Thoughts on Spooky Ghosts
Despite the recent efforts of horror fiction, the realities behind paranormal occurrences (ennui, fraud, the unknown elements of our psychology, mental illness, etc.) are far more haunting than the comforting fallacies and pseudo-religiosity found in mediumship.
While these beliefs do have narratives regarding cosmic order, meaning, truth and even predestined fate or otherworldly grace, belief in ghosts is not religiosity. It lacks a substantive moral orientation, historicity and communal tradition but most importantly believes itself to be a science or description of reality rather than a way of life.
Possibly the most interesting philosophical dimension to "ghosts" concerns the secular afterlife of transhumanism and "digital ghosts" of social media. The implications of which are many... But the banality of the possible and probable is eternally much less appealing than the supernatural.
Scepticism is not "close-mindedness" - It's the opposite. The unsubstantiated assumptions in committed belief in the paranormal are not a result of being "open minded". That is, there's a difference between weighing different types of beliefs such as those that are superstitious against evidence-based claims and simply being "open" to everything you hear. Moreover, valid criticism of art and all other ideas are constructive rather than deconstructive; creating and improving. Non-belief and curious scepticism can be just as much a part of someone's expression of identity as spirituality; sometimes more so. People CAN believe what they like... but this is different from suggesting a more discerning attitude towards truth claims. I wrote a bigger article on this a while back.
If you think you see a small ghost it could just be a tissue.
The belief in the paranormal has gone from failed attempts at early scientific investigation to coveted "truth" about a cosmic conflict we are all unaware of. This, among other reasons, are why these beliefs often sociologically overlap with the "new age" and spiritual seeking of new religious movements. Often these officially discarded projects are stitched together to form Frankensteinian spiritualities.
In ancient folk religions, ghosts were not the spectres of horror stories but manifestations from the innate desire to personify and anthropomorphise nature and the unknown. Proto-religion, ancestor worship and pagan tradition even venerated natural spirits, as they enriched a sense of culture that relied on a deep connection with the natural world.
It seems strange that we seem to enjoy being scared at all - we are obsessed with storytelling that unsettles us. This is commonly referred to as the "paradox of horror". One suggested reason for it is that it allows us to conquer our fears, including that of death, by framing them as part of escapist stories, stories with tidy resolutions or the camp silliness of slasher films. This exercise in courage-building and resilience has evolved from a deep tradition of confronting morbidity such as those found in old rituals and celebrations.
As a modern-day festival, Halloween could be a lot more spiritual and provide more social functions than it does. We don’t tend to do a lot for it and so it's fallen victim to hollow commercialism. It’s a shame given its meaningful Christian and Celtic origins.
Incubus myths are most likely derived from sleep paralysis. There is often a correlation with creatures of mythology or folklore and psychological or societal fears (even if this is just subtextual). Frankenstein, for example can be seen as a warning of the danger of amoral science and werewolves (as well as many other monsters) have interesting coded gender parallels.
The most unsettling horror crosses this line and has the opposite effect and is thus often psychological in nature (or at least practical or realistic).
We are "superstitious" about many things, usually unknowingly. Whether it's small rituals to invoke luck or knowledge that isn't entirely empirical, often the atheist can be as fallacious as the theist. That said, we could be better equipped to recognise certain thoughts and understand certain concepts. For example, how memories can change to create confirmatory bias or why the paranormal is considered different to the normal. Often there are simply too many leaps in logic and assumptions that are created to fit a forgone desired conclusion rather than arriving at one based on eliminating other possibilities (of which there are many - they're just considered boring or perhaps not fully understood). Convenience is one of many reasons that people claim to obtain knowledge and a lack of "disproof" is not a decent reason for sticking to a belief. Most things are impossible to disprove, it doesn't mean all ideas are equally true.
