42,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
Comprehensive and engaging, this extensively revised edition of a student and instructor favorite introduces the basics of critical thinking using the claims of pseudoscience and the paranormal.
- Guides readers through the critical thinking process by considering different types of support (sources, logic, and scientific observation) and ruling out alternative explanations
- Allows students to practice and apply their new critical thinking skills on claims of extraordinary cures including energy treatments, complementary/alternative medicine and faith healing as well as four paranormal claims of consequence: astrology, spiritualism and the afterlife, parapsychology, and creationism.
- Couples a conversational, nontechnical narrative with student-friendly pedagogical tools, including critical thinking questions and a study guide for each chapter.
- Provides clear and open-minded discussions of the paranormal spectrum, belief justification surveys, the placebo effect, and the relationship between religion and critical thinking
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 613
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017
Ähnliche
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Acknowledgments
Part I: Introduction
1 Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking Defined
Bats, Balls, and Mind‐Reading: Intuitive vs. Reflective Cognitive Thinking Styles
The Time and Place for Critical Thinking
Finding a Safe Practice Arena
The Four Challenges of the Open‐Minded Critical Thinker
Study Questions
2 The Paranormal Spectrum
Making Sense out of Mysteries: The Paranormal Spectrum
Extraordinary, Nonparanormal Mysteries
Study Questions
3 What’s the Harm? Why Study These Things?
Paranormal Claims Might Be True
The Costs of Unexamined Paranormal Claims
The Costs of Closed‐Minded and Uncritical Thinking
Study Questions
Part II: The Critical Thinker’s Toolkit
4 Sources
Ancient Wisdom
Testimonials and Anecdotal Evidence
Mass Media and the Internet
Popularity (and Common Use)
Groupthink
The Question of Authority
When Authorities are Never to be Trusted: Conspiracy Theories
Even the Experts Can Get It Wrong: The Importance of Replication
An Invitation to Question
Study Questions
5 Logic (Bonus: The Big Four Informal Logical Fallacies)
Basic Logic
Pretend Logic and Make‐Believe Arguments
Types of Logical Arguments
Untidiness in the House of Logic: The Big Four Informal Logical Fallacies
Study Questions
6 Logic and Language
Sloppy Language
Types of Argument from Similarity
Messing with Reality: Ontological Errors
Conclusion
Study Questions
7 Science
Science in Action
Observational Science
Experimental Science
Theories
Study Questions
Part III: Alternative Explanations
8 Oddities of Nature and the World of Numbers
Probability Estimates and Bias
Math Ignorance (and the Famous Birthday Paradox)
Coincidences
Science and Chance
Psychic Bias
Study Questions
9 Perceptual Error and Trickery
Top‐Down Processes and Perception
The Psychic’s Toolkit: How to Be a Convincing Psychic
Perceptual Bias in the Mental Health Professions
Nostradamus: Sixteenth‐Century Astrology Superstar
Study Questions
10 Memory Errors
Memory Myths
What is Memory?
Memory Errors
Repressed Memory Therapy
Study Questions
11 The Placebo Effect
What Are Placebos?
Do Placebos Work?
Weak and Strong Placebos
Suggestion and Expectation
Nonspecific Effects (Not Necessarily Placebos)
Placebos and Superstitious Beliefs
Placebos, Psychotherapy, and Stress Management
Placebos and Performance
How to Pump Up Your Placebo: The Placebo Checklist
Study Questions
12 Sensory Phenomena, Hallucinations, and Psychiatric Conditions
Sensory Phenomena
Hallucinations
Psychiatric Conditions and Disorders
Study Questions
Part IV: Paranormal Challenges
13 Claims of Extraordinary Cures
Vitalistic Energy Treatments and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
Shamanism, Faith Healing, and Covert Physical Intercessory Prayer
Study Questions
14 From the Paranormal Sampler
Astrology
Spiritualism and the Survival Hypothesis
Parapsychology
Creationism, Intelligent Design, and Evolution
A Parting Thought
Study Questions
Appendix A: Why Do You Believe?
Procedure
Results and Discussion
Appendix B: Belief Justification Survey
The BJS
BJS Scoring Summary Sheet
Example of Completed BJS
BJS Sample Summary Sheet
References
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 02
Table 2.1 The Paranormal Spectrum.
