It would have been much easier for me to simply say that ghosts do not exist.  In fact, as an administrator I have access to quick replies to questions that never appear on the web.  The questioner receives a response with the sentiment “This is not a question we wish to spend anytime on” or “we have already answered something like this.”  However, this question is different because you indicated that your science teacher brought it up in class.   I have actually studied quite a lot about the occult, ghosts, vampires, and the like, for my own knowledge and enjoyment.   I read it, not because I believe any of it, rather I find in fascinating that so many people do believe.  The fact that several “learning” channels on cable have their highest ratings from shows on the paranormal, that all newspapers include an astrology column, and fortune-telling pay-per-call companies are big business indicate that more than a fair share of people are willing to at least tolerate the believe in ghosts and the paranormal.  There has been no evidence that ghosts exist because of some sort of energy (known or unknown).  The discussion of “ghost-energy” has derived from a scientific need to explain the world around us.  No longer do people accept many things purely on faith.   Theories with components borrowed from real science are created to validate belief in the unusual.  Ultimately though, all these sorts of theories are based on pieces that cannot be tested.  The erroneous argument is made that if it cannot be tested than it could be correct, and therefore is valid.

 

To me, your question begs another question: “Why do people feel the need to believe in ghosts, demons, or spirits?”

 

I am not a psychologist or a sociologist, but I would like to add to the MadSci library of responses on ghosts and spirits based on my experiences with human/cultural behavior and to create a file that references many others.  The belief in ghosts and other worldly things has been part of the human culture for thousands of years.  The belief in ghosts develops and persists, at least in part from the following sources: human fear of mortality, the belief in good, which necessitates evil, and the need to explain bad/good fortune.

 

Certainly, whole volumes can be written and this is not the proper forum, nor am I the best candidate to author it.  But, let me explain each point a little bit so you understand where I am coming from.

 

Human fear of mortality:  In general, people are afraid to die because we really do not know what happens to us when we die.   A major element of religion is to assuage human fear of death.  Just about all religions have strong pillars based on the afterlife.   In many religions the faithful and just go to heaven while the wicked go somewhere else.  Actually not the person proper, but rather the soul moves along to the afterlife.  The soul is the essence of the person that according many faiths lasts forever.  However, some religions profess that one’s afterlife is predetermined and that a person’s actions on earth will indicate his/her fate.  And some warrior cultures, like the Norse and some modern militant groups, believe that warriors who die in battle (usually for the faith) will be rewarded in heaven.   The earliest civilizations had pantheons of gods that went even a step further.  Many ancient religions had gods for all sorts of things and they or their emissaries would somewhat routinely visit the masses.   These visitors were otherworldly – ghosts/spirits of the dead or entities that had never been human.  Both the Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer have spirits of the dead in them.  In a very direct way, ghosts give evidence that there is something after death.   Expanding the logic a little, if ghosts exist then an afterlife must exist in which persons keep their sense of self or identity.  The reason why ghosts exist requires some other explanation that must be made commensurate with the religious beliefs.

 

Which leads me into my next point: the belief in good necessitates the need for evil.  The Catholic Church sponsored the development of the book Malleus Maleficarum (means Witch Hammer) during the 15^th century witch/demon hunts.  The book was developed as a tool for church lawyers (read inquisitors) to prosecute those accused of witchcraft and consorting with demons and devils. It became heretical not to believe in demons or the devil.  If one believed in God, Christ, and angels then demons and devils were part of the system.  The evil ones were at war with the good for the souls of humanity.  Many modern movies dealing with themes relating to vampires or the offspring of the devil address that good must have evil: there is no good without evil.  Good can only be measured as relative to evil.  Seems simple enough.  Why have manifestations of one side without the other?

 

So, if a culture believes in good and evil beings that exist outside the human realm then these entities need a reason for interacting with living humanity.  One possible reason for these otherworldly beings to exist is to create good or bad fortune.   If a person can control or gain positive assistance from these spirits then all sorts of advantages and power can be gained.   All that is required is that others are fearful of this control or favor.  The holy person that can ensure the favor of the gods is going to hold great power.   For example in Roman Catholicism, priests can excommunicate persons who violate church rule.   The excommunicated are, according to faith, cut off from God and effectively damned.  In an extreme setting, the general populace can become fatalistic because the whims of the spirits will ultimately prevail.  For example, crop failure is not due to cyclical raining patterns or poor maintenance or practice, rather the acts of unseen evil spirits or failure to appease the vengeful gods of agriculture.

 

A very good book on the skepticism of science is Carl Sagan’s Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Darkness. Several MadSci response authors (including me responding about the existence of ghosts) have cited the book in their responses

 

Re: What is the different between pseudoscience and science?

Re : is there any scientific research being done on crop circles

Re: what causes loss of all electrical power in a localized area?

Re: do goast realy exist?

 

 

Here are some other previous questions/responses on the MadSci Net that deal with the ghosts, astrology, and the paranormal.  I place hypnotism in this category, since most people perceive it as a form of explicit mind control and not a state of mind.

 

Sub ject: What is the scientific explanation for ghost?

Sub ject: Can you find any information about a plant called 'John O'Dreams'?

 

Subje ct: What is the relationship between astronomy and astrology?

Re: What makes a science a science? Why isn't Geography a science?

 

Re: why history is repeated and how prophecies are explained by science?

Re: Does the phase of the moon affect how plants grow?

 

Re: What is the probability and significance of this chance encounter?

Re: Hypnotism

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Tom “Witchdoctor” Cull