Hard Problem of Supernaturality

The difficulty of defining and then detecting the "supernatural." If something exists and interacts with our world (a ghost moves an object, a prayer is answered), then by interacting, it becomes part of nature's cause-and-effect chain and should, in theory, be natural and measurable. Calling it "supernatural" often just means "we can't explain it with our current models." The term becomes a moving target, a placeholder for mystery that retreats from any advancing scientific understanding.

Example: "The ghost hunter said the cold spot was 'supernatural.' The physicist said it was a draft. The hard problem of supernaturality: if the ghost's presence causes the draft, then it's a natural phenomenon, just an unknown one. The word 'supernatural' seems to mean 'we stop investigating here because it's spooky.'"

Hard Problem of Supernaturality by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026