Why haven't ghosts been accepted?

Why haven't the phenomena of ghosts/spirits/ghouls/whateveryouwanttocallthem been accepted in the scientific community? There is outstanding and overwhelming evidence of these kind of sitings yet scientists still refute them.

 

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Please post a SCIENTIFIC link where I can see this "proof" you say exists about "ghosts". I have NEVER seen any FACTS about ghosts, only what people claim to have seen/ heard/ felt.

 

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Sightings do not equal proof. I think the phenomenon could be explained scientifically. Recently, my cat died. Having become used to his appearance around me all the time, after his death sometimes I would see something in my peripheral vision and interpret it as him. I think such perceptions are the origins of ghost stories. Human beings live longer than cats, so the expectation of seeing someone that has died is even greater.

 

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It's the same problem as we find in UFO stories- the stories are short on details, and the descriptions from different accounts are often contradictory. Many devoted christians claim to see manifestations of Jesus, many devoted hindus claim to see manifestations of their own gods, and so on, so forth, with the only common denominator being that these people tend to see and interpret things in a way that agrees with beliefs they already held.

People come forth all the time claiming scientific proof for claims of the paranormal and supernatural, but every time the scientific community at large has looked into such claims, the evidence has turned out to be severely lacking, and very often the findings coming out of these investigations point to outright fraud. Scientific concepts such as electromagnetism can be readily demonstrated on demand, anywhere in the world, using equipment that can be constructed both cheaply and independently on site. Noone has been able to demonstrate the existence of ghosts and bogeymen in this fashion- it's laughable to even think of calling these claims "scientific".

 

Several scientific investigations have been done and come up with either nothing at all, hoaxes, explanations (i.e. the ghost was a misinterpretation) or (in a few very limited number of cases) "unexplained".
As CptBork said: they're in the same category as UFOs - not enough repeatablity or incorrect information...

 

its doubtful they exist. for me, being plagued by night tremors for most of my life, i cam eto enjoy them a nd actually induced them myself. at least in my experience i knew then that they were just part of where i was between sleep and awake. that point was well known to me and i actually enjoyed it but that was later on and now once aware of them i dont even bother with self induction of perceived demon manifestations. one time i had one grab ahold of my leg and actually felt the claws grabbing my leg (named scratch) but when i woke up i saw no marks and then i know that they had truly tricked me.

 

the weird part is the shaking that is not something that cannot happen while fully cognizant. you have to be at the right point and then you begin to shake and guess that why they call them tremors some say this is precursor to obe but i dont know because i never got that far. that part scared me because in the bcakc of my mind i siad 'what if i cant get back in?"

so perhaps this id different but i dont believe in ghosts so that is the closest i can come to experienceing supernatural events. and now, now there just gone. they left me flat and dont want me no more. they knew i wasnt afraid of them. oh yeah, you can beat them. are you having tremors or visitations amy may i ask?

this is not really off topic.

 

No.

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The majority of non-scientists refute them as well.

 

You mean lots of people make reports about them, just like they do about Alien Visitation, Appearances of The Virgin Mary, Bigfoot, Chupacabras, the Loch Ness Monster, Leprechauns up trees, etc.

Do you believe in all of these things?

Maybe Scientists don't believe in all of them, because there's no evidence?

 

Well of course ghosts exist. And a very interesting phenomenom they are. Or, more accurately, a very interesting suite of phenomena. These include, but are not limited to:

1. Hoaxes
2. Hallucinations
3. Misinterpretations
4. Lies

As such they have been acknowledged and studied by the scientific community for many years. I imagine some inventive researchers could turn up some new and interesting interpretations of the data, but for groundbreaking, paradigm shifting, history making insights - probably not.

 

What about 5. Ghosts?

 

Because if ghosts actually haunted the places where they died, every hospital would be haunted like crazy.

 

Of course not, Ghost surgeons exorcise them.

 

No signifcant evidence that isn't better explained by one of 1. through 4.

 

Not much different than god or guardian angels. Same thing, just a different word I think.

 

Before this thread sinks to, I don't know, the Cesspool maybe, what specific "outstanding" evidence are you referring to?

 

I am very ready to believe in psychic phenomena.
I would love it to be true.
Unfortunately, every instance I have ever seen can be explained by non psychic means. Some of it is downright fraud, but much of it is done by well meaning people who are self deluded.

If anyone has indisputable proof, please present it.
I would willingly change my mind on the subject.

 

have any of you seen the program by the University of Pennsylvania students ? on the paranormal

 

I can think of a reason.
Because they dont exist!