Chapter 03
Table 3.1 Percentage of population who believe paranormal claims.
Table 3.2 What do college students believe?
Appendix A
Table A1 Levels of belief by claim.
List of Illustrations
Chapter 01
Figure 1.1 What’s in your Pandora’s Box?.
Figure 1.2 Bats and ball.
Figure 1.3 A Klingon.
Chapter 02
Figure 2.1 Did flying saucers from another world, or from the future, once visit Earth? (borderline paranormal claim).
Figure 2.2 Will possessing a rabbit’s foot grant you good luck? (simple superstition).
Figure 2.3 Do the creases in your palm reveal your personality, and future? (paranormal pattern).
Figure 2.4 Can psychics tell which of these special Zener ESP cards you are looking at ... with their eyes closed? (paranormal power).
Figure 2.5 Can acupuncture needle pricks release a powerful healing life energy? (simple paranormal energy).
Figure 2.6 Does everything go well when “yin and yang,” two principles that permeate the universe, are in balance? (intelligent force/entity). Reproduced with kind permission of Shutterstock.
Figure 2.7 Are ghosts the spirits of dead people that can live in this world, and the next? (afterlife entity).
Figure 2.8 Do some world religions – like Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Taoism (represented here) as well as the Bahai faith, Buddhism, Pastafarianism, Shintoism, and Sikhism (not here) – make paranormal claims? (supernatural entities).
Chapter 03
Figure 3.1 The Ensisheim meteorite.
Figure 3.2 Mesmer’s tub.
Figure 3.3 Salem witchcraft trials.
Chapter 04
Figure 4.1 Head of bearded old man (Wenceslaus Hollar).
Figure 4.2 How might a protest demonstration display groupthink?.
Chapter 05
Figure 5.1 Rubik’s cube.
Chapter 07
Figure 7.1 James Randi.
Chapter 08
Figure 8.1 Birthday cake. Reproduced with kind permission of Getty images.
Figure 8.2 Professor Smith’s Rendering of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Chapter 09
Figure 9.1 NASA photo of the face on Mars.
Figure 9.2 Mars smiley face.
Figure 9.3 Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich.
Figure 9.4 The nun bun.
Figure 9.5 Moon.
Figure 9.6 Man in the Moon.
Figure 9.7 Rabbit in the Moon.
Chapter 12
Figure 12.1 Tunnel experience.
Figure 12.2 Out‐of‐body experiences.
Chapter 13
Figure 13.1 I Ching (8 trigrams in yin/yang).
Figure 13.2 Acupuncturist inserting needles in patient.
Figure 13.3 Emily Rosa’s therapeutic touch experiment. By Pat Linse.
Chapter 14
Figure 14.1 Sagittarius (the centaur).
Figure 14.2 Zener cards (used in ESP research).
Figure 14.3 Charles Darwin.
Figure 14.4 Centaur.
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Pages
iii
iv
v
ix
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
272
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
211
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
255
256
257
258
259
261
262
263
264
266
267
268
269
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
Critical Thinking
Pseudoscience and the Paranormal
Second Edition
Jonathan C. Smith
Roosevelt University, USA
This edition first published 2018 © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Edition History: Wiley Blackwell (1e, 2010)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of Jonathan C. Smith to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.
Registered OfficeJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
Editorial OfficeThe Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at www.wiley.com.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print‐on‐demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty
While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written sales materials or promotional statements for this work. The fact that an organization, website, or product is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the publisher and authors endorse the information or services the organization, website, or product may provide or recommendations it may make. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a specialist where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Smith, Jonathan C., author.Title: Critical thinking : pseudoscience and the paranormal / Jonathan C. Smith.Other titles: Pseudoscience and extraordinary claims of the paranormalDescription: Second Edition. | Hoboken : Wiley, 2017. | Rev. ed. of: Pseudoscience and extraordinary claims of the paranormal : a critical thinker’s toolkit. 2010. | Includes bibliographical references and index.Identifiers: LCCN 2017006793 (print) | LCCN 2017002367 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119029359 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781119029489 (Adobe PDF) | ISBN 9781119029373 (ePub)Subjects: LCSH: Parapsychology.Classification: LCC BF1031 .S635 2017 (ebook) | LCC BF1031 (print) | DDC 130–dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017006793
Cover images: © dem10/Gettyimages; © Dynamicfoto/Shutterstock; courtesy of the authorCover design by Wiley
Lovingly dedicated to
Acknowledgments
I wish to acknowledge the generous support and contribution of Chicago’s Roosevelt University, my home for decades. Special note to the University Research and Professional Improvement Leave Committee for all that they have done.
