UFOs… Love them, hate them, and believe in them or not. These objects are a vivid part of living in today’s crazy world. What could they be and what is the current view of this mysterious unidentified phenomenon? Here is a list of the various hypotheses as to what these strange sightings of supposed space ships are. The views are many and this list may be incomplete. This is merely an attempt to outline the more popular views.

Extraterrestrials

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This is the most common view as to what they are. That they are ships that carry, “beings,” from other, “Terras,” (lands or planets) is the prime point of view. This view holds that these flying objects are visitors from outer-space, curious to come and see what on Earth we are doing. Encounters with these ships, meeting the occupants and being carried away to distant planets is considered the highest form of UFO encounter. It is named a, “Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind.” This is the penultimate in flying object reality and without a shadow of doubt confirmation they come from another planet.

Intraterrestrials

This view holds that UFOs are from a parallel universe or a realm that lies, “next to,” our reality. That people are visiting from this place, with advanced technology, is one hot view. Carl Jung also wrote about the collective unconscious. This is where people are hallucinating en-masse, believing in any number of things, according to the time they live in. For example, in the Middle Ages, when the church pervaded life, people often saw Angels or Demons. Another example is the mass-hysteria in the United Kingdom regarding Swine Flu in 2009; it is just people’s imaginations running riot. The view that UFOs are from a parallel universe, or intraterrestrials, is a commonly held view in Brazil.

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Conspiracies

The common assumption amongst those interested in UFOs is that governments, “cover up,” the existence of these crafts in exchange for advanced technology. From Roswell, New Mexico, up to the popular disclosure by John Lear, inventor of the Lear Jet there is a belief that governments have a conspiracy to hide it. This vein of thinking still holds strong despite many in government circles stating the obvious – no conspiracy exists.

Religion

One contemporary view is that these ships are Saints arriving for the Second Coming. Preachers on YouTube have cried it. Saints will arrive from the sky (no mention of metal-craft in the Holy Bible though) to judge people after, “Rapture,” delivers the good. So far there have been no recorded plain-sight cases of people being instantly taken on high into any ship, cloud or craft with Jesus looking on. This idea matches the Intraterrestrial point of view.

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Lore

Similar to the Religious view, this is an ethnocentric idea of what UFOs are. One example, the Arrente People of Australia have a lore describing their shamans being taken into space and across time. Many traditional cultures support this, with stories of visitations from the skies, forming initiation and dance for eons. This view is clear; lore confirms it and they teach it to their children. This is known as the, “Ancient Astronaut,” theory as well.

New Age

This holds that a select few already are in contact with, “Reptilians,” from the stars but are keeping it secret. That UFOs are inside the Earth (Hollow Earth Theory) or connected to the Pyramids springs from this and is supposedly occult. Crop circles also add salt and pepper to this slant.

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Natural

That UFOs are merely natural phenomena created by clouds is possible.  Lentil-shaped clouds are oft attributed to flying objects, along with refractions of light or water, against the sky.  This angle is probably the most reasonable. The Natural ken is the skeptic’s; simply met with fact.

Historical

For anyone who has looked at the history of science an historical viewpoint of the UFO becomes clear. An historical view shows a gradual evolution in the philosophy of science resulting in the overturning of theories. An example would be the round Earth. For centuries humanity believed the Earth to be flat. Then Copernicus showed it was round. Upon discovering a spy glass, Galileo Galilee showed for sure it was round. There was a gradual development in culture and science over the intervening centuries leading to the indubitable fact that the Earth is round. So it is with UFOs – some sightings, hypothesis – and then proof. It’s an historical evolution.

Conclusion

There may never come a day when we will know for sure when these sky-objects stand identified. Until we have substantial n proof, the entire subject remains completely mysterious. One position that is favoured is an historical view similar to the colonisation of the New World. Natives in South America and the Pacific documented Unidentified FLOATING Objects (Tall ships from Europe) in their art during the Age of Exploration (16th – 18th C). Then, these tall ships LANDED, on the respective continents and so the rest is history. A historical view therefore is the most likely explanation. It will take just one UFO landing in a public square to prove beyond doubt that they are indeed Historical fact.

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