A Skeptical Take on Psi, Parapsychology and Other Supernatural Phenomenon
https://www.humantruth.info/psi.html
By Vexen Crabtree 2024
Parapsychology, "psi" and "anomalous processing" are three terms used to describe everything supernatural associated with human beings1. This includes psychic powers, extra-sensory perception (ESP - fortune telling, soothsaying, clairvoyance, telepathy, tele viewing, divining), telekinesis (mind over matter at a distance), mediumship (talking to the spirits of the dead), magic (spellcasting, prayer, rituals), and supernatural topics in general. such as poltergeists, spirits, souls and ghosts. One academic states that such beliefs are harmless "as long as the astrologers and spiritualists are not in power and not writing laws that force us to think like them"2, but there are often negative side-effects of erroneous beliefs3.
As a total, hundreds of years of serious investigations have not yielded any way to demonstrate that any of these kinds of beliefs have a basis in reality; where conclusions can be made, they point to human psychology, common cognitive and subconscious thinking errors4 and tricks of perception5. Sadly, there are also numerous frauds and liars who exploit others' beliefs. Some are found out through investigations of skeptics. In general, as scientific knowledge increases, supernatural and psi beliefs retreat6 (similar to 'God of the Gaps') - they're results of lack of knowledge and understanding, of delusion and confusion, not the results of actual magic or superpowers.
1. Skeptical Positions
1.1. The Skeptical Position: Psi and Spirits Are Imaginary
“A scientific panel commissioned by the National Research Council to study this area concluded that "... despite a 130-year record of scientific research on such matters, our committee could find no scientific justification for the existence of phenomena such as extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, or 'mind over matter' exercises... Evaluation of a large body of the best available evidence simply does not support the contention that these phenomena exist."[5] Ray Hyman, a psychologist who has devoted much of his career to evaluating claims of paranormal phenomena, similarly states that "... there is no scientifically acceptable basis, as of today, for accepting the reality of psi."[6] Even many of those who fervently believe in the reality of psi can sound a similar theme. Stanley Krippner, a firm believer in psi and an articulate advocate for parapsychology, nevertheless states that "since Charles Richet first applied statistics to psychical research data nearly 100 years ago, no experimental procedure has emerged which would invariably produce the same results no matter who followed it. Furthermore, no mechanism underlying psi has been discovered... Finally, no practical use of ESP or PK has been validated by laboratory research."[7]”
"How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life"
Thomas Gilovich (1991)7
All these phenomenon make no sense; the proposed causes of mystical experiences all make less sense than the explanation that they result from the human imagination. If there are such things as genuine ghosts and spirits, then, the explanation that they are the consciousness leftovers of once-living human beings makes so little sense, that it is more likely that they are the result of devious communists trying to brainwash the gullible!
“Theories of psi abound, with most loosely brushing against quantum theory and generating no specific, testable, and falsifiable predictions. [...] They are not grounded in supporting experimental data. [...] Individuals, including intelligent persons, are infamously irrational, and one personal 'psi experience' is often more compelling than multiple converging scientific accounts. Social psychologists have termed this phenomenon the 'vividness' effect.'”
Amir Raz in the Skeptical Inquirer (2008)1
1.2. Souls do not Exist: Evidence from Science & Philosophy Against Mind-Body Dualism
#materialism #philosophy #religion #souls #spiritualism
Our 'minds', 'souls', 'spirit' and consciousness are all physical in nature8. Thousands of years of investigation has shown us that our brains comprise and produce our true selves, although because that for most of human history we have had no understanding of how our brains work most Humans have falsely believed inferred that we have souls9 and this idea has infused our folklore, cultures, myths, religions and has instructed our interpretation of dreams10. Souls and spirits do not exist. Our bodies run themselves. We know from cases of brain damage and the effects of psychoactive drugs, that our experiences are caused by physical chemistry acting on our physical neurones in our brains. Our innermost self is our biochemical self.
