Question: Do spirits exist?

Rose Turner answered on 14 Jun 2017:

Hi Aimee.mae, What an interesting question!
If you’re interested in this, there is a branch of Psychology that looks at the supernatural. Largely, it consists of studies that explain why some people believe in spirits from a psychological perspective (rather than a spiritual one). So it tends to take the view that spirits don’t exists (and studies why people believe in them). One study found that people who felt their lives lacked meaning were more likely to see supernatural reasons for things happening (though this doesn’t tell us they don’t exist, it just tells us that people who feel their lives lack meaning are more likely to see them – whether they’re real or not). There is also some interesting research around ‘haunted houses’. When we experience being in a ‘haunted house’ we might hear strange noises, see ghosts and feel a sense of dread. However these same symptoms can be attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning! Carbon monoxide poisoning can make us have visual and auditory hallucinations, and it triggers a physiological response that feels like dread! That’s not to say that all haunted house experiences can be explained away as having a physical cause like that – but some can.

Having said that, I work with some psychologists who believe firmly in things like spirits, and believe that science can tell us more about them. My own view is that supernatural things like ghosts don’t exist, and psychology has a lot to tell us about why lots of people experience these things. However I also think that our world is a very complicated place and that there are lots of aspects of it we don’t understand – so I am open to possibility!