Aliens and Ghosts

There are no ghosts haunting our attics and there are no aliens flying in saucers at night. I will assume that we all agree to these claims. Nevertheless, we might wonder what evidence might make us change our minds. I have some strange intuitions that I think others might share. I'd like to present those intuitions and see if there is anything interesting we can learn from the fact that we have those intuitions.

Suppose we learn that there really are skinny gray creatures that fly around in saucers abducting humans and cows; We learn that many of those people who claim to have seen or experienced such events really did have such sights and experiences. However, we also learn that the little gray creatures are actually creatures who evolved on earth; they are creatures who have never left earth, but have lived in secret for thousands of years deep in the ocean. Some of these creatures have traveled far from their majestic cities and have begun observing life on dry land. they travel in their finely constructed saucer shaped aircraft and sometimes they take a human or cow on board for close observation. If we were to learn that all this is true, would we say that there really are aliens flying in saucers at night? It seems to me that we would not. Rather we would say that what we thought were aliens turned out to be something like highly evolved fish.

However, suppose that we learned that there really are human shaped apparitions that move through our houses at night, disturbing our pets and making various noises; we learn that many people who claim to have seen or experienced such events really did have such sights and experiences. However, we learn that the apparitions are actually semi-corporeal creatures who evolved on earth. They were never any spiritual part of any human being, but have lived in secret for thousands of years in various dark places. Some have moved into our attics and move around at night making a little noise and sometimes disturbing our pets. If we were to learn that all this is true, then would we say that there really are ghosts haunting our attics? It seems to me that we would. We would be surprised to learn that ghosts aren't really the spirits of deceased human beings but rather a new life form living amongst us.

So, why do I have different intuitions about the two cases? Why do I think that in the first case we do not learn that there are aliens flying in saucers, but in the second case we do learn that there are ghosts? Moreover, do others share my intuitions?

I have tried to think of a couple of explanations for my different counterfactual judgments. My first idea was that the concepts applied in the two cases might have been introduced in different ways. One might think that the concept of a ghost was introduced into the community by ostension whereas the concept of an alien was introduced by way of a generalization. Thus, particular judgments about ghosts might carry more weight than general judgments and visa versa for judgments about aliens. But, this doesn't seem right. after all, I have no idea how the concept was first introduced into the community.

Perhaps I was introduced to the concept of a ghost by ostension whereas the concept of an alien was introduced by way of a generalization. But, this doesn't seem right. I am willing to bet rather heavily that I was introduced to the concepts in rather similar ways (perhaps via Robert Stack and Unsolved Mysteries). I suppose if I am mistaken, then we can test this hypothesis by introducing the various concepts to children in different ways and then asking them to make counterfactual judgments various cases while employing those concepts.

My second idea was that I have the judgments that I do because I think the concept of an alien is satisfied whereas my concept of a ghost is not. My concept of an alien is probably satisfied by some lifeform on a distant planet. But, I don't think anything satisfies my concept of a ghost. If this fact could explain why I make different judgments, then we should expect people who do believe in ghosts (as in disembodies spirits) to make a different judgment than me about the counterfactual circumstances in the ghost case above. I have done an unscientific survey of one person (who believes in disembodied spirits) and found that this was not the case; my survey participant had the same judgments that I did.

So, I guess I am at a loss. I’d like to know if any of you have the same judgments that I do and I’d like to know if any of you has an explanation for those judgments.