Since the premise behind lavish funerals was the existence of a soul, Wang believed that to eradicate such rites one had first to get rid of people's belief in ghosts and spirits. He argued: "When a man dies his pulse stops, his vital energy disappears, and his body decays into dust--how could he become a ghost?"
由於提倡厚葬的一個前提是有鬼論，王充因此認為要破除厚葬，必須先掃除鬼神思想，著意寫了〈論死〉、〈訂鬼〉等篇章，力論人死後已無知、不為鬼、更不能害人：「人死血脈竭，竭而精氣滅，滅而形體朽，朽而成灰土，何用為鬼。」