There are many paranormal and supernatural claims. Psychics, astrologers, alien abductions, alternative medicines, ghosts, and life after death are just a few of them. But when people have personal experiences with any of these, those occurrences offer them a powerful and persuasive reason to believe in them, especially if they can’t explain them.
“The need to believe in phony wonders,” writes The Reverend Canon William V. Rauscher, “sometimes exceeds not only logic but, seemingly, even sanity.”
Many people have had psychic experiences or episodes with things that science cannot explain. Whether it is extrasensory perception (ESP), haunted houses, ghosts of the spirits of dead people, telepathy, clairvoyance, astrology, communicating mentally with someone who has died, witches, reincarnation, or channeling, seventy-five percent of Americans profess at least one paranormal belief according to a recent Gallup survey. The most popular is extrasensory perception, mentioned by 41%, followed closely by a belief in haunted houses (37%). Only 27% of Americans, according to the same survey, believe in none of these.
The poll showed no statistically significant differences in beliefs among people by age, gender, education, race, and region of the country; however, Christians are a little more likely to hold some paranormal beliefs than non-Christians (75% versus 66% respectively), but both groups show a sizeable majority with such beliefs.
The main question is why do people believe in the paranormal? The first obvious answer, given above, is that so many people have had personal paranormal experiences. A second obvious reason has to do with magical thinking. For example, if an athlete wears a certain piece of clothing and wins a game, magical thinking has to do with believing that that certain piece of clothing will bring him or her luck in winning future games. Actually, this belief is based on the fallacy post hoc, ergo propter hoc or “after this, therefore because of this” and is a form of superstition.
The third answer to the question of why so many people believe in the paranormal and supernatural is captured in the expression, “true-believer syndrome,” which was coined in a book of the same name by M. Lamar Keene. Keene describes a cognitive disorder characterized by believing in the reality of paranormal or supernatural events even after one has been presented overwhelming evidence that an event was fraudulently staged. Keene writes, “How can an otherwise sane individual become so enamored of a fantasy, an imposture, that even after it’s exposed in the bright light of day he still clings to it—indeed, clings to it all the harder?”
For many people, the will to believe at times overrides the ability to think critically about the evidence for and against a belief.
Yet another explanation, described by Eric Hoffer in his book The True Believer, is that the person’s belief in the paranormal or supernatural satisfies an emotional need that is stronger than the need for the truth. He writes, “This passionate attachment is the essence of his blind devotion and religiosity, and he sees in it the source of all virtue and strength....He easily sees himself as the supporter and defender of the holy cause to which he clings. And he is ready to sacrifice his life.”
There may be no single answer to the question of why so many people believe in the paranormal and supernatural, but Michael Shermer, in his book, Why People Believe in Weird Things (W.H. Freeman & Company, 1998), offers readers twenty-five fallacies that lead us to believe weird things. In Shermer’s opinion, “most believers in miracles, monsters, and mysteries are not hoaxers, flimflam artists, or lunatics. Most are normal people whose normal thinking has gone wrong in some way.”
Some of the ways that people’s thinking has gone wrong are first, accepting anecdotes as proof. Stories do not make science unless they are supported by a great deal of corroborative evidence from other sources or by physical proof of some sort. Ten anecdotes are no better than one, and a hundred anecdotes are not better than ten. The problem with anecdotes is that they are told by fallible human storytellers.
Another way that people’s thinking goes wrong is accepting a belief based on the trappings of science. Scientific language and jargon means nothing without evidence, experimental testing, and corroboration. Because science has such a powerful mystique in our society, those who wish to gain respectability often gain it by looking and sounding “scientific.”
“If you want to do science,” Shermer writes, “you have to learn to play the game of science. This involves getting to know the scientists in your field, exchanging data and ideas with colleagues informally, and formally presenting results in conference papers, peer-reviewed journals, books, and the like.”
Another way that people’s thinking goes wrong is not understanding that the burden of proof falls on the one making an extraordinary new claim. They are the ones who have to prove to the experts and community at large that their belief has more validity than the one almost everyone else accepts.
Scientific and critical thinking does not come naturally. It takes training, experience, and effort. In his book, Logic for the Millions (Philosophical Library, 1947), Alfred Mander said, “Thinking is skilled work. It is not true that we are naturally endowed with the ability to think clearly and logically—without learning how, or without practicing. People with untrained minds should no more expect to think clearly and logically than people who have never learned and never practiced can expect to find themselves good carpenters, golfers, bridge players, or pianists” (p. vii).
The paranormal is bunk; however, the key for skeptics and critical thinkers is to try to understand how others have gone wrong and how science is subject to social control and cultural influences so they can improve their understanding of how the world works.
