asked everyone in the room who believed in ghosts to raise their hand, and about a third of the people in the room did so. One student in particular was very adamant about it, and not only raised his hand but called out to the professor, "Oh I don't just believe, I know for a fact that ghosts are real."

The professor asked him to explain, and the student went on to tell a story about how he was home alone, nobody was around, etc. He was in the kitchen making himself lunch, left the room for just a few seconds, and when he came back the mustard was spilled on the floor and there was a small child-sized handprint in mustard on the counter.

"There's no other possible explanation," the student finally said. "It had to be a ghost."

"Are you sure it couldn't have been a Martian or an angel instead?" the professor asked. "Why does it have to be a ghost?"

The student just sat there, speechless....that thought had never occurred to him. He had experienced something that he couldn't explain, and took it as proof of the supernatural...his preferred version of supernatural, too.

The professor then went on to lecture about the differences between Knowledge and Belief. It was one of the best (and most useful) lectures I ever attended in university.

 

[overgeeked]

My favorite debunking story:

In my philosophy class at university, the professor asked everyone in the room who believed in ghosts to raise their hand, and about a third of the people in the room did so. One student in particular was very adamant about it, and not only raised his hand but called out to the professor, "Oh I don't just believe, I know for a fact that ghosts are real."

The professor asked him to explain, and the student went on to tell a story about how he was home alone, nobody was around, etc. He was in the kitchen making himself lunch, left the room for just a few seconds, and when he came back the mustard was spilled on the floor and there was a small child-sized handprint in mustard on the counter.

"There's no other possible explanation," the student finally said. "It had to be a ghost."

"Are you sure it couldn't have been a Martian or an angel instead?" the professor asked. "Why does it have to be a ghost?"

The student just sat there, speechless....that thought had never occurred to him. He had experienced something that he couldn't explain, and took it as proof of the supernatural...his preferred choice of supernatural, too.

The professor then went on to lecture about the difference between Knowledge and Belief. It was one of the best (and most useful) lectures I ever attended in university.

The human brain has evolved to see faces and patterns as a survival trait. Far more likely there was a vague pattern in the mustard and the student's brain filled it in as a child's hand print.

Similar to your story, I had a philosophy lecture where we talked about knowledge. The prof lead the talk but it was very much a conversation between him and the students. Asking questions, poking and prodding, etc. A Socratic dialogue in real time.

The conclusion was that it's only knowledge if it's a Justified True Belief (JTB). Justified as in you have a reason to think that, it can't be a guess. True as in your thought has to match reality, it can't be false. Belief as in it's something you think it true, it can't be a lie.

The prof then smiled and said, "Good. Here's the reading assignment." It was Plato's Theaetetus. The dialogue where Plato originally sets out JTB as a model.

While no one in the class made the exact same arguments, there were some close calls and eerily similar takes. As a result, I've never forgotten that lecture.

 

[Morrus]

My favorite debunking story:

In my philosophy class at university, the professor asked everyone in the room who believed in ghosts to raise their hand, and about a third of the people in the room did so. One student in particular was very adamant about it, and not only raised his hand but called out to the professor, "Oh I don't just believe, I know for a fact that ghosts are real."

The professor asked him to explain, and the student went on to tell a story about how he was home alone, nobody was around, etc. He was in the kitchen making himself lunch, left the room for just a few seconds, and when he came back the mustard was spilled on the floor and there was a small child-sized handprint in mustard on the counter.

"There's no other possible explanation," the student finally said. "It had to be a ghost."

"Are you sure it couldn't have been a Martian or an angel instead?" the professor asked. "Why does it have to be a ghost?"

The student just sat there, speechless....that thought had never occurred to him. He had experienced something that he couldn't explain, and took it as proof of the supernatural...his preferred version of supernatural, too.

The professor then went on to lecture about the differences between Knowledge and Belief. It was one of the best (and most useful) lectures I ever attended in university.

Also a logical fallacy known as “god of the gaps”. I don’t understand it, therefore it is magic/god/ghosts/aliens etc. it’s actually quite an arrogant mistake—the assumption that if you can’t explain it, that can’t be your ignorance, it can only be magic.

 

[payn]

Just me, lol. Id normally answer no but my dog left this mortal Earth on Sunday. That night there were some violent storms. The kind my old pal did not like at all. As I was falling asleep I felt the bed shift as it would if my dog had gotten up and re-positioned his spot as he was wont to do during a storm. I looked but he, of course, wasnt there. I cant otherwise explain it.

 

[Morrus]

Just me, lol. Id normally answer no but my dog left this mortal Earth on Sunday.

I’m so sorry. I’ve been there twice before and it’s the worst.

 

[Hex08]

I don't believe in anything supernatural. If someone has evidence to the contrary I am happy to hear it and possibly change my views but so far no one has been able to convince me. When I was younger though, I believed in all kinds of wild stuff.

 

[payn]

I’m so sorry. I’ve been there twice before and it’s the worst.

I appreciate the thoughts. It is, in fact, the worst.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I do not, in the least.

But I know there are a lot of folks out there who believe because it gives them comfort or it's part of their belief system or they just really enjoy ghost stories! So I try not to yuck anyone's ghostly yum.