Part IIntroduction
2The Paranormal Spectrum
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Hamlet (I, v, 166–167)
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
Famous Anglican Hymn (Monk, 1875)
‘Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence’
Popularized by Carl Sagan (Truzzi, 1976)
OUTLINE
Making Sense out of Mysteries: The Paranormal Spectrum
Borderline and Gratuitous Paranormal Claims
Simple Superstitions
Paranormal Patterns
Paranormal Powers
Simple Life Energies
Intelligent Forces and Entities
Afterlife Entities
Supernatural Entities
Extraordinary, Nonparanormal Mysteries
A Theory in Search of a Fact
Observations that Are Currently Unexplained
Have you ever made a wish that came true? Perhaps you carry a rabbit’s foot or read the daily horoscope. Maybe you avoid walking under ladders, stepping on sidewalk cracks, or spilling salt, comforted by the thought that you are still alive and kicking. Nearly everyone has a habit or belief that others might call a bit superstitious.
Then there are the bigger mysteries. People spend millions on energy manipulation cures, psychic readings, and faith healing. Terrorists commit history‐altering acts of suicide and murder driven by promised rewards in the afterlife. What are we to make of this world of extraordinary and strange claims? Why do they persist in the face of science? Is it possible some are true? Does it matter?
Decades ago, I started looking into things paranormal and supernatural. I was a teenager and my interests were not quite those of a scholar. My childish and magical wish was to become famous, build time machines, develop superhuman powers, or find a secret way to get good grades or hot dates. Before long I realized I had opened a treasure chest of claims, too many to fully understand. Overwhelmed, I turned to the more manageable study of psychology. But my curiosity about the mysteries of life never completely went away. In fact, it is difficult to avoid the world of the paranormal and supernatural. Like the proverbial gorilla, it sits conspicuously in the middle of the living room of life. If you ask the right questions, you will find that most of your friends and most professors, doctors, or preachers harbor at least one secret superstition.
Making Sense out of Mysteries: The Paranormal Spectrum
What is the realm of the paranormal? This is a question of considerable interest to scholars. Clearly, mind‐reading, astrology, and seeing into the future are paranormal claims. But what about acupuncture? Yoga? Space aliens? Silly mistakes of sloppy scientists? Dark energy? Typically, paranormal claims lie beyond science, that is, “normal” scientific observation and explanation. A paranormal event has not been observed, and if one were to be observed, any hypothesized scientific explanation would be inadequate.1 This definition is not perfect, but it works quite well.
Consider the following:
An invisible Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) creates everything, and hides all evidence of its existence. This has never been observed (by definition, the FSM is not observable!).
When playing the lottery, use the year of your birth and you are more likely to win. If this were to really work, with no tricks, it could not be explained in any way by science. The claimed event is paranormal.
A psychic can look at you and read what you are thinking. This is true, even if you are separated by a brick wall, the psychic doesn’t know you, and you deliberately think of cards randomly selected from a deck. This claim appears to rule out natural‐world explanations such as reading body language and making good guesses based on what you are wearing. So it’s a genuine paranormal claim.
A nurse at a local hospital claims she can heal through therapeutic touch and cure your backache by gently waving her palm over your spine. Such cures could be due to many things. People get over backaches on their own. Expectation can play a large role. Once you rule out these other explanations, you may have something paranormal.
Some mysteries are bigger than others. Cherishing a magic rabbit’s foot isn’t as dramatic as going to war over an astrological reading. I find it useful to organize paranormal and supernatural claims into eight groups placed on a Paranormal Spectrumaccording to the degree to which they challenge what is or can be known by current science. Minor or low‐level paranormal claims are on the left while high‐level paranormal claims are on the right. You can see that higher‐level claims are more encompassing, complex, and organized. More aspects of the natural world are brought into question, with greater diversity, and organized into an abstract belief system, itself divorced from the natural world. Claimed low‐level processes have limited impact on our world, whereas high‐level claims have greater potential impact.
