Ghosts - I don't want to believe - everyone else seems to - how can I disprove the existence of ghosts?

Question

I was shocked to discover when we covered the topic of religious experience in my philosophy class, that there is a lot more evidence supporting the existence of ghosts than goes against it.
I sat there thinking..surely everyone else sees that the idea is ridiculous...but it emerged that most people in the room...even my teacher, believe in ghosts. People started coming out with all these claims; each person truly believed they had seen a ghost.
But how can I question another person's experience? I wasn't there, I didn't see...so how can I judge?

My gut instinct has always been...what a load of rubbish. But now I'm faced with a world that seems to take the concept of ghosts very seriously. I guess I'm scared of the philosophical implications this might have, if it were true.

Please tell me I'm right to be skeptical and explain to be how the existence of ghosts can be disproved.

(In answer to Girl#95 thank you but the whole point of philosophy is to ask difficult questions)

Answer 1

The best part is that you don't have to prove anything, the burden of proof is on them, much like people tend to put the burden of proof of the existence of G-d on those who believe in Him.

Answer 2

Even if you experience an encounter with a ghost, you should still be skeptical about everything: this is the only way to avoid making too big mistakes.

The important point I see is that you seemed to be worried about the implications of ghosts actually existing. Yoou may want to think a bit more about that. Maybe the real problem is not whether ghosts exist or not: maybe you are worried about havong to face certain existential issues. You cannot choose to believe in something or not simply because it suits or not.

You have to face your ownself and your fears. Maybe the ghosts you are talking about are nothing but your existential fears and they haunt you. You'd like to believe "they" (these fears) don't exist but you cannot get rid of them !!!

You may want to be reassured or hear people say things...you want to hear or that suit you. But the truth is that yu will have to face yourself and your fears.

You are maybe at a point in your life where you have to make choices about the sort of life you want to live: choosing between one way or the other will not be achieved by getting "evidence" on this or that. You will have to make your own choices, take ownership and resp[ponsibility for your choices. Whether you like this or not.

My advice or suggestion: we all know what is right and what we should and usually it boils down to loving others, being kind and helpful and generous, being a blessing to others. So follow your heart, because I'm sure there's another ghost in you who is probably trying to tell you these things but you don't want to listen.

Miracles occur everyday every second but we are so use to them that we don't see them anymore.

What I say may sound boring or dull or not what you were expecting. The truth is that beauty, love, hapiness are very simple and kind things.

Remeber the words of "The Little Prince" (from Antoine de Saint Exupery"): important/essential things are invisible"...just like ghosts !!!!

Answer 3

If everyone one in the world believed in ghosts, but you didn't, you would be wrong to believe in them without witnessing the evidence yourself.
You can question the people who say they have seen a ghost, I cannot understand how people who claim to have seen a ghost, know that it was a ghost they saw. Many people would call an unidentified object a ghost if they believed in them beforehand.
I asked a question 'if there was an ocean of hatred and a drop of love was put in, what would happen?'
Your question is similar to mine, though I'm sure there are more people who do not believe in ghosts than who do.
As children we are 'taught' facts, as we grow we are right to question those facts.

Fortunatly you cannot prove something does not exist, because the fact you do not witness it, doesn't prove it doesn't exist. So other people are then free to believe in them.

What you can do, is examine what evidence you have, and your belief will follow your findings.

You are right to be skeptical, you do not need to know if something exists or not, and other peoples claims are not evidence for you.

Answer 4

I'm a non believer. I have had experiences which others might have taken as proof of the supernatural, yet all of these were during states between wakefulness and sleep, which made me sceptical about their reality.

The believers that heard my explanations concluded that I am afraid to acknowledge the reality of the supernatural and thus I mentally blocked out or rationally explained away that which does not sit with my overly rational worldview.

Yet I counter that ghost or what not, if they exist, should appear to me within circumstances where I have no reasonable doubt as to what I am experiencing, as then, no matter my belief, I would be challenged to accept them as real, or at least I would have to acknowledge that I experienced them on a level according to which I judge all normal experiences as true and valid.

Further, even supernatural entities has to embody some substance, even if we cannot detect it yet, since they are supposedly visible to us, or are felt by some, thus they interact or come into our physical reality, emanating light or affecting the temperature, sometimes even, if this is to be believed, physically moves or stirs objects in our reality.

This makes me conclude that we should be able to detect them physically, otherwise they cannot be said to exist, as other things do in the physical world, such as magnetism, weight or what not, but can only be said to exist within the mind/s of the person/s observing or detecting them.

