The Misconceptions Of Skepticism
Over the many years I have spent within the ghost research field, I have noticed a lot of ghost hunting groups out there that think skeptics are The Enemy.
The very word 'skepticism' is commonly perceived as a negative term. However, lets take a look at its true meanings and why ghost hunters should be embracing skepticism instead of thinking badly of it.
The true meaning of the word skepticism has nothing to do with disbelief or negativity. Skepticism is all about applying critical thinking and reasoning to determine the validity of a claim. It's about trying to find a supported conclusion and not justification of a preconceived conclusion.
It is technically wrong to say that skeptics do not believe in ghosts, because some do and they are happy that their thought process behind their belief of ghosts is justified to them.
Skepticism does not just apply to the world of the paranormal. Many people use skepticism in their everyday lives.
Just the other day I opened up a magazine and a few of these scratch cards, that when scratched off tell you that you have won a million pounds, fell out into my lap.
I took one look at them and made the decision that it was a load of junk and as a result, I put them in the bin. This is a process of skepticism based on prior knowledge and experience as I have had many of these annoying scratch cards in recent weeks fall out of various printed media. Although some would say that this example was negative or even debunking in a way, personally, I think it was a positive use of skepticism because it was based on my prior knowledge of these scratch cards and it stopped me from wasting my time.
True skepticism is at the very heart of the scientific model as it is based on testable fact, and this is where most of the ghost hunters fall down because there has been no proven evidence in over 100 years of research. However, just because there has not been any documented and testable evidence to conclude that ghosts exist, it does not mean that real testable evidence is not out there.
With that said, if we go into a location that is said to be haunted to look for ghosts, we have to be very careful that we are not going in with preconceived notions and ideas.
So who makes the best ghost researcher? Personally, I would say it is someone who has no view one way or the other. Someone who sits on the fence. That way, if they have no view that ghosts exist or not, they cannot be accused of being biased.
Remember, when making a claim that a location is indeed haunted, that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. If all ghost hunters were to keep that as their mantra, we would have a lot fewer orb pictures and other misconceived notions on the web!
Do you agree or disagree with my comments? Have you say on the Ghost Science forums.