PSI-STARS AND SCEPTICS
Posted by anthonynorth on February 10, 2008
The writer G K Chesterton once remarked that when man ceases to believe in God he will not believe in nothing. He will believe in anything. Such a statement as the above has been used ruthlessly by many sceptics to pour scorn on the paranormal. However, in many cases we can see this as justified. Take, for instance, the infamous case of Lord Dufferin.
LORD DUFFERIN
This one time British ambassador to France often told a story of a strange dream. Related by researcher Camille Flammarion, Dufferin was awoken one night and went to the window. Outside, he saw a man with a hideous face carrying a coffin.
Many years later, he was about to enter a lift in a Paris hotel when he saw the hideous face, belonging to the lift attendant. He didn’t take the lift, and moments later it plummeted, killing all inside.
The entire story is, of course, bunkum. There WAS a lift accident in the mentioned hotel, but Dufferin was not in France at the time. Flammarion should have checked this out; as
well as the playful wink Dufferin gave every time he related the story.
DAWN OF THE SCEPTIC
To the sceptic, this is good. Indeed, a specific organisation exists to debunk the entire field of the paranormal. This is the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, or CSICOP. As to its scientific reasoning, their intention is to investigate CAREFULLY the extraordinary claims of true believers and charlatans of the paranormal.
Some sceptics have gone to extraordinary lengths to debunk the paranormal. Take magician James Randi who has offered a million dollars to anyone who can prove the existence of the paranormal.
His money will never be claimed for Randi understands an important point concerning science – the fact that science never deals in absolute proof. Rather, science is a consensus of opinion that seems to fit the universe at a particular time.
It is a means of human understanding that seems to work, but can never be absolutely proved. And if hard physics, chemistry and biology can never be absolutely proved, the paranormal has no chance.
INVESTIGATING PSYCHICS
Other organisations do, however, attempt to prove the existence of the paranormal. Most famous of these is the Society for Psychical Research, or SPR …
This essay has now moved to Anthony North’s new website. Read more of it here, including his own theories and more data including Uri Geller, Emanuel Swedenborg, Edgar Cayce and Gerard Croiset.
(c) Anthony North, February 2008
Click Mysteries for more of my essays on the unexplained
BEYOND THE BLOG 
red pill junkie said
You know of course, what would happen if someone would come up with a white crow…
Skeptics like James Randi would simply say it is nothing but a weird long-beaked dove 🙂
anthonynorth said
Hi Red,
You could be getting to the root of Randi’s angst here. He has a face surrounded by a lot of white; he ‘crows’ a lot.
Maybe he doesn’t believe in mirrors 🙂
By the way, you may appreciate my today’s Diary post. Click here and scroll down to the poem:
tinyfrog said
The writer G K Chesterton once remarked that when man ceases to believe in God he will not believe in nothing. He will believe in anything. Such a statement as the above has been used ruthlessly by many sceptics to pour scorn on the paranormal.
Most skeptics don’t believe in God. I’m doubtful that this statement has “been used ruthlessly by many sceptics” to attack the paranormal. It actually looks well crafted to do the reverse: allow theists to pour scorn on atheists. Also, I’m a skeptic, and I’ve never, ever heard that quote.
And if hard physics, chemistry and biology can never be absolutely proved, the paranormal has no chance.
Don’t be ridiculous. Nothing can be absolutely proved, but they can reach of state of being beyond reasonable doubt. The paranormal – if it existed – could easily rise beyond chance. If someone could consistently predict a coin-toss 7 out of 10 times, and we ruled out trickery (weighted coin, etc), then there would definitely be something worth looking into. I could come up with a hundred possible ways the paranormal could be confirmed – if it existed.
Perhaps the most infamous white crow candidate is Uri Geller.
Uri Geller recently admitted that he’s just doing tricks. He no longer claims to have psychic powers.
But they are important in that they highlight phenomena happens all the time to other, unknown people who have nothing to gain from what happens to them except ridicule
That’s most definitely not true. Many people *like* to hear stories validating the paranormal – it gives them a sense of wonder that there is something invisible and wonderful going on.
Yet as I pointed out with CSICOP, sceptics are not interested in valid research.
That’s pure, unadulterated BS.
They only want to debunk, for the simple fact is, they believe the paranormal would disprove their worldview if accepted.
Don’t be ridiculous. The whole “disprove their worldview” complaint is used by crackpots in all different fields to dismiss their legitimate critics.
Hence, in trying to cast scientific theory in stone, sceptics are the real anti-scientists. Not the researchers in the paranormal.
More ridiculousness. Skeptics are a buttress against the extremely common trend in our society to ignore the facts and believe what they want to believe. How many times must paranormal researchers fail before you admit that there’s nothing there? No one is “setting it in stone”, we’re acknowledging the facts – something most people simply do not want to do.
anthonynorth said
Hi Tinyfrog,
Many thanks for your comment. On the Chesterton quote, you say:
‘I’m a skeptic, and I’ve never, ever heard that quote.’
That quote is used repeatedly in paranormal literature. Your acceptance that you’ve never heard it proves that you haven’t studied the subject.