It should be noted that all truly paranormal claims go beyond science. In that sense they are all equal. However, high‐level paranormal claims are more elaborate than low‐level claims. They more fully elucidate the implications and applications of a paranormal assumption, and posit additional parallel, perhaps equally improbable, assumptions. The belief that possessing a rabbit’s foot will help you win the lottery violates what we know about matter and energy. Nothing about the chemistry and physics of a disembodied and dried piece of mammal anatomy should affect the random selection of winning lottery tickets thousands of miles away. If this could happen, then why not assume that wrinkle lines in the disembodied foot say something about your personality and future? Or that the foot possesses an energy that can cure warts? Or that the foot is indeed conscious and wants you to win the lottery and be wart‐free? Or that the dead foot possesses the ghost of the recently deceased rabbit, a reincarnation of an ancient sage who is now your guardian angel and who wants you to be healthy, wart‐free, and rich? All of these are equally improbable. All violate what science says we have observed or can explain. They differ primarily in their breadth, complexity, and organization.
Table 2.1 The Paranormal Spectrum.
Many paranormal claims come in several varieties each of which might be classified differently. For example, the claim that acupuncture releases brain endorphins or blocks pain gates is not paranormal. A vague claim that acupuncture opens blocked channels of unmeasurable life energy can be classified as a simple energy claim. A claim that the arrangement of stars at the time of one’s birth contains information about one’s personality and future is a paranormal pattern. However, it is an energy claim to state that the stars contain some mysterious force that can influence life on Earth.
Figure 2.1 Did flying saucers from another world, or from the future, once visit Earth? (borderline paranormal claim).
Borderline and Gratuitous Paranormal Claims
Borderline paranormal claims concern mysteries that need not violate the world of physics; nonetheless, true paranormal explanations are often entertained. For example, we have no clear evidence that flying saucers have visited Earth, but nothing in physics says that flying saucers from a different planet could not visit us. It might take a spaceship thousands of years using conventional rocket propulsion. Perhaps such a ship would be directed by robots or beings in hibernation. Or, to entertain a paranormal explanation, space aliens might slip from their home in the thirteenth dimension and instantly (and invisibly) appear on Earth. Such a paranormal explanation invokes a claimed phenomenon (travel from the thirteenth dimension) that runs counter to the physical world we know.
Closer to home, acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medical procedure that involves inserting needles in precisely defined points on the body. Acupuncture patients claim relief from a wide range of problems ranging from pain to hypertension. The traditional paranormal explanation is that acupuncture frees the flow of a mystical vital energy, chi, resulting in healing. Chi has never been detected and does not operate by the known laws of physics. A variety of contemporary nonparanormal explanations exists, including that the slight discomfort of inserting needles distracts one from pain, triggers the release of peaceful brain endorphins, reinforces expectations of cure, and so on. Thus, acupuncture represents a borderline paranormal claim.
Cryptozoology is the study of “hidden animals” (“cryptids”), claimed creatures whose existence is controversial (Heuvelmans, 1962). Examples include the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and various dragons of antiquity. Strictly speaking, there is nothing paranormal about cryptids because their existence would not violate the laws of physics. However, a few psychics have made additional paranormal claims, for example, that Bigfoot and Nessie are from some other dimension and can be conjured up psychically (Bauer, 1996). In such cases one might classify cryptozoology as a borderline paranormal claim.
Gratuitous paranormal claims offer a nonphysical explanation when there is no mystery to be explained. Why do leaves fall from trees? Because little fairies pluck them off. Why did you fail your exam when you didn’t bother to read the textbook? Because Fate is punishing you for your irresponsibility. Why did your headache go away when you took the aspirin tablet? Because you unblocked the chi flowing to your brain. Why did your young nephew steal your cookies? The Devil made him do it. In each case there is no mystery to be explained, no need for a paranormal hypothesis.
Note the difference between pure, borderline, and gratuitous paranormal claims. Pure paranormal claims imply that an extraordinary event can be explained only by going beyond current basic science. No alternative explanations are sufficient. Borderline and gratuitous paranormal claims accept that current scientific explanations may work just fine and that paranormal explanations are simply alternatives. The remaining claims we consider are purely paranormal.
