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In all human cultures documented by anthropology, and throughout the written record,there are reports of individuals who claim to communicate with discarnate spirits. These claims form an important basis for the social power and personal identities of the claimants (Lewis, 1971). As such, these phenomena have been subject to inquiry by a wide range of the human sciences from anthropology and sociology to evolutionary psychology (Cohen, 2008). Traditionally, these investigations bracket, that is, put to one side, the veracity of such claims, or presume a negative answer on the basis of prior probability (inconsistency with well-validated scientific knowledge). While such approaches provide valuable insights, nothing can be more important to the human significance of these phenomena than the truth or falsehood of their core claim. That is, are these individuals in communication with actual discarnate spirits? This question overlaps with, but is logically distinct from, the veracity of particular claims made within such ostensible communications, just as communication with an embodied human agent is not dependent on the truth or falsity of the specific communication. |
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