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There is a wonderful essay, “The Paranormal” by Remi which is well worth a read. The example used in the final paragraph is especially relevant.
At the website, LiveScience, the essay there, under the topic, “Culture,” called, “Monsters, Ghosts and Gods: Why We Believe,” by Robert Roy Britt, LiveScience Managing Editor, is informative and worthwhile. Britt says, “The bottom line, according to several interviews with people who study these things: People want to believe, and most simply can't help it.” There is a great deal of information in this essay, but it seems to boil down to one essential element: “‘Many people quite simply just want to believe,’ said Brian Cronk, a professor of psychology at Missouri Western State University. ‘The human brain is always trying to determine why things happen, and when the reason is not clear, we tend to make up some pretty bizarre explanations.’
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Copyright June, 2010, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.
Showing posts with label astrologers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label astrologers. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Cleanse your mind of these thoughts
There are many thoughts that are unnecessary and just take up space in our brains, space that could be better utilized for productive positive thoughts, dealing with everyday problems, planning for the future, and contemplating all the past good memories. It wasn’t until I read the wonderful book by Thomas Kida, Don’t believe everything you think: The 6 basic mistakes we make in thinking (Prometheus Books, 2006), and a book by Damian Thompson called Counterknowledge (W.W. Norton & Company, 2008), that I began thinking about this topic.
I want to acknowledge my indebtedness to Kida and Thompson for these thoughts and for their support. I have borrowed heavily from these books, and I have avoided quotation marks for ease of reading—but, be clear about this, these are their thoughts, not mine.
The first big time waster is any beliefs you may have in fortunetellers, palm readers, and astrologers. The last “big name” to give credence to astrology, of course, was Nancy Reagan, who consulted an astrologist whenever deciding President Reagan’s schedule. Beliefs in any of these is pure nonsense.
One trap that we fall into is believing in stories rather than in statistics. I am continually telling people that when you hear of an accident, shooting, robbery, baby’s death, or any other extraordinary event, there often follows a law, ruling, or mandate designed specifically to prevent other similar accidents, shootings, robberies, or deaths. So, you have one incident that makes the news—an anecdote—and people scurry to prevent other similar instances when, often, these examples are rare, exceptional, or unique. A teenager holds up a small grocery store, and suddenly you have a curfew in the neighborhood designed to keep teenagers at home after dark. Another good example is when you hear of a recall of a certain model because of problems incurred by a small number of people, and you avoid purchasing any car made by that company.
The second area where we can cleanse our mind is in any intention we may have regarding talking with the dead, facilitated communication, therapeutic touch, and dowsing (a technique in which an individual holds an object, like a Y-shaped tree branch and walks around the land in search of water. When the branch twitches, it’s taken as a sign that water is below.) A belief in any of these is ludicrous as well, and yet bright, capable, highly trained people hold extraordinary beliefs such as these that have little or no credible supporting evidence.
A third area where a significant number of people believe in something where there is little or no credible evidence to support their beliefs, and the beliefs are contradicted by hard evidence, is that there is such a thing as extrasensory perception, that houses can be haunted, that people are sometimes possessed by the devil, that there is such a thing as telepathy—or communication between minds without the five senses—that extraterrestrial beings have visited the earth, that there is such a thing as clairvoyance—or perceiving things not present to the senses—and that reincarnation exists.
Another area where you can cleanse your mind is any beliefs you have in graphology— analyzing a person’s handwriting to determine what kind of person he or she is. Research shows that graphology is totally useless, but you may have been denied a job if a graphologist said your handwriting indicated you are untrustworthy.
A fourth area where cleansing can take place is support of a large number of commonly held beliefs. For example, that humans use only 10 percent of their brains, the blind develop supersensitive hearing, crime and drugs are out of control in the United States, low self-esteem is a cause of aggression, religious people are more altruistic than less religious people, opposites attract, or if you’re happy in your job, you will be more productive. There is no research to support these ideas.
Also, you can cleanse your mind by removing beliefs you may have in such topics as Atlantis, bigfoot, UFOs, Bible prophecy, psychic powers, religious images or patterns seen in unrelated objects, near-death experiences, miracle diets, creationism, paranormal phenomena, or the existence of ghosts. Anytime you hear a comment from someone who has witnessed an event —whatever it is—and says, “I knew right away it was a ghost/miracle/fairy/or whatever, because there is no other way to explain it,” you can rest assured that the claim is bogus, and the speaker is naive. As I said earlier in this essay, we love stories. A discussion of the contribution the media make in fostering beliefs in the weird and bizarre would offer material for a whole book.