Figure 2.2 Will possessing a rabbit’s foot grant you good luck? (simple superstition).
Simple Superstitions
Simple superstitions refer to everyday events that seem to violate the laws of physics. Generally, they are based on four types of support: (1) coincidence, (2) folklore, (3) “similarities,” or (4) “contagion” (Frazer, 1911–1915). If you coincidentally won a card game while wearing a red shirt, you might wear this lucky shirt whenever playing cards. If your great‐grandmother warned you never to peek at birthday presents, you might honor this rule because it is a bit of family folklore. Perhaps you think you are a bright and sunny person because of this similarity – you were born on a bright and sunny day. Maybe you shouldn’t wear your great‐grandfather’s ring. After all, he wore it just before he died of a stroke and you don’t want to “catch” his unfortunate, but contagious, luck. Perhaps bad luck can be like Ebola. And good luck can rub off on you. Simple superstitions are not encompassing, complex, and organized. Generally their broader implications are ignored or not elaborated. People do not devote careers to the risks of stepping on sidewalk cracks or avoiding the number “13.” There are no rumors of secret Russian labs studying the feet of rabbits.
Figure 2.3 Do the creases in your palm reveal your personality, and future? (paranormal pattern).
Paranormal Patterns
Are there secret messages embedded in the creases of your palm, tarot cards, tea leaves, entrails of sacrificial lambs, I Ching symbols, special combinations of numbers, the Bible code, and heavenly constellations? A relatively simple paranormal claim asserts that certain patterns contain special information that cannot be explained through any means consistent with contemporary physics. Palmistry claims that the wrinkles in the palm of your hand contain vast information about your history, personality, and future. There is no physical way this could be the case. Similarly, ancient tarot picture cards, particles of tea at the bottom of a tea cup, and the arrangement of intestines in a slaughtered lamb can be equally revealing. And, of course, astrology claims that the patterns of heavenly bodies present at the moment of your birth can say much about your life and future. Although such patterns may possess paranormal information, typically an individual with no paranormal ability can “read” the messages contained. Anyone with a book on palmistry can discover the secrets hidden in the wrinkles of a hand, and the message of a long “life line.”
Figure 2.4 Can psychics tell which of these special Zener ESP cards you are looking at ... with their eyes closed? (paranormal power).
Paranormal Powers
Paranormal powers are limited human (and possibly animal) capacities that violate physics. However, few people possess or have cultivated such powers and these gifted individuals appear to be able to use them only in highly restricted circumstances. Examples include reading thoughts through extrasensory perception or bending spoons (or influencing the roll of a casino slot machine) through psychokinesis. People have devoted their careers to these topics. Libraries of books and articles have been written. And, of course, paranormal powers fuel a large part of the comic book universe.
Figure 2.5 Can acupuncture needle pricks release a powerful healing life energy? (simple paranormal energy).
Simple Life Energies
Unlike paranormal powers, which may be limited and appear in select individuals at select times, simple life energies are enduring and more pervasive. Furthermore, they have the potential for affecting physical health and biological processes. For example, many practitioners of acupuncture believe that a mysterious paranormal energy, chi, permeates the human body and can be “unblocked” through the strategic insertion of needles. Unlike fate or karma, such forces do not guide, direct, or provide a purpose for actions. And unlike ghosts or spirits, they lack psychological characteristics such as thoughts, feelings, and intentions. However, simple life energies can be tapped and directed by individuals with paranormal powers. A skilled acupuncturist claims to use chi to heal.
Figure 2.6 Does everything go well when “yin and yang,” two principles that permeate the universe, are in balance? (intelligent force/entity). Reproduced with kind permission of Shutterstock.
Intelligent Forces and Entities
Intelligent forces are also enduring and exist beyond the natural world. However, they have a complexity not possessed by life energies – an “intelligence” of their own that does not require the assistance of someone with a paranormal power. Such forces may be impersonal sources of guidance or direction, such as fate, yin/yang, the powers of prophetic astrology, karma, or some nonphysical evolutionary principle that pushes toward “goodness” or “higher consciousness.” Alternatively, intelligent forces may have psychological characteristics, such as consciousness, thoughts, feelings, and intentions, all internal complexities that enable us to call them entities. Examples include living objects possessed by spirits that wish us well.
