Ghosts!
“To have an opinion, one must overlook something.”
The excerpt we read from The Authors of the Impossible and its discussion of the powers gained by an individual free from the constraints of an ego reminded me, of course, of ghosts and the paranormal. Because humans have physical bodies, we have developed a concept of the “self.” The ego gives us this sense of distinction between ourselves and the world around us. There can be physical bodies without an ego, there can be individuals without bodies or egos, but there cannot be egos without bodies. If there is nothing physical to separate the self from the outside, how can there be an ego? I am aware that very few of Freud’s ideas about the id, ego, and superego are taken seriously anymore, but allow me to indulge myself for just a moment.
Some people have overly strong egos, which can make them close-mined or lacking in empathy. The self is all that exists. Others can have no ego, which gives them the “’impossible’ powers” described in the reading. I think this could also be what physics are. Perhaps these people with so little ego that they can even empathize with non-corporeal beings. There is a danger to this as well; it is difficult, or even impossible, to function in society without a distinction between the self and the outside would. It would also be exhausting to constantly empathize with every object in the world.
But why are we so skeptical of psychics and ghosts in our culture? Very few people would argue with the premise that American culture emphasis and strengthens the ego. We are individualistic, which can be both a strength and a weakness. In this case, perhaps our overly developed egos are so terrified at the possibility of existence without itself that it convinces us that no such existence is possible. The ego does not allow us to believe in ghosts because ghosts have no body and no ego. Dismissing the possibility of the paranormal could be a defense mechanism of the ego.
Every part of this is pure speculation. If those who do not believe in ghosts are overlooking something then, as the quote says, so are those who believe in them. Whatever the truth is I am sure that it is something entirely different than the argument that either side is presenting. In the meantime, I’m sure the debate will rage on in much the same way it always has.
The excerpt we read from The Authors of the Impossible and its discussion of the powers gained by an individual free from the constraints of an ego reminded me, of course, of ghosts and the paranormal. Because humans have physical bodies, we have developed a concept of the “self.” The ego gives us this sense of distinction between ourselves and the world around us. There can be physical bodies without an ego, there can be individuals without bodies or egos, but there cannot be egos without bodies. If there is nothing physical to separate the self from the outside, how can there be an ego? I am aware that very few of Freud’s ideas about the id, ego, and superego are taken seriously anymore, but allow me to indulge myself for just a moment.
Some people have overly strong egos, which can make them close-mined or lacking in empathy. The self is all that exists. Others can have no ego, which gives them the “’impossible’ powers” described in the reading. I think this could also be what physics are. Perhaps these people with so little ego that they can even empathize with non-corporeal beings. There is a danger to this as well; it is difficult, or even impossible, to function in society without a distinction between the self and the outside would. It would also be exhausting to constantly empathize with every object in the world.
But why are we so skeptical of psychics and ghosts in our culture? Very few people would argue with the premise that American culture emphasis and strengthens the ego. We are individualistic, which can be both a strength and a weakness. In this case, perhaps our overly developed egos are so terrified at the possibility of existence without itself that it convinces us that no such existence is possible. The ego does not allow us to believe in ghosts because ghosts have no body and no ego. Dismissing the possibility of the paranormal could be a defense mechanism of the ego.
Every part of this is pure speculation. If those who do not believe in ghosts are overlooking something then, as the quote says, so are those who believe in them. Whatever the truth is I am sure that it is something entirely different than the argument that either side is presenting. In the meantime, I’m sure the debate will rage on in much the same way it always has.
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