Question:
Is there always scientific or psychological proof for paranormal activity/ hauntings?
2014-04-07 23:17:59 UTC
Hello everyone,

For my Research Project I have decided to focus on 'The Paranormal', and my question of choice is 'Is there always scientific or psychological proof for paranormal activity/ hauntings?'

This scientific and psychological proof should be information that suggests ghosts/spirits ARE NOT REAL. For example, people believe Ouija boards do not work, and that it is the work of the Ideometer effect, where people unknowingly move the planchette as it was suggest that it would.

I need help finding scientific and psychological proof for various Paranormal entities, such as...

- Orbs
- Visible ghosts, such as mist or apparitions
- Poltergeists
- Warm and Cold Spots

As well as scientific and psychological proof for various things that can occur due to ghosts/ spirits, such as...

- People hearing voices
- People smelling supposed ghosts (e.g. When people smell perfume due to a female ghost being present)
- Noises (such as knocking, tapping)
- People being touched (e.g. being poked, tapped, stroked or shoved)
- Objects moving by themselves

If anybody has any information on this (REFERENCES MUST BE PROVIDED), please give me a brief overview and then a link to a website, or the name of the book in which you got the information from.

And, before people assume I am a skeptic, or I'm small-minded, I do believe in ghosts/ spirits. I have always loved science and psychology, and believe it would be interesting to see through the eyes of a skeptic.
Eight answers:
Robert De Angelis-Italy-United States
2014-04-08 13:04:48 UTC
Hello to you!





Absolutely there is no scientific evidence or psychological Paranormal Activity / fanc!



Science does not know a bat Paranormal phenomena, not to its capacity, this is not to experience as much energy Atomic, Chemical or Solar, etc ... but here it is spiritual phenomena that science ignores the human via the Great!



The only ones who can speak on these topics are esoteric, such as: Medium, Psychics, Spiritualists, Seven satanic, fortune tellers, and anyone who is, and lives in the Occult, if it is granted that wish to give an explanation, because it is not always so!?!



So for your Empowerment Website Project does not go anywhere, I look in magazines, newspaper, and not even look at websites, but as I said above are the only ones!



Auction sight Friend! -
Dr. NG
2014-04-08 06:55:01 UTC
I would suggest you go somewhere more scientific for information. The overwhelming percentage of scientists are of the opinion paranormal phenomena does not exist.

Some people calling themselves scientists consider reading books and 60 year old studies research. True research must be tempered with opposing views and honest discussion. To ignore facts and statistics in your opinions is sophism, besides being dishonest, it is detrimental to the discussion and harmful.

If you want a fair grade on your science project, you need to research what a consensus of scientists have to say.
?
2014-04-08 22:24:02 UTC
Science functions experimentally via taking one experiment and repeating it thousands of times to see the results. If a phenomena can not reliably repeated to the same results, which parapsychology can not do, so far, then science rejects it as unproven.
Gary K
2014-04-08 17:04:48 UTC
You would do much better to do your own research, rather than ask others to do it for you.



You can start here: http://www.csicop.org/



One thing though - whenever skeptics (of the scientific variety) investigate claims of the paranormal, evidence of paranormal activity is never found.



-------

EDIT: @The Watchman - really dude...?
?
2014-04-08 03:47:18 UTC
Is this a question that you coined, or was it a list of possible topics your teacher provided to select from? No offense, and I'm *not* calling you a moron, but to ask "Is there *always* proof of the paranormal?" is an oxymoron. The question should read "Is there *ever* any proof, or even any evidence?" This is why the terms 'paranormal' and 'supernatural' even exist. If there were scientific proof, then these phenomena would be part of mainstream science, and not stranded in the backwaters of pseudoscience.

.

You say you love science, but apparently you don't understand how the scientific method works, or what burden of proof is. It is always up to the one making the assertion to prove his case, not the obligation of skeptics to disprove it. For instance, if you disbelieve my assertion that there is an alien space base on Pluto, is it up to you to prove there isn't, or up to me to demonstrate that there is? Can you provide any references to websites that assure us that there are no alien bases there? Likewise, it's not reasonable to expect to have references that prove the paranormal does *not* exist. If I'm misunderstanding what you're asking for, I apologize, but that's how it reads to me.

.