For more, see:
- "Souls do not Exist: Evidence from Science & Philosophy Against Mind-Body Dualism" by Vexen Crabtree (2007).
Also see:
- Ghosts
- The Appearance of the Recently Dead
- Out of Body Experiences (OBEs)
- Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)
- Night Terrors: Demonic Attacks
1.3. Ghosts, Physical Properties and Ghostly Clothes: A Skeptical Investigation
#apparitions #ghosts #hallucinations #souls #spirits
Everything about ghosts - from their mystical and unclear communications, their appearance to individuals alone, their frequenting of dark, odd, scary, lonely or old places, their half-seen and half-heard nature, all require large amounts of personal and subjective interpretation to create the experience. Ghosts appear in the circumstances in which our minds are at their least logical, least clear, and least sensible. This is not the hallmark of a murky spiritual world 'just beyond reach' - it's a sign of a phenomenon that results from quirky psychology rather than the strange attempts of the recently dead to somehow appear - complete with clothes - and to try most ineffectually to tell us things.
Every scientific investigation has found the idea of ghosts to be impossible, and every solved case has turned out to have utterly mundane origins, mostly in Human confusion, hallucination and other thinking errors, but unfortunately many so-called ghost photos and stories have turned out to be simple exaggerations, pranks and frauds. All it takes is suggestion, and a ghost story can become real: to prove this, multiple times sceptics have invented ghost stories and spread them: it is only a matter of time before the invented ghosts get reported to them by people who think they've seen them11. The occurrence of ghosts in hallucinations can give believers the most convincing experiences, and, other coincidences (such as dreaming of someone and finding out that they're dead) are only akin with the laws of chance. Try to think of how many more times we dream of those we know and they turn out not to have recently died! The problem is, these more mundane experiences are easily forgotten, where the occasional coincidence is so dramatic we remember it, and build false theories upon them. There is no afterlife, there is no soul, there are no spirits wandering around occasionally making themselves visible: there are no ghosts.
For more, see:
- "Ghosts, Physical Properties and Ghostly Clothes: A Skeptical Investigation" by Vexen Crabtree (2013).
2. Investigating and Testing Psychic Powers
2.1. Psi Disappears Under Scientific Testing Conditions (and some say science cannot investigate psi)
Some argue that supernatural phenomenon simply cannot be investigated or tested scientifically12. But science is only a method of discerning truth from fiction, and it works no matter area of reality is being investigated. At one point, everything was outside of science, so it seems arbitrary to say that some further areas are out of scope. There is the suspicion that those who claim that science cannot investigate are subconsciously trying to protect beliefs that they know are irrational and unfounded. Others are gradually convinced to investigate their own claims more seriously and carefully. Take the case of parapsychology advocate Rhine:
“The possibility of recording error runs through all of Rhine's work. His tests have been made under hundreds of widely different conditions, the descriptions of which are usually vague. [...] Only in later years did Rhine tighten his controls to prevent such mistakes, and it is significant that the more rigid these controls became, the less ESP was found. "... Elaborate precautions take their toll," he writes.”
"Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science" by Martin Gardner (1957)13
This effect has been found time and time again - the more carefully psychic powers are investigated, the less that they actually occur. This effect has become so well known that it is routine for psychics to claim that they can only operate in "natural" conditions. Some have even claimed that the presence of skeptics actually psychically stops them from being able to function!
This indicates that there is something wrong with the underlying concept of "psychic ability"; the same occurs in related topics.
In all subject areas involved with psi, as scientific knowledge advances, the beliefs retreat, both in frequency and in scale. This has happened to advocates of acupuncture, homeopathy and psychokinesis6 and is apparent across the full spectrum of supernatural and non-scientific belief systems. It's the equivalent of the God of the Gaps; the proposed solutions are used to explain things-we-don't-know rather than having direct evidence. As we learn more, the claimed effects "diminishes to a point where either it is indistinguishable from zero or the clinical effect is hardly worth the effort and time of the therapist"6.
