Why do people believe in curses?

[Still Waters]

Quote

Most people these days surely don't believe in supernatural curses. But their prevalence in the media suggests that they still have a hold on psyches, and that a good amount of people still pay credence to them.

From a scientific perspective, curses have rational explanations. These clarify why people directly ascribe supernatural powers to negative events.

Believers in curses may look for affirming evidence, such as potentially related bad luck, and discount contradictory data. This confirmatory bias produces coherent, but logically inconsistent narratives supporting the presumption of supernatural forces.

This was true of the curse of Tutankhamun, for example.

https://phys.org/news/2019-09-people-curses.html

[+Desertrat56]

I think it revolves around not wanting to take responsibility for their thoughts, fears and behaviour.

[Piney]

17 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

I think it revolves around not wanting to take responsibility for their thoughts, fears and behaviour.

And the "power of suggestion" with a fearful religious mindset is fun! 

[XenoFish]

Because they are gullible. 

[+Not A Rockstar]

1 hour ago, Desertrat56 said:

I think it revolves around not wanting to take responsibility for their thoughts, fears and behaviour.

This is the root of it all. Most folks find it easier to blame anything else than themselves when they mess up in life, and this is also why so few ever improve their lot until they change how they view the land of cause and effect.

[Rlyeh]

Well a large number of people believe giving lip service to their invisible friend affects their luck.

[Gwynbleidd]

 

13 hours ago, Not A Rockstar said:

This is the root of it all. Most folks find it easier to blame anything else than themselves when they mess up in life, and this is also why so few ever improve their lot until they change how they view the land of cause and effect.

Yes, that's very true. I personally think self awareness has a lot to do with it too imo.   

I'm not religious in the slightest and I don't believe in curses as such, although, I'd like to believe in the supernatural, yet I find I tend to rationally explain things through science and yet I would never, ever use a Ouija board.  I won't use a Ouija board because I'm scared something could happen, yet I maintain I don't believe it it.  Sigh. I'm such a contradiction.

[Grim Reaper 6]

17 hours ago, Still Waters said:

https://phys.org/news/2019-09-people-curses.html

What about the Curse of the Hope Diamond?

Below is a good read if you find time.

https://www.livescience.com/45239-hope-diamond-curse.html

Edited September 3, 2019 by Manwon Lender

[Sir Smoke aLot]

17 hours ago, Piney said:

And the "power of suggestion" with a fearful religious mindset is fun! 

I am not sure if this is correct edition of the book on this link below but the author explained it well, suggestion or auto suggestion is a weapon :

LINK to book page on Amazon books.

[XenoFish]

7 minutes ago, Sir Smoke aLot said:

I am not sure if this is correct edition of the book on this link below but the author explained it well, suggestion or auto suggestion is a weapon :

LINK to book page on Amazon books.

I have that book.

[Sir Smoke aLot]

18 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

I have that book.

It's really good, there are some strong claims in it but generally it's good piece. Published in my language too i have both English and domestic version.

[Coil]

The article is superficial without going deeper into what constitutes a curse. As I understand it, a curse is an invisible and powerful hostile force aimed at killing a person, causing harm, unhappiness, undermining health, etc.
And just as a person can be killed, wounded, made disabled with a gun, the applied curse has the invisible power to harm a person and you can disbelieve it as much as you want or look for the cause of the failures in yourself, in your actions, but the curse will not cease to exist just as a weapon will be used by man until the evil principle is removed from man.

The power of curses can be so great that you can curse entire nations, countries and families for many generations to come.
Just as it is possible to drop a nuclear bomb on a country and diseases, mutations, pollution in nature will remain in that area for hundreds of years and be passed on to next generations and make such bad changes that humanity does not even realize what changes this force has made.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_and_mark_of_Cain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_Ham

[XenoFish]

Yep, power of suggestion resulting in a self fulfilling actions and nocebo effects.