As far as your second group of items goes, many reports of such things can be attributed to hypnagogia. Hallucinations, whether auditory, visual, or tactile, can and frequently do affect us when we're very tired, especially in the transitional period between being awake and being asleep. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia That's why the big majority of ghost sightings occur in the bedroom--because they are related to sleep and dreams, and not to the paranormal.

.

The explanation is simple--they don't. They might *appear* to, but that's because a human, either you or someone else, moved them, and that's why we never actually see the objects move by themselves. We absentmindedly set things down without thinking about it, and are then mystified when later we don't find them in their accustomed place. I'm sure you can think of times you can't find something, but when you finally do, then you remember setting it down there. Again, there's no website that's likely to prove that objects don't move by themselves, just as there aren't any about my Pluto alien bases.

.

There are indeed prizes offered for anyone able to unequivocally prove that they possess remarkable paranormal abilities. It's mentioned here quite often, by skeptics pointing out that proof is lacking, and dismissed by believers who have to use character assassination of those who offer the prizes, because that's the only way they can justify not being able to meet the qualifications. It happens often, even earlier today, from a user whom I generally respect,, who claimed the James Randi Challenge is a hoax. The fact is that not one believer is able to convincingly and compellingly demonstrate any of the powers they claim to possess or otherwise believe in, so their only recourse is to claim the prizes are fake because they don't simply accept unsubstantiated claims. That's the problem you'll not find the proof that paranormal are real, so you're left with your only recourse to move the goalposts and shift the burden of proof to the deniers to prove that these powers *aren't* real, because it's impossible to disprove a negative When you arrive at that point, you've reached a logical impasse, an intellectual dead end, and that is why your research will not make a satisfactory report, because all you'll find are easily-fabricated stories, or at most nebulous claims of electromagnetic field fluctuations that have little relationship to the kind of things you hope to prove.

.

.
Tom
2014-04-08 04:10:02 UTC
There is no such thing as "Psychological proof" as Psychology is a so called "Fuzzy Science" and mostly takes place in an individual's head.



The Rhine instate at duke University did a lot of research in the 50's and 60's demonstrating aspects of ESP.



The phenomena we CALL "Ghosts" DOES exist as they can be seen by multiple witnesses and are instrumentally detectable and measurable--..No proof that they are actual "Spirits of the dead" though, THAT is only the traditional FOLK EXPLANATION for the observed phenomena or observed Humanoid looking forms accompanied by real, and unique temperature and Electromagnetic anomalies. We really do not know what the phenomena really IS though---YET.



The trouble / advantage of "Ghost evidence is that ANYBODY in the right TIME time and PLACE with the right instruments can observe and measure the phenomena, A hard trick to pull off, due to the apparent random nature of the phenomena, but so common, there are no formal "proofs" other than the ability to get one's own data and proof with a bit of investigation.---Properly documented of course.



Now if you are going to do any Scientific work in these areas FORGET the FOLK EXPLAINATIONS and hearsay. Approach the phenomena objectively. MOST skeptics reject Ghost Phenomena because they do not Believe in "Spirits of the dead"---- Well, DUHHHH! We are not speaking of spirits of the dead but the actual observed phenomena that our ancestors EXPLAINED as being "spirits of the dead"----That's like ignoring Lightning because one does not believe in the god Zeus.



We are likely dealing with natural phenomena that our Science hasn't discovered or defined YET. Also Modern Physics can explain Ghosts in terms of Living people in the PAST that we might see via a natural Wormhole or Einstein Rosen Bridge connecting to a different time. The effects would look identical to the reports.
The Black Hole
2014-04-08 00:08:21 UTC
Your research project will be short-lived.

The scientific proof that ghosts don't exist is the total absence of evidence that they DO exist.

Science doesn't waste time trying to prove negatives. You can play that game all day long.

Just make up any crazy thing like unicorns or invisible pink elephants.

Can you prove that there are not any? Just because no one has seen one does not mean they don't exist.

Thats nuts! On that basis everything exists until you can prove it doesn't.

Sorry. The burden of proof is on the claimant.



As Carl Sagan liked to say, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

In the case of paranormal phenomenon there is zero.
2014-04-08 22:48:00 UTC
No more than there is for evilution. Actually theres much more proof for the paranormal and ZERO proof for evilution.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...