There are a number of other beliefs, too, that you can discard. Breast implants cause serious disease. It isn’t true now, and it never was true. All anecdotal evidence. Levitation is not supported by evidence. Not a single death or serious injury has occurred from kids eating Halloween candy received from strangers. No poisoned candy or apples containing razor blades. Classified under pseudoscience is a whole range of activities related to parapsychology (some mentioned previously) such as extrasensory perception, telepathy (reading other’s minds), clairvoyance (perceiving things not present to the senses), and precognition (seeing the future). None of it exists; none of it is true.
How can you deal with falsehoods, fabrications, half truths, and lies? Kida has some suggestions, and they fall under the heading, “Think like a scientist.” First, keep an open mind, and be skeptical of any unsubstantiated claims. Second, make sure a claim or belief can be tested. Third, evaluate the quality of the evidence for a belief. Fourth, try to falsify a claim or belief (e.g., look for disconfirming evidence). Fifth, consider alternative explanations (even chance or coincidence). Sixth, other things being equal, choose the claim or belief that is the simplest explanation for the phenomenon. Seventh, choose the claim or belief that doesn’t conflict with well-established knowledge. And, eighth, proportion your belief to the amount of evidence for or against that belief.
No, there is no way to totally cleanse your mind, of course, and we will always be guilty of holding some false beliefs. Sometimes it’s just fun to consider ideas you know are clearly false or outrageous. Sometimes they just make you feel good. Sometimes, too, you just wonder how in the world someone could believe something like that? At least you know now that there are about 30 beliefs you never have to think about again. It’s a start to a cleansed mind!
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Nick Arizza, a medical doctor, has written a delightful essay entitled, “All your problems are based in false beliefs at ezinearticles.com, in which he discusses all the cleansing that can occur when you are freed of your false beliefs: “a feeling of lightening (i.e. a sense of buoyancy and an inner sense of radiance), feelings of relief, feelings of joy and contentment, feelings of self confidence, self esteem and self confidence, feelings of grounded ness and feelings of being more present in one's physical body than ever before.” Now that’s cleansing!
At trans4mind.com, Peter Shepherd has written an essay on “False beliefs,” in which his main thesis is: “Just recognizing your own particular false beliefs is the first and most important step toward letting go of them, to de-programming yourself. Next you need to re-evaluate your deeply-held belief and see if you'd like to revise it.” Shepherd offers a number of suggestions for cleansing your mind.
A third essay, this one by Julie Jordan Scott, a Life Purpose coach, writer, and speaker, at the website topachievement.com, in an essay entitled, “Taking Action to Eliminate False Beliefs,” takes a similar tack as the two authors above, and after a number of recommendations for dealing with false beliefs, she concludes: “Choose today to eliminate false thinking from your mind's vocabulary. When you "hear" your thoughts walking that path of inertia, take the power away from them. Say STOP! Replace this false belief with a Truth. Take action on truth. Watch the amazing course that flow unfold before you.”
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Copyright May, 2010, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC
I want to acknowledge my indebtedness to Kida and Thompson for these thoughts and for their support. I have borrowed heavily from these books, and I have avoided quotation marks for ease of reading—but, be clear about this, these are their thoughts, not mine.
The first big time waster is any beliefs you may have in fortunetellers, palm readers, and astrologers. The last “big name” to give credence to astrology, of course, was Nancy Reagan, who consulted an astrologist whenever deciding President Reagan’s schedule. Beliefs in any of these is pure nonsense.
One trap that we fall into is believing in stories rather than in statistics. I am continually telling people that when you hear of an accident, shooting, robbery, baby’s death, or any other extraordinary event, there often follows a law, ruling, or mandate designed specifically to prevent other similar accidents, shootings, robberies, or deaths. So, you have one incident that makes the news—an anecdote—and people scurry to prevent other similar instances when, often, these examples are rare, exceptional, or unique. A teenager holds up a small grocery store, and suddenly you have a curfew in the neighborhood designed to keep teenagers at home after dark. Another good example is when you hear of a recall of a certain model because of problems incurred by a small number of people, and you avoid purchasing any car made by that company.
The second area where we can cleanse our mind is in any intention we may have regarding talking with the dead, facilitated communication, therapeutic touch, and dowsing (a technique in which an individual holds an object, like a Y-shaped tree branch and walks around the land in search of water. When the branch twitches, it’s taken as a sign that water is below.) A belief in any of these is ludicrous as well, and yet bright, capable, highly trained people hold extraordinary beliefs such as these that have little or no credible supporting evidence.
