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Ghosts (Real or Bull)

#82
KsPiNeSh said:
Why is a "supernatural" explanation automatically irrational? I'm a scientist by trade and absolutely accept the possibility that things exist that are not curently understood. The world was flat once, right?
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Accepting the possibility that there are things we don't understand is very different from believing in things for which there is no evidence. It's appropriate to keep an open mind to new discoveries, but not appropriate to believe in things that are based on superstition.
 
#83
^^^ Dead right. Things that we don't understand yet are no evidence of the supernatural. People spent most of history not understanding lightning, for example, but it's not in any way supernatural. And history also shows us that sooner or later almost any phenomenon is likely to prove susceptible to a natural/rational explanation.

If you think about the etymology of the words "supernatural" and "irrational" from an objective rather than a purely emotional point of view, they're not too different in meaning.
 
#84
Munjibunga said:
Accepting the possibility that there are things we don't understand is very different from believing in things for which there is no evidence. It's appropriate to keep an open mind to new discoveries, but not appropriate to believe in things that are based on superstition.
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bassybill said:
^^^ Dead right. Things that we don't understand yet are no evidence of the supernatural. People spent most of history not understanding lightning, for example, but it's not in any way supernatural. And history also shows us that sooner or later almost any phenomenon is likely to prove susceptible to a natural/rational explanation.

If you think about the etymology of the words "supernatural" and "irrational" from an objective rather than a purely emotional point of view, they're not too different in meaning.
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Agreed, as later mentioned.

KsPiNeSh said:
I work in molecular bio/pharmacology. I agree with you completely and bolded the section that I really like, a better choice of words than I made; by "supernatural", I was referring to something that just isn't currently understood - thus, the quotation marks. The assertion that a phenomena is unexplainable because the knowledge to understand it is not currently available is a bit absurd :)
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#86
bassybill said:
^^^ Dead right. Things that we don't understand yet are no evidence of the supernatural. People spent most of history not understanding lightning, for example, but it's not in any way supernatural. And history also shows us that sooner or later almost any phenomenon is likely to prove susceptible to a natural/rational explanation.

If you think about the etymology of the words "supernatural" and "irrational" from an objective rather than a purely emotional point of view, they're not too different in meaning.
Click to expand...

Yes - I have personally experienced the classic "Poltergeist" phenomenon with another person and we both saw and felt the same things.

It was an unexplainable phenomenon - I am an agnostic and don't really believe in any religion - but I am sure there is a huge amount about reality and the universe that we don't yet understand!

I just can't believe that this is all there is and have the feeling that there is more to our existence - but I only believe we should all have an open mind.

So - I don't think I saw a "Ghost" - as in the spirit of a dead person - I saw some sort of creature which had no physical form that I could understand, which was able to move and destroy physical objects - it blew up lightbulbs for example?

There was something there - but I have no idea what it was?
 
#89
http://******.com/?q=cognitive+closure

:)

Read the philosophy bit.

In a nutshell - it's silly to think the human mind is capable of comprehending every secret of the universe. There are like many things that are beyond our understanding - so much so that we cannot begin to even fathom them.

That doesn't mean it's magical.

That doesn't mean it's 'supernatural'.

It just means we're too dumb to understand :p
 
#92
LOL well.... my new neighbor stopped by my house (we just bought a house for those who weren't aware) and told me an interesting fact or two about our new home. If ghosts are real, I'll be the first to know, trust me :)
Matter of fact I may start a new thread in a couple of days and keep a running log cuz this oughtta be good.
 
#95
Well guys, let's just put it this way I'm your guinea pig - over the weekend I found out that in the newly purchased house I am now living in and typing to you from, there was an (attempted?) suicide via shotgun a few years back. I believe the guy survived the immediate attempt but died in the hospital 6 days later. This according to our new neighbors. I'm planning on researching this a bit to get better details but really dont know where to start.
Any way I'll let you know if he pays us a visit at any point as well as how this story unfolds :)
 
#97
Bruce Lindfield said:
Yes - I have personally experienced the classic "Poltergeist" phenomenon with another person and we both saw and felt the same things.

It was an unexplainable phenomenon - I am an agnostic and don't really believe in any religion - but I am sure there is a huge amount about reality and the universe that we don't yet understand!

I just can't believe that this is all there is and have the feeling that there is more to our existence - but I only believe we should all have an open mind.

So - I don't think I saw a "Ghost" - as in the spirit of a dead person - I saw some sort of creature which had no physical form that I could understand, which was able to move and destroy physical objects - it blew up lightbulbs for example?

There was something there - but I have no idea what it was?
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I'm inclined to agree. There have been too many unexplained things reported by sensible people for the accounts to be simply dismissed. That said, going to the supernatural is taking the easyway out. I'm inclined to think there are "natural" explanations for which we do not yet have the science to explain.
 
#99
Relic said:
LOL well.... my new neighbor stopped by my house (we just bought a house for those who weren't aware) and told me an interesting fact or two about our new home. If ghosts are real, I'll be the first to know, trust me :)
Matter of fact I may start a new thread in a couple of days and keep a running log cuz this oughtta be good.
Click to expand...

Supernatural things seem to have a liking to you.:p
 
#100
CrispyDelicious said:
http://******.com/?q=cognitive+closure

:)

Read the philosophy bit.

In a nutshell - it's silly to think the human mind is capable of comprehending every secret of the universe. There are like many things that are beyond our understanding - so much so that we cannot begin to even fathom them.

That doesn't mean it's magical.

That doesn't mean it's 'supernatural'.

It just means we're too dumb to understand :p
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I'm a 100% believer in this sort of thing. We all exist in a reality that we can perceive within the terms and boundaries what our brains can comprehend, but it's silly to think that what we perceive as reality is "everything".
 

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