From: utzoo!decvax!duke!mcnc!unc!tim
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Title: The Observability of "Psychic Phenomena"
Article-I.D.: unc.4699
Posted: Wed Feb 23 01:34:36 1983
Received: Thu Feb 24 08:12:42 1983


There is a fairly discredited school of research known as
parapsychology. It is discredited because its main pro-
ponent and researcher admitted falsifying most of his data.

Every week, the National Enquirer and its ilk publish
vast numbers of alleged "prophecies" and "clairvoyant dis-
coveries" that are obvious nonsense to any even slightly
intelligent reader. Every month, books like "The
Bermuda Triangle", "Chariots of the Gods", etc., are
published, and every day most newspapers print an
either vague or blatantly false "horoscope". Uri Geller
is still making money with his stage magic show; so
are faith healers, card readers, and the like.

The obvious charlatanry of virtually all purveyors of
"psychic phenomena", "the occult", and such is taken as
evidence for the nonexistence of such phenomena. In fact,
this is only evidence for a skeptical attitude. It can
in no rational way be considered evidence for the
nonexistence of a class of phenomena.

Consider these things in the abstract. If psychic
phenomena (for want of a better name) did exist, what
laws would govern their behavior? It is neccessary to
formulate a hypothesis of this sort before experimentation
in any field.

One law usually laid down is scientific provability.
This means that the phenomena can be observed in a controlled
fashion. In order to impose controls on an experiment,
one must know what factors in the environment of the
experiment will cause changes in the subject (whether
the subject is a person or a cluster of subatomic
particles), and one must be able to control these factors.
(I'm sorry, because this is already well known to virtually
all of you, but I want to make sure we agree on definitions.)

What would be the relevant factors affecting observations
of psychic phenomena? The answer is simple: no one knows.
This is a whole new ball park. The weather could possibly
be vital: it certainly alters people's moods,
which might or might not be related to observability
of psychic phenomena. There might be some obscure but critical
factor in the chemical composition of the central nervous system.
Also, if psychic phenomena exist they imply a whole new
medium of information transfer. We have no way of knowing
how to control the environment imposed by this medium.

This is most emphatically not a defense of psychic research
in its current form. It is overly mechanistic and not at all
psychological, in an attempt to not seem like witchcraft.
It's hard to see how such an approach could ever hope to
isolate the variables involved.

I am also not saying that scientific psi research is currently
possible. If your sole criterion for worthiness of a topic
is that it is scientifically testable using current methods,
then you should certainly discard this topic, as well as
most topics of every day life, and particularly any belief
in the existence of emotion.

I should also add that I myself am not convinced that such
phenomena exist, nor that they do not.

Tim Maroney