Concept in Definition ABC

When vital signs stop working, death occurs, something that from time immemorial has disturbed the humanityWell, there is no definitive answer about what happens when we die. For some, death simply means ceasing to exist and nothing else. For others, death physical It does not imply the disappearance of the human soul or spirit, but rather that our spirit remains beyond life.

You could say that the belief in the human spirit beyond life it is related to the desire for immortality or the fear of death. In any case, these types of beliefs are the origin of a widespread current throughout history, spiritualism.

The historical origin of modern spiritism

Spiritism in a general sense is part of various religious traditions, but modern spiritism emerged in 19th century France as a new discipline with a philosophical and religious component. Spiritism spread rapidly throughout the world and is based on the following idea: not only is there life after death, but the dead may be present among us and there are ways to get in touch with these spirits, for example through the güija.

The güija consists of the displacement of a glass on a board in which the letters of the alphabet appear. For the glass to move, those attending the séance must place their hands on the glass, the which is crawling according to the desire of the invoked spirit and is pointing to the letters on the board to form a message. Supposedly, it is the spirit that moves the glass and guides the audience, but the detractors of the Spiritualism maintain that these movements have been provoked by the assistants, either consciously or unconscious.

In any gathering of spiritism that claims to be authentic and not a game, an idea is presupposed, the immortality of the human soul. Attendees must prepare a question for the spirit to be summoned. The séances have to be conducted by a medium, that is, the person who has the ability to establish contact with the spirits.

Criticism of spiritism

The derogatory qualifiers that this discipline receives are very diverse and, in short, spiritism It is considered as a hoax or directly as a lie aimed at deceiving people who have the hope to contact your deceased loved ones.

There have been quite a few cases in which the phenomena with spirits have been a montage with some purpose (call the attention or making money are the most common purposes).

To date, no conclusive evidence has been presented to prove the truth of spiritism, so from a point of view rational and scientifically it is a belief without any value.

Photo: iStock - Dzhulbee