2.2. An Argument Against Psi, from Casino Statistics
This argument was given by the esteemed mathematician Martin Gardner in "Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science"14, in its updated edition. If there is a background level of psychic ability amongst the general population - including those who do not know that they even have it - you would expect to see it appear in casino statistics. In this environment, there are none of the scientific checks and experiment-control by skeptics; two things which fans of ESP say stop abilities from working. In a free and unscientific environment, where people think very hard about obtaining the right results with random dice and cards, it seems that natural abilities such as clairvoyance, telepathy, any forms of fortune-telling abilities and the like, would mean that of the millions of people who pass through casinos, a statistical blip would occur that defies chance. But, this mass of evidence gives no indication that any background level of psychic ability exists in the general population.15
2.3. ESP Experiment Results are Biased by the Beliefs of the Tester
“A number of tests have been made in recent years at other universities which have demonstrated dramatically the fact that believers in ESP are prone to make mistakes in recording [results], and such mistakes almost always favor ESP. At Stanford University, for instance, a test was made with 1,000 ESP cards. The calls were recorded by a person who believed strongly in ESP. According to chance, 200 cards should have been correctly guessed. The final scored showed 229 guesses. Unknown to the person, however, a sound recording was made of the experiment. When this was checked against the records, 46 spurious hits were found. This reduced the score to slightly below the chance level. When the experiment was repeated, and the person knew recordings were being made, only two errors were found. [...]
A more recent test, made in 1952 by Richard S. Kaufman at Yale, involved a PK experiment with 96 dice. Each of eight persons kept records of forty successive tosses, without being aware that a hidden camera was recording everything. The four persons who believed in PK made errors in favor of PK, while the four disbelievers made errors of the opposite sort. According to the camera, the actual results conformed to chance. [...] Incidentally, these favorable recordings would be more likely at the beginning of a session, when interest and expectancy of success is at a pitch, then decreases as the clerks become tired and bored and start making random mistakes.”
"Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science" by Martin Gardner (1957)16
2.4. Ouija Boards (What Happens If You Secretly Put All the Letters in the Wrong Place?)
Magician Milbourne Christopher wondered if Ouija boards were being typed by living humans seeking the right letters to produce spooky sentences, or, if the living were being mystically controlled by spirits who were magically influencing them in order to communicate. He found, unfortunately, that if you blindfold someone and sneakily put the letters in random positions on the Ouija board, it comes out as gibberish.17. So it seems that it is the living humans who are seeking the letters, not the spirits. If it were the spirits causing involuntary muscle movements, they'd still be able to see where the letters were even though the living person was blindfolded. The Skeptical Inquirer has reported many times in history on the use of the Ouija Board, and sometimes found that those using it were simply going along with what they thought they should be doing, but, all too often, those involved have been outright frauds and tricksters.
3. Causes of Belief in Psi
3.1. Errors in Thinking: Cognitive Errors, Wishful Thinking and Sacred Truths
#beliefs #pseudoscience #psychology #thinking_errors
We all suffer from systematic thinking errors18,19 which fall into three main types: (1) internal cognitive errors; (2) errors of emotion20, perception and memory; and (3) social errors that result from the way we communicate ideas and the effects of traditions and dogmas. Some of the most common errors are the misperception of random events as evidence that backs up our beliefs, the habitual overlooking of contradictory data, our expectations and current beliefs actively changing our memories and our perceptions and using assumptions to fill-in unknown information. These occur naturally and subconsciously even when we are trying to be truthful and honest. Many of these errors arise because our brains are highly efficient (rather than accurate) and we are applying evolutionarily developed cognitive rules of thumb to the complexities of life21,22. We will fly into defensive and heated arguments at the mere suggestion that our memory is faulty, and yet memory is infamously unreliable and prone to subconscious inventions. They say "few things are more dangerous to critical thinking than to take perception and memory at face value"23.