Figure 2.7 Are ghosts the spirits of dead people that can live in this world, and the next? (afterlife entity).
Afterlife Entities
Afterlife entities are intelligent forces with one spectacular additional characteristic – they exist in this world and the world after death. They might include reincarnated souls as well as ghosts and some spirits. The existence of such entities permits communication with the dead.
Figure 2.8 Do some world religions – like Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Taoism (represented here) as well as the Bahai faith, Buddhism, Pastafarianism, Shintoism, and Sikhism (not here) – make paranormal claims? (supernatural entities).
Supernatural Entities
The universe of the supernatural consists of paranormal claims that are exceptionally encompassing, complex, and organized. More aspects of the natural world are brought into question, with greater diversity. Supernatural beliefs are often organized into an abstract conceptual system, itself divorced from the natural world. Supernatural entities have vast potential impact on our world.
Note that some purely supernatural entities may never intrude in the observable universe. Such a being would never make itself known, and would be forever unknowable. We do not know if there is one God (as in Christianity, Judaism, or Islam) or several (Hinduism, Greek and Roman religion), if God communicates with a flock of Angels, or if God created the Universe and retreated for the rest of eternity. Indeed, we may never know the private life of the great entity in the thirteenth dimension, why we’ve been dumped in a cosmic lunatic asylum (Hitchens, 2009), or who set the clockwork universe into motion and stood aside. Such purely supernatural ideas are off limits to science, but discussed extensively in various forms of literature, including personal accounts and diaries, Holy Scriptures, theology texts, science fiction and fantasy novels, and comic books. In contrast, some supernatural ideas claim a specific and measurable impact on the observable world. These are paranormal claims and are fair game for critical inquiry.
I am often surprised how vehemently practitioners of some religions object to the claim that some of their beliefs are paranormal. Yet they are perfectly comfortable identifying paranormal beliefs in other religions. Christians may object to labeling notions of the resurrection or virgin birth as paranormal, and yet fully accept as paranormal Hindu claims of reincarnation, that Allah dictated every word of the Qur’an, or that the Book of Mormon was inscribed on golden plates unearthed by Joseph Smith.
Should we be less critical of a paranormal religious claim that “serves an important social function” and “binds a community together”? Indeed this was the very opinion voiced by a review of the first edition of this work (PsycCRITIQUES, the comprehensive and authoritative database published by the American Psychological Association; Ludden, 2010). Are some supernatural paranormal claims off limits from critical inquiry? What do you think?
Extraordinary, Nonparanormal Mysteries
A paranormal claim can be an extraordinary theory in search of an observation. A psychic might claim (correctly) that the science of quantum mechanics posits that two particles can be “entangled,” in that the characteristics of one mirror those of another, even if they exist at opposite ends of the universe. He may proceed to claim that one person can read the thoughts of another, even if they are separated by a great distance (conceivably at opposite ends of the universe), providing their minds are “quantum entangled.” This is an interesting theory, one that is indeed paranormal. However, there has never been an objective observation of such an event. The paranormal claim remains pure fantasy, a theory in search of a fact.
Another troublesome type of paranormal claim highlights the difference between the paranormal thinker and the Open‐Minded Critical Thinker. These are scientific anomalies, observations for which there is no current explanation. However, it is unknown if science might eventually yield an explanation. The Open‐Minded Critical Thinker takes a scientific stance and notes that this is an observation that is currently unexplained. The paranormal True Believer is more likely to invoke a premature paranormal explanation.
Sometimes an event seems mysterious simply because of our ignorance. I do not understand how flat screen televisions or laser pointers work, but I choose not to invoke a premature paranormal explanation. I am mystified by the feats of magicians, yet I know they are using sleight of hand.
But some phenomena are mysterious even to experts. Perhaps the most challenging is the notion of dark energy. Recently, astronomers discovered that the universe is expanding more rapidly than expected. There must be a type of “anti‐gravity” or repulsive force to explain this mystery. Such dark energy is pervasive, making up the majority of the observable universe. Is this not a paranormal notion? First, most physicists agree that dark energy has been repeatedly observed. In that sense, it is not paranormal. Yes, science has no explanation for it, but given the current status of the science of physics, it is a good bet an explanation will be found.2 So scientists use a special term, a hypothetical construct or causal placeholder, as a kind of sticky note to remind them that there’s a mystery here that needs to be explained. The term “dark energy” is such a sticky note. The mysterious cause of the universe’s expansion isn’t actually dark and it may not actually be energy as we know it. However, it is easier to give it a name, “dark energy,” rather than some boring code like “unexplained phenomenon # 325.112A.”
