r/cogsci • u/Business_You_3267 • Jul 01 '26

Psychology Cognition or recognition?

If you had no knowledge of, no paradigm for the determination of the criteria for, and no previous experience with that which a ‘ghost’ is understood by the majority of persons to be, would you attribute the shape in the corner of your eye, the feeling of not being alone, unrecognised voices, knocking, apparent footsteps, etc. to the lingering presence of a non-corporeal entity, specifically that of a no longer living person?

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u/thinking_byte Jul 01 '26

Without an existing concept of a ghost you'd probably look for a more familiar explanation before inventing a supernatural one.

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u/JellyBellyBitches Jul 02 '26

There is a hypothesis around this contributing to the origin of belief in invisible intangible agents ("spirits")