We were never meant to be the cool, rational and logical computers that we pretend to be. Unfortunately, and we find it hard to admit this to ourselves, many of our beliefs are held because they're comforting or simple24. In an overwhelming world, simplicity lets us get a grip. Human thinking errors can lead individuals, or whole communities, to come to explain types of events and experiences in fantastical ways. Before we can guard comprehensively against such cumulative errors, we need to learn the ways in which our brains can misguide us - lack of knowledge of these sources of confusion lead many astray25.
Learning to think skeptically and carefully and to recognize that our very experiences and perceptions can be coloured by societal and subconscious factors should help us to maintain impartiality. Beliefs should not be taken lightly, and evidence should be cross-checked. This especially applies to "common-sense" facts that we learn from others by word of mouth and to traditional knowledge. Above all, however, our most important tool is knowing what types of cognitive errors we, as a species, are prone to making.
For more, see:
- "Errors in Thinking: Cognitive Errors, Wishful Thinking and Sacred Truths" by Vexen Crabtree (2022).
3.2. Selection Bias (Failed Predictions Are Rarely Publicized by the Press)
Selection Bias is the result of poor sampling techniques26 whereby we use partial and skewed data in order to back up our beliefs. Take a very simple example provided by skeptical thinker Robert Todd Carroll in "Unnatural Acts: Critical Thinking, Skepticism, and Science Exposed!" (2011)27: "If two psychics pick opposite winners in an athletic contest, one of them may appear to have more knowledge that the other, but the appearance is an illusion". If both published their prediction in a newspaper a week before the event, you can guarantee that the paper that had (by luck) hosted the correct prediction is more likely to run a second article announcing that the psychic was correct. The other paper is very unlikely to run an article and say that the psychic was wrong: they'll simply ignore it and move on to more interesting topics. The poor public, therefore, only ever read of success stories, and are therefore misled into thinking that evidence exists for psychic fortune-telling, when in fact it really is pure luck.
At this point one may ask, "Would not this experimenter be disappointed if he continues testing his subject?" The answer is yes, but as Rhine tells us, subjects almost always show a marked decline in ability after their initial successes.”
"Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science" by Martin Gardner (1957)28
For more, see:
Unfortunately the lack of consistent reporting of failed predictions of "psychic" folk has a negative effect even on police investigations:.
“Ada Wasson and Mary Ellen Walters vanished, seemingly into thin air. [...] According to Silverman's report, police were contacted by about thirty psychics over the course of the six-month investigation. They sent maps, audiotapes, letters, dream journals, and e-mails. [...] 30 different 'psychics' gave thirty different answers. [Yet more predictions were posted on endless psychic-powers websites].
Wasson and Walters were found [...] by a hunter and his son in a secluded field near Interstate 71 in Kentucky. [...] The pair had missed their exit to the mall and tried to turn around but got lost on the country roads before driving into a dry creek where their car got stuck. Both were in poor health and neither had a cell phone. All the information the psychics gave was wrong. [...]
Police spent about forty hours sorting through the information and following up when possible. [...] Sgt Brandon Lacy told Silverman 'they'll say it's by trees. It's by water. Well, that doesn't mean anything because there's millions of places in Ohio that have trees and water... It's nice having people care so much and keeping the case alive but it's a big waste of man hours.
The psychics are largely to blame, but journalists bear some responsibility. If more journalists covering missing persons cases provided context to their reporting and publicized psychics' consistent failures, perhaps fewer would waste police time and falsely raise the hopes of missing person's families.”
"Bad Journalism Misleads Public about Psychics" by Benjamin Radford (2008)29
3.3. Stan Gooch: Supernatural Phenomenon Result from Human Projection
Investigators such as Stan Gooch hold that many supernatural phenomenon are real in symptom, but their cause is always Human projection resulting from psychological issues and abilities. In other words, they are due to natural, physical, human processes and not due to external forces.