Dark energy helps us define the paranormal. Indeed, we could provide a paranormal explanation for this repulsive force. “An entity in another dimension does not like matter and wishes to push it away using dark energy.” Such an explanation is not supported by, indeed it contradicts, much of what science says. What dimension? What type of entity? Why would such an entity care about our dimension? Why would it (he or she) have “wishes”? It is much simpler to do what scientists have done for hundreds of years: simply acknowledge a mystery, and build upon what we already know in searching for an explanation.
To repeat, an Open‐Minded Critical Thinker can tolerate the ambiguity of not knowing an answer; indeed, if there were no mysteries there would be no science. The journey of science is paved with promises and sticky notes. A scientist has faith that the methods of reasonable and scientific inquiry can conceivably uncover the truth. The True Believer takes a bigger step and has faith in a specific explanation beyond science, even though natural‐world explanations may eventually emerge.
Finally, I do not include as paranormal the millions of mistaken claims that stay within the boundaries of normal science. For example, you may believe that your gigantic gas‐powered SUV gets 100 miles per gallon. As long as you do not claim your SUV uses a special miracle fuel, or runs on ghosts, you are simply mistaken. You may claim that eating nothing but rice and beans will cure all illness. For a known biological process to achieve this, a few laws of physics would have to be broken, and your claim would be paranormal. However, if you claim that the human body, and the physics on which it is based, can currently explain the curative powers of rice and beans, your claim is not paranormal. It is simply wrong.
There are many extraordinary claims that are the center of considerable controversy. Freud thought all men had latent homosexual urges. Is this true? How would you ever test this? Is Freud’s long and tedious approach to psychoanalysis any better than simple 10‐session therapies based on learning theory? Should evidence from lie detectors, and from hypnosis, be accepted in courts? Can graphologists really read your personality from your handwriting? Is the government really conspiring to hide the truth about UFOs, the Kennedy assassination, or 9/11? Is the medical community conspiring to hide evidence of simple and inexpensive cures available to everyone? Are childhood vaccinations dangerous? Controversial as these claims may be, none are paranormal. None require that we abandon physics.
Study Questions
2.1
Definitions (Define, differentiate, and provide an example for each of the following)
A. Borderline paranormal claims
B. Gratuitous paranormal claims
C. Simple superstitions
Superstitious coincidence
Superstitious folklore
Superstitious similarity
Superstitious contagion
D. Paranormal patterns
E. Paranormal powers
F. Simple life energies
G. Intelligent forces
H. Intelligent entities
I. Afterlife entities
J. Supernatural entities
K. Extraordinary, nonparanormal mysteries
L. Theory in search of fact
M. Observations currently unexplained
2.2
Simple Thought Questions
A. One of your classmates, Torkul Kadha (a Klingon, remember), claims that he can look at a stranger from a distance and make the person turn around. He can do this even if the other person doesn’t know he is there and is totally unaware he is being watched. Do you think this is a paranormal claim? Why? Why not? If so, what type of claim?
B. Elana (Torkul’s friend) believes flying saucers may have visited Earth in the past. Is this a paranormal claim? Why? Why not? If so, what type of claim? What would make the claim paranormal?
C. Deepak claims that he can converse with his departed great‐grandfather through meditation. His great‐grandfather often helps him out by answering questions. All Dreth has to do is ask, and changes happen. Is this a paranormal claim? Why? Why not? If so, what type of claim?
D. Deepak elaborates his claimed ability to communicate with the dead. He says this happens in his dreams and fantasies. “My great‐grandfather lives in my mind and is always with me.” Is this a paranormal claim? Why? Why not?
E. Rhodha has written a book that contains the secret to attaining health, happiness, love, and fortune. Simply visualize what you desire (like money coming in the mail), and like a magnet your positive thoughts will attract the positive outcome. “Similars attract – it’s a law of physics.” Is this a paranormal claim? Why? Why not? If so, what type of claim?