A third area where a significant number of people believe in something where there is little or no credible evidence to support their beliefs, and the beliefs are contradicted by hard evidence, is that there is such a thing as extrasensory perception, that houses can be haunted, that people are sometimes possessed by the devil, that there is such a thing as telepathy—or communication between minds without the five senses—that extraterrestrial beings have visited the earth, that there is such a thing as clairvoyance—or perceiving things not present to the senses—and that reincarnation exists.
Another area where you can cleanse your mind is any beliefs you have in graphology— analyzing a person’s handwriting to determine what kind of person he or she is. Research shows that graphology is totally useless, but you may have been denied a job if a graphologist said your handwriting indicated you are untrustworthy.
A fourth area where cleansing can take place is support of a large number of commonly held beliefs. For example, that humans use only 10 percent of their brains, the blind develop supersensitive hearing, crime and drugs are out of control in the United States, low self-esteem is a cause of aggression, religious people are more altruistic than less religious people, opposites attract, or if you’re happy in your job, you will be more productive. There is no research to support these ideas.
Also, you can cleanse your mind by removing beliefs you may have in such topics as Atlantis, bigfoot, UFOs, Bible prophecy, psychic powers, religious images or patterns seen in unrelated objects, near-death experiences, miracle diets, creationism, paranormal phenomena, or the existence of ghosts. Anytime you hear a comment from someone who has witnessed an event —whatever it is—and says, “I knew right away it was a ghost/miracle/fairy/or whatever, because there is no other way to explain it,” you can rest assured that the claim is bogus, and the speaker is naive. As I said earlier in this essay, we love stories. A discussion of the contribution the media make in fostering beliefs in the weird and bizarre would offer material for a whole book.
There are a number of other beliefs, too, that you can discard. Breast implants cause serious disease. It isn’t true now, and it never was true. All anecdotal evidence. Levitation is not supported by evidence. Not a single death or serious injury has occurred from kids eating Halloween candy received from strangers. No poisoned candy or apples containing razor blades. Classified under pseudoscience is a whole range of activities related to parapsychology (some mentioned previously) such as extrasensory perception, telepathy (reading other’s minds), clairvoyance (perceiving things not present to the senses), and precognition (seeing the future). None of it exists; none of it is true.
How can you deal with falsehoods, fabrications, half truths, and lies? Kida has some suggestions, and they fall under the heading, “Think like a scientist.” First, keep an open mind, and be skeptical of any unsubstantiated claims. Second, make sure a claim or belief can be tested. Third, evaluate the quality of the evidence for a belief. Fourth, try to falsify a claim or belief (e.g., look for disconfirming evidence). Fifth, consider alternative explanations (even chance or coincidence). Sixth, other things being equal, choose the claim or belief that is the simplest explanation for the phenomenon. Seventh, choose the claim or belief that doesn’t conflict with well-established knowledge. And, eighth, proportion your belief to the amount of evidence for or against that belief.
No, there is no way to totally cleanse your mind, of course, and we will always be guilty of holding some false beliefs. Sometimes it’s just fun to consider ideas you know are clearly false or outrageous. Sometimes they just make you feel good. Sometimes, too, you just wonder how in the world someone could believe something like that? At least you know now that there are about 30 beliefs you never have to think about again. It’s a start to a cleansed mind!
-----
Nick Arizza, a medical doctor, has written a delightful essay entitled, “All your problems are based in false beliefs at ezinearticles.com, in which he discusses all the cleansing that can occur when you are freed of your false beliefs: “a feeling of lightening (i.e. a sense of buoyancy and an inner sense of radiance), feelings of relief, feelings of joy and contentment, feelings of self confidence, self esteem and self confidence, feelings of grounded ness and feelings of being more present in one's physical body than ever before.” Now that’s cleansing!
At trans4mind.com, Peter Shepherd has written an essay on “False beliefs,” in which his main thesis is: “Just recognizing your own particular false beliefs is the first and most important step toward letting go of them, to de-programming yourself. Next you need to re-evaluate your deeply-held belief and see if you'd like to revise it.” Shepherd offers a number of suggestions for cleansing your mind.
A third essay, this one by Julie Jordan Scott, a Life Purpose coach, writer, and speaker, at the website topachievement.com, in an essay entitled, “Taking Action to Eliminate False Beliefs,” takes a similar tack as the two authors above, and after a number of recommendations for dealing with false beliefs, she concludes: “Choose today to eliminate false thinking from your mind's vocabulary. When you "hear" your thoughts walking that path of inertia, take the power away from them. Say STOP! Replace this false belief with a Truth. Take action on truth. Watch the amazing course that flow unfold before you.”
-----
Copyright May, 2010, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC
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