“Incubi, succubi, demons and poltergeists are not, after all, visitations from another world. No less amazingly, they seem to be visitations from another brain; we are haunted, it seems, by aspects of ourselves.”
"The Origins of Psychic Phenomena: Poltergeists, Incubi, Succubi, and the Unconscious Mind" by Stan Gooch (2007) [Book Review]30
4. Religion
4.1. Religions and Magic
#christianity #eckankar #india #islam #magic #prayer #religion #ritual #supernaturalism #theosophy
Magic is not taken seriously by scientists, academics, skeptics nor the general populace. Despite amazing and great advances in physics, quantum physics, psychology and neurology, no possible basis for "magical" actions has been found by researchers. All sociological investigations have found no evidence of real magical power, and parapsychological and occult experimenters have never been able to formulate proof that satisfies basic scientific requirements such as independent verification and impartiality. Although there are some religions that honestly admit that some of their rituals and practices are attempts at magic, especially in India and south-East Asia, in most other places, the largest religions disclaim themselves against magic and say that they don't practice it. Ask a Christian if praying to heal someone is magic31, or a Muslim if the healing ruqyah is magic, and they'll vehemently deny it.
Religions by definition include at least some supernatural beliefs (else, they're philosophies). Some have been more associated with psi in general than others, but many (like conservative Christianity) largely do without day-to-day practices that seem magical. Some of the causes of new religious movements are their open embrace of zany, wild and exciting supernatural elements32. This is nearly means they openly embrace some psi topics. Two examples described briefly below are Theosophy and Eckankar.
4.2. Theosophy Embraced Every Psi Topic Possible, But Self-Destructed Amidst Scandals and Frauds
#germany #india #madame_blavatsky #new_age #spiritualism #swastika #theosophy #USA
The Theosophical Society was founded in 1875 in New York, USA, by Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Steel Olcott33,34,35,36 . She had previously been involved in the Spiritualism scene, but, it was now mired in fraud arrests and exposés, so, Blavatsky reinvented her routine as a new religion, using an Indian theme. But it was too obviously linked to the old discredited tricks of Spiritualism34, so they moved from the USA to India33, hoping to start anew. It also spread to England and Germany.
Theosophists wrote voluminously on relatively harmless topics such as meditation and yoga, but also confidently espoused much nonsense about Atlantis, Lemura and the 7 root races and each of their 7 sub-races, crystals, psychic powers and every other pseudo-scientific sham and wayward spiritual practice going33,37. It was often considered "a bit of a joke"38, and Blavatsky exited the scene by 1885 amid the same scandals that had troubled Spiritualism38,39. Annie Besant (1847-1933) was then president until her death 193338, taking Theosophy from 15,000 members to over 40,000 in 192933. Their proclaimed messianic World Teacher, a young member groomed to be a leader, left the movement in 1929 and declared to them all that fundamental Theosophist teachings were unhelpful for the search for truth33. It has declined ever since33. Theosophy became mythic in its influence over alternative spirituality36 , the fledgling New Age33,40,36, and it helped popularize Eastern spirituality in the West33,40.
For more, see:
- "Theosophy" by Vexen Crabtree (2022).
4.3. Eckankar: The Religion of the Light and Sound of God, The Ancient Science of Soul Travel
#darwin_gross #eckankar #harold_klemp #hinduism #new_age #paul_twitchell #religion #scientology #theosophy #USA
Eckankar is a religion constructed purely out of positive, white-light, happy-sounding words but with very little sense. It derived largely from a Westernisation of the Punjabi Sant Mat tradition. It is a religion that tries its utmost best not to upset anyone at all. You don't even have to leave your current religion, they say, it'll help you understand it better! It was founded in the height of the hippy New Age and it accepts pretty much every New Age idea going; especially astral travel, spiritual dimensions, reincarnation and cosmic vibrations. One estimate is that in the later 1990s there were 367 ECK centres worldwide. 164 of them in the USA and "estimates placed total membership at 50,000"41.
For more, see: