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PSY 429. Paranormal Phenomena and Experience

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Title: PSY 429. Paranormal Phenomena and Experience


1
PSY 429. Paranormal Phenomena and Experience
  • Andrew D. Dewald

2
What are we going to do?
  • Social Science Natural Science
  • Religion Philosophy
  • Importance of skepticism, scientific analysis,
    and valid logic when evaluating fringe
    science/paranormal claims

3
What do I call you?
  • Dr. Dewald?
  • Mr. Dewald?
  • Professor Dewald?

ANDY!
4
The Books
5
Penn and Teller
Penn and Teller are bad men They say bad
words. If you are easily offended by the F
word, and other brilliant profanities.dont
watch. .its the lawthey have to talk like jerks.
6
What do you have to do?
  • 1. Midterm
  • 2. Final
  • 3.Reading Responses
  • 4. Paper
  • 5. SPEAK UP!
  • There is no attendance, but you must be present
    on the day that responses are do.somebody else
    may NOT hand them in.

7
Reading Responses
  • Based on Chapters in the book
  • You do ityou get credit
  • Write a short description of your reaction to the
    reading, anything you have in your life that
    relates and 1-3 questions.
  • We will go over them in class and discuss.

8
The Paper
  • 1. Pick a Paranormal Topic
  • 2. Explain the history and current information
    about it.
  • 3. Using techniques learned in class, explain why
    this is a paranormal belief and the tactics used
    to convey its reality.
  • 4. Show evidence against the proposed phenomena
    based on science and empiricism.
  • October 3rd Due date for proposed topic.

9
Examples
  • Big Foot
  • God
  • Creationism
  • Aliens
  • UFOs
  • Psychics
  • Monsters.
  • Faith Healing
  • Levitation
  • Ghosts
  • Conspiracy theories

10
Extra Credit
  • Experiments
  • 2.5 points for participation
  • No more than 3/ semester
  • Local Publication coverage of paranormal events
  • Must be a local and current.
  • Cut out/ print, bring in and present.
  • 3 points
  • (cat example)

11
What we are not going to do
  • This class is NOT a witch hunt.
  • We will not bash other beliefs
  • One persons weird thing could be anothers
    cherished belief!
  • We will be thinking about things in an empirical
    and skeptical manner, NOT ripping on, making fun
    of, or taunting others.
  • http//www.youtube.com/watch?vzrzMhU_4m-g

12
What are we going to do?
  • Baruch Spinoza
  • Dutch Philosopher
  • I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule,
    not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to
    UNDERSTAND them.

13
However
  • Some things are just absolutely insane.
  • We can have a chuckle at their expense, but be
    sure to respect the views and feelings of your
    peers in the class so as not to make enemies.
  • Discussdont Argue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

14
About me
  • Pennsylvania native

15
About me
My Flat!!!!!!!!
  • Undergrad
  • Lebanon Valley College (PA)
  • London Metropolitan University (UK)

16
About me
  • Hershey Inc..

17
About me
  • Guitars, Guns, Baseball .

18
Lets talk.
  • Name
  • Year
  • Where you from?
  • Why did you take this class?

19
What are some things you have heard of?
  • Has anybody experienced anything paranormal?
  • Have you known anybody who has made these claims?
  • What is the general consensus in the United
    States about this sort of stuff?

20
What will we cover?
  • Ghosts
  • Afterlife
  • Channeling
  • Near-death experiences
  • Psychics
  • Psychology and all its BS!
  • UFOs and alien abductions
  • Creationism vs. evolution
  • Religious miracles

21
How will we cover?
  • 1.Reviewing the myriad of events that are
    considered to be paranormal
  • 2. Addressing the publics interest in paranormal
    phenomena
  • 3. Evaluating and dispelling the myths
    surrounding paranormal events
  • 4. Encouraging scientific rigor when examining
    paranormal events
  • 5. Reviewing the consequences of erroneous belief
    systems.

22
Psychology?
  • Unknown to most people
  • Information concerning human behavior and the
    unconscious
  • Most who are considered to be in the field of
    psychology (as determined by the general
    population) are far from it.
  • SO WHAT?!

23
Psychology?
  • Requires critical thinking skills!!!
  • More so than any other science.
  • Example Chemistry
  • Hydrochloric Acid and Aluminum Foil
    Predictions?
  • Example Psychology
  • Joshs parents get divorced when he is 7.when he
    turns 25 he will be __________________

24
Skeptic?
  • What is a skeptic?
  • Do you know of any?

25
Skeptic?
  • Skeptic
  • Greek thoughtful or full of though
  • 2500 years old!
  • Plato and Socrates
  • all I know is that I know nothing

26
Skeptics?
  • Modern Skepticism
  • Science based movement
  • First Pop skeptic James Randi (the amazing)
  • 70s and 80s-debunked many psychics and
    spiritualists on the Tonight Show.

27
Skepticism
  • Embodies in the scientific method
  • Skepticism is a METHOD leading to conclusions
  • A skeptic is one who questions the validity of a
    particular claim by calling for evidence to prove
    or disprove it
  • Thats niceprove it

28
Skepticism
  • 1.Universal Skepticism
  • The reality of the senses and the validity of
    rational inference should be mistrusted.
  • Philosophy this has led to Extreme Solopsism
  • The reality of the external world and even ones
    existence are doubted.

Nothing is real?!
29
Universal?
  • Problems?
  • Overall, it can be seen that Universal
    Skepticism is negative, self-defeating, and
    contradictory

30
Skepticism
  • 2. Selective Skepticism
  • If a finding seems scientifically valid, it is
    accepted, until a better theory comes along to
    replace it.
  • there are NO absolute laws !!!
  • a bit better