It is a choice people must make for themselves to accept the reality or to accept the falsehood. The most important question is what convinces people of something that is not in confirmed as a fact in a science textbook? “The savage or barbarian has never learned to make that rigid distinction between imagination and reality, to enforce which is one of the main results of scientific education.” ( Wiebe, .1) Those that do believe in ghosts say that they are transparent materializations of a person who has died. Ghosts have been described as human in size and gossamer in their appearance. It is the essence of the soul that has decided to have an extended vacation on the planet.
Or, are ghosts just figments of our imagination, something we dream up, in hopes of excitement in our boring lives? Ghosts are questionably true visions, believed to emerge from humans or animals that were once alive, but are now dead, usually represented by the sight of something unexpected or remarkable, but often indicated their presence through sound, smell, or touch (Ghosts 2007). We have all heard many ghost stories in our lifetime and the purpose of this paper is to educate the readers of the truth behind ‘ghosts.’ The idea of ghosts exists in all cultures. Ghost sightings have been happening, and have been reported and have been documented, since one of the first notable ghost stories was reported in the first century A.D. Pliney the Younger was a well-respected Roman statesman and author. In the first century A.D., he reported seeing the ghost of an old man with rattling chains and a long beard at his house in Athens (History Channel 2012).
Whether or not ghosts exist has been a debate in almost every culture since the beginning of time. Those who do believe in the paranormal base their proof on numerous occurrences of unexplained phenomena. Those that are convinced there is no such thing along with those that are skeptical try to dismiss such phenomena, as they say there is no real proof. To this day, the question still remains. Do ghosts exist?
Though some disagree with this practice, such as High Priest Alex Sanders, who stated that "they are dead; leave them in peace." This belief was likely influenced by Spiritualism, which was very popular at the time of Wicca's emergence, and with which Gardner and other early Wiccans such as Buckland and Sanders had some experience. Despite some belief therein, Wicca does not place an emphasis on the afterlife, focusing instead on the current
When conducted honestly and thoroughly, the scientific method can and has provided valuable information about the world and the world’s people (Jackson, 2009). Though some people rely on other methods for gaining knowledge, scientists only accept knowledge gained through science to arrive at plausible truths (Jackson, 2009). Due in part to human error and the tendency of human nature to succumb to temptations to bias research, the results of the scientific method should be viewed with skepticism (Garzon, n.d.). The scientific method of seeking knowledge and finding truth must stay within the limits of scientific ability and allow for human fragility in order to be effective (Slick, 2012). References Garzon, F. (n.d.).
From the governess’ manuscript, how far away the ghost was from her, makes this account both unreliable and self important. For the Governess to be sure that Quint was looking directly at her, would have been difficult yet James includes this short passage, suggesting this interpretation of her. A second quotation from the novella, also suggesting the governess’ self importance is the following, “the extraordinary flight of heroism the occasion demanded of me” in reference to the sightings of the ghosts around Bly. Of course as the reader is aware, the governess has shown no real “heroism” at this point in the novel and has simply seen the ghosts, making this statement laughable; James often expresses ludicrous words from the governess, particularly in her monologues, where her thoughts are seen by the reader. Seeing herself as so important, “extraordinary” and
This leaves the possibility that one of the test subjects not included in the sample could prove the conclusion to be incorrect. In other words, induction involves moving “from premises about objects we have examined to a conclusion about objects we haven’t examined” (Okasha, 2002, p. 19). From this statement it is apparent how induction can be a problem in science due to it’s potential to lead to a false conclusion. Another problem with induction in scientific reasoning is that induction only generalizes what has already occurred. It classifies patterns that have already happened and deems them to be true even though future occurrences may be uncertain.
Theists also depend on Kant’s theory of knowledge. Kant asserted there are two types of explanations, scientific and personal. In scientific explanations the effects are
Part of the appeal of paranormal television shows is the same as the appeal of any reality television show. People watch it because we like to think they are real, even though most of us know they are not there is so much editing and splicing, hardly any of it could have actually happened and we want to know what happens from one week to the next. Ghost Hunters for example is a reality format television show that gives us the impression that these ghost hunters are actually experiencing a paranormal activity as they are in haunted spaces. If anyone is looking for more scientific proof, rather than evidence, that ghosts actually exist, these shows provide that. We watch them to give proof to some of our experiences or fears.
Moore’s “Proof of an External World” I believe that philosopher G.E. Moore’s “Proof of an External World” was somewhat successful in explaining there being an external world, however I have reason to believe that his proof cannot be taken for granted by using logic and physics. While there are flaws to his argument, he responds to those flaws with a rebuttal, and makes the person think if they can be certain about anything in existence. Moore’s argument can be simply put that; P1) he has a right hand and he has a left hand, P2) both of the hands are external objects in the world, C) An external world exists. Moore believes this is a legitimate argument based on his criteria for a proof.