Come back when you have.
sue hickey said
One thing I know is this: the world and the universe itself are far more wondrous than we are even capable of understanding. And too many people, skeptics or not, refuse to entertain the possibility that above them there is Something much greater than what we puny humans are. I am a huge fan of the composer Thomas Tallis and when I hear his greatest 40-part choral work, “Spem In Alium,” I believe that Thomas himself had a glimpse of that greater state of being. We are all skeptics of course because none of us really comprehend that higher state.
anthonynorth said
Hi Sue,
So many people have claimed to glimpse a higher state, and it is certainly there in music – if you take baroque, for instance, it has alchemy oozing out of it.
However, I do not have blind acceptance of such a state, or accept classical interpretations of phenomena – what can we say about a ghost being a ‘spirit’ other than to accept the belief?
What I’ve done is identify the two extremes – denial and belief – and spent over 20 years trying to understand what is between them.
It is a fascinating subject. And I’m sure it can teach us a great deal about ourselves.
tinyfrog said
That quote is used repeatedly in paranormal literature. Your acceptance that you’ve never heard it proves that you haven’t studied the subject.
Come back when you have.
Oh? Search for the quote on google, and you’ll find that they lead to theist’ websites. The quote is used to insult atheists. Perhaps you mean that it is used by theists who are skeptics of the paranormal to attack paranormal believers by implying that they are atheists.
Of course, there are deep problems with the idea that theist = skeptical of the paranormal, atheist = believer in the paranormal. That might’ve played well to uneducated ears in the early 1900s, but it’s hopelessly out of touch. Skeptics, in general, are skeptical of both theism and the paranormal. So, to say that skeptics use the quote to attack paranormal believers is pretty ridiculous since most skeptics aren’t believers in God. Essentially, they would be insulting themselves.
So you decided not to comment on anything else? Just complain that I don’t know the quote and ignore the rest?
anthonynorth said
Good morning Tinyfrog,
You obviously want to continue. Okay, you seem to be hooked on putting down anything that diagrees with a sceptic, atheist, evolutionist point of view. Maybe this is because:
‘I was born into a Christian fundamentalist, young-earth Creationist, die-hard Republican home.’
If you recognise the quote, it’s from your ‘about’ page. You see, unlike you, I do my research fully, and not from a blinkered point of view.
I’ve already pointed out you couldn’t have studied the subject enough to be authoritative because you hadn’t come across the Chesterton quote. You then confirm this by searching on ‘google’.
There is over a hundred years of relevant research on the subject, accessed through books which google will not reach.
Earlier you said, concerning the paranormal, ‘there’s nothing there.’ Yet on your own blog you say:
‘I grew up in a church where people spoke in tongues, had “faith healings”, made “prophecies”, and people were “slain in the spirit”.’
Did these things happen? If so, your own empirical evidence is that there IS something there. As to what it is, that is a different matter. Do a bit of research on the subject – even on me; I’m quite open on my scores of posts on the subject (check out my Mysteries page).
I would be happy to continue this discussion if you wish, but suggest you drop the angst. Anger and a feeling of superiority is not a good place to begin knowledge.
Chris said
Hi Anthony,
It appears that the majority of these ‘single-minded’ debates usually seem to come from the ‘confident man’ (no gender bias intended here). I sometimes despair at the ‘square box’ thinking of so many people, it automatically precludes numerous, potential areas of research and discovery simply by thinking no rather than maybe and how?
I wonder just how much genuine data is really ‘out there’ hidden by the fear of ridicule? This reminds me of the discussion between Gaian and Bill I, where Gaian posted an incredibly personal piece and then developed “‘hover-itis'” before she returned fearing being “flamed”.
I have had my own personal experiences, no, I don’t see ghosts :), which I once tried to share with my now ex-wife and I’ve never seen the ‘shutters’ come down faster. Ah yes, just upset my worldview, create fear (a lessening of confidence in my ability to deal effectively with ‘reality’) and watch me ‘bite’.
anthonynorth said
Hi Chris,
There’s a lot of sense in this. Confidence is often a mask which requires a paradigm of steel to keep a person sane. Of course, this is only a general statement, and not to be applied to a particular person, ‘cos we come across one of my great contradictions if we do, as it is tantamount to saying: if you disagree with me, you must be mad.
Ah! ‘Tis a confusing world.
Seda Razana said
Anthony North wrote:
“If you recognise the quote, it’s from your ‘about’ page. You see, unlike you, I do my research fully, and not from a blinkered point of view.”
Reading your various posts shows this statement to be untrue.
anthonynorth said
Hi Seda Razana,
I remember writing something similar, but cannot remember where. I look forward to your proof.
Seda Rezana said
“The writer G K Chesterton once remarked that when man ceases to believe in God he will not believe in nothing. He will believe in anything. Such a statement as the above has been used ruthlessly by many sceptics to pour scorn on the paranormal.”
There you go Anthony.If you weren’t so blinkered you’d have recognised how out of date this assertion is in relation to actual skeptics.
anthonynorth said
Hi Seda,
You make a statement there, but don’t explain why.