Lastly - I have become increasingly aware that, while often fun, sometimes these conversations can conceal harrowing experiences; some explainable, some unexplainable. We must always endeavour to keep our conversations free of spite and continue to walk the line of passionate debate and learning from those we speak to.
While these beliefs do have narratives regarding cosmic order, meaning, truth and even predestined fate or otherworldly grace, belief in ghosts is not religiosity. It lacks a substantive moral orientation, historicity and communal tradition but most importantly believes itself to be a science or description of reality rather than a way of life.
Possibly the most interesting philosophical dimension to "ghosts" concerns the secular afterlife of transhumanism and "digital ghosts" of social media. The implications of which are many... But the banality of the possible and probable is eternally much less appealing than the supernatural.
Scepticism is not "close-mindedness" - It's the opposite. The unsubstantiated assumptions in committed belief in the paranormal are not a result of being "open minded". That is, there's a difference between weighing different types of beliefs such as those that are superstitious against evidence-based claims and simply being "open" to everything you hear. Moreover, valid criticism of art and all other ideas are constructive rather than deconstructive; creating and improving. Non-belief and curious scepticism can be just as much a part of someone's expression of identity as spirituality; sometimes more so. People CAN believe what they like... but this is different from suggesting a more discerning attitude towards truth claims. I wrote a bigger article on this a while back.
If you think you see a small ghost it could just be a tissue.
The belief in the paranormal has gone from failed attempts at early scientific investigation to coveted "truth" about a cosmic conflict we are all unaware of. This, among other reasons, are why these beliefs often sociologically overlap with the "new age" and spiritual seeking of new religious movements. Often these officially discarded projects are stitched together to form Frankensteinian spiritualities.
In ancient folk religions, ghosts were not the spectres of horror stories but manifestations from the innate desire to personify and anthropomorphise nature and the unknown. Proto-religion, ancestor worship and pagan tradition even venerated natural spirits, as they enriched a sense of culture that relied on a deep connection with the natural world.
It seems strange that we seem to enjoy being scared at all - we are obsessed with storytelling that unsettles us. This is commonly referred to as the "paradox of horror". One suggested reason for it is that it allows us to conquer our fears, including that of death, by framing them as part of escapist stories, stories with tidy resolutions or the camp silliness of slasher films. This exercise in courage-building and resilience has evolved from a deep tradition of confronting morbidity such as those found in old rituals and celebrations.
As a modern-day festival, Halloween could be a lot more spiritual and provide more social functions than it does. We don’t tend to do a lot for it and so it's fallen victim to hollow commercialism. It’s a shame given its meaningful Christian and Celtic origins.
Incubus myths are most likely derived from sleep paralysis. There is often a correlation with creatures of mythology or folklore and psychological or societal fears (even if this is just subtextual). Frankenstein, for example can be seen as a warning of the danger of amoral science and werewolves (as well as many other monsters) have interesting coded gender parallels.
The most unsettling horror crosses this line and has the opposite effect and is thus often psychological in nature (or at least practical or realistic).
We are "superstitious" about many things, usually unknowingly. Whether it's small rituals to invoke luck or knowledge that isn't entirely empirical, often the atheist can be as fallacious as the theist. That said, we could be better equipped to recognise certain thoughts and understand certain concepts. For example, how memories can change to create confirmatory bias or why the paranormal is considered different to the normal. Often there are simply too many leaps in logic and assumptions that are created to fit a forgone desired conclusion rather than arriving at one based on eliminating other possibilities (of which there are many - they're just considered boring or perhaps not fully understood). Convenience is one of many reasons that people claim to obtain knowledge and a lack of "disproof" is not a decent reason for sticking to a belief. Most things are impossible to disprove, it doesn't mean all ideas are equally true.
Lastly - I have become increasingly aware that, while often fun, sometimes these conversations can conceal harrowing experiences; some explainable, some unexplainable. We must always endeavour to keep our conversations free of spite and continue to walk the line of passionate debate and learning from those we speak to.