If they are detectable, then why have they escaped detection by sceptical investigators, not even making themselves visible to such pursuers? I think we should be forgiven, as sceptics, for not believing in that for which our best evidence is the unreliable and susceptible minds and dubious motives of their witnesses and promoters.

I have to admit, as an atheist (more correctly, agnostic), whom does not believe in the spiritual reality, the source of these so called supernatural beings is a mystery at best, but more likely just plainly unreal.

Answer 5

You're in a tough spot, I admit. Hell-even I believe in ghosts. As a believer, I will tell you the one question I never want to hear in an argument about ghosts, because it invariably backs the believer into a difficult corner:

"Are you asserting, then, that the mind somehow exists independently from the body? You must be-if you're suggesting that a human mind can persist in the form of a ghost after the body and brain have ceased to function?"

There's one or two ways out of this paradox, but they each have their problems. I wouldn't spoil the fun for you, in any case. Good luck proving your point. Even if I don't share your opinion, I'm happy whenever folks are challenged-especially if they form the majority in any situation.

Answer 6

You cannot disprove non-existence of anything.
But - you can say that the conception of ghosts contradicts all known physical and biological laws. To have a personality and be able to react to reality an entity has to have a way of interacting with the material world.
Ghosts by definition and description are immaterial. So you cannot see them. If you see something, it is just much more probable that your brain is playing tricks on you. (The same about hearing voices!)
The concept is childish - but I would suggest following an advice by Frank Herbert (God Emperor of Dune) - "Never attempt to reason with people who know they are right."

Answer 7

Where have you been? Ghosts, along with God, are one of the biggest mysteries to mankind. No one can disprove them and no one can prove them. We can say "I've seen a ghost." or "God spoke to me." but can we can't prove that it wasn't all in our heads or a misinterpretation of something else. One person goes to a site said to be haunted and feels *something* there. Another goes and feels zilch. It may be felt by several people and when paranormal investigators bring in their best equipment for electric field sensing, they have every chance of nothing or a false reading even though the site is famous for its ghost(s). Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to put you down or make fun of you, but I just thought that everyone knew that ghosts are one of those things we know we can't say for sure on. To have someone ask that ghosts be disproven like asking "What is the capital of Idaho?" is a first.

The POINT of philosophy is to be open minded and curious and maybe ask an interesting question. You asked for affirmation that ghosts are a load of crap. You told us the answer you wanted.

Answer 8

Ghosts are the spirits of people that have died in great agony and infamy and some have not been given gods blessing for everlasting rest. To see one is not always easy and you can look and look. You can walk till youre tired and you can close your eyes to rest...and then you will start to feel a presence. I think I can say that it's the state of your mind which is in the same stressful plane as the spirits. Back in the 70's in the old village of Pluckley in Kent a person saw a ghost of a young lady called "The red lady" she drifted though the grave yard of St Nicholas church whos is looking for her lost child and weeping and was pulling her in great dismay. Her child was ligit and was not christened. The red lady died when she was 23yrs.

Answer 9

you could no longer disprove something, you could in basic terms make statements approximately particular claims. hundreds of folk have worked for centuries attempting to tutor that ghosts are actual, i think the seek will proceed lots comparable to it continually has. No, i don't have self belief that ghosts are actual.

Answer 10

No one can prove the existence of God, nor of ghosts both are confined to the individuals belief system. And neither can be seen by the use of our rational mind. I tend to believe, we all can have para psychological experiences. Glimpses into a future as much as we can have de ja vu, something from our past. DaVinci,drew pictures of submarines, and helicopters.
John Edwards, the psychic tapes into the universal subconscious and claims to be getting pictures from the dead.
Here's my take on it. If you have a experience where you see something that cannot be explained, in your own logical mind, then that's your own experience. Much like our dreams are our own.
Saints have seen visions for centuries, Mystics of all religions have as well. Our mind body experience can produce whatever it is we need to see, to help us on our journey of self discovery. Seeing anything like that, can be the outward creation of an emotional need. Watch the movie Ghosts, and you'll get the idea. You need not have to believe in what you don't see yourself. However you also can't dismiss the experiences of another..Hope this helped

Answer 11

sorry but as i myself have seen a ghost with 4 people in the room who also saw the same thing, i cant tell you how to disprove. because you cant...my only suggestion is to keep a balance and open mind for anything and if by chance one day you see something such as a ghost youll question yourself all over again. I can say that because i thought it was BS until i saw one and when i saw one and the others saw it we knew it changed our perspective on the topic forever.