Are Ghosts Real? (a poll)

[UngainlyTitan]

You still haven't said what a ghost is. If we don't know what it is, we cannot say if it's reliably appearing. How do you tell the difference between a ghost, a fairy and a UFO?

Does it matter? Work it out.

Sure, people use things without understanding them all the time. But we aren't talking about using ghosts.

I'm pretty sure that's only true in fantasy RPGs.

Perhaps

 

[The Firebird]

You are being facetious but you are also assuming the negative. An essentially unprovable position. Not an unreasonable one, mind you.
The thing is, I have met people that have claimed to have seen a ghost, also met someone that was with someone else that claimed to see a ghost while they were present but saw nothing themselves.
I believe them, believe they were sincere. Did they see spirits of the dead? I personally doubt it. Was the thing they saw really there or in their mind? I have no idea.

One of the assumptions buried in the idea that we would just perform the right scientific tests is the thought that we would all observe ghosts in the same way. But what if they appear only to certain people, for whatever reason? You could start trying to determine which people and why, but you're quickly moving past what experimental science can do well.

 

[Rabulias]

One of the assumptions buried in the idea that we would just perform the right scientific tests is the thought that we would all observe ghosts in the same way. But what if they appear only to certain people, for whatever reason? You could start trying to determine which people and why, but you're quickly moving past what experimental science can do well.

That is a big leap. So far, there is nothing else external to us that works like that (observable to some but not others).

Edited to add: Yes, some people have different ranges of hearing or vision, but anything a person could detect, there is a way to measure and/or detect it with a device.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Does it matter? Work it out.

Of course it matters, what a strange question. You can't answer the question "are ghosts real" if the thing you are studying is a fairy!

 

[Morrus]

But what if they appear only to certain people, for whatever reason?

Well there you go. You have your first hypothesis. You’re already doing a science!

 

[Morrus]

That is a big leap. So far, there is nothing else external to us that works like that (observable to some but not others).

Edited to add: Yes, some people have different ranges of hearing or vision, but anything a person could detect, there is a way to measure and/or detect it with a device.

Yeah. Human senses are the worst detection equipment.

 

[Ryujin]

Yeah. Human senses are the worst detection equipment.

Paranormal researchers frequently report that pets will stare off in a direction that indicates some sort of phenomenon. They have keener senses than we do, by far, so maybe it's ghosts?

Maybe it's mice?

Yeah, probably mice.

 

[Umbran]

You still haven't said what a ghost is. If we don't know what it is, we cannot say if it's reliably appearing. How do you tell the difference between a ghost, a fairy and a UFO?

Classification comes after study, not before. Allow your investigation to answer the question, rather than prejudice the study with a preconceived notion.

 

[Umbran]

Of course it matters, what a strange question. You can't answer the question "are ghosts real" if the thing you are studying is a fairy!

The way to answer "are ghosts real?" Is not to pick thing, call it a ghost, and determine if it is real.

The proper process would be to pick a phenomenon, determine if it is real, determine what caused it, and if what caused it is a ghost, then ghosts are real.

If you find it was real, and a fairy did it, then fairies are real.

 

[The Firebird]

That is a big leap. So far, there is nothing else external to us that works like that (observable to some but not others).

Edited to add: Yes, some people have different ranges of hearing or vision, but anything a person could detect, there is a way to measure and/or detect it with a device.

Yes. Another interesting example is taste, like with cilantro. But for the external world, we can typically make it conform enough to do repeatable experiments. You can feed a bunch of people cilantro, for example.

It is pretty easy to just decide that if we can't all observe it then it must be internal. But, what if it wasn't? How would you prove it? You're dealing with a potential agent, a being that perhaps can choose whether or not to reveal itself, and won't submit to investigation. Would you look for consistency in the parameters of self reported encounters? How would you deal with false reporting? Would you hope a generous ghost decides to show up and let you test it?

I think it is an interesting thought experiment because it demonstrates the bounds of science. Think also of other, possibly (?) external concepts, like courage or love or wisdom. Are those real, is a big question in itself--and how to test scientifically?

Well there you go. You have your first hypothesis. You’re already doing a science!

Thanks for the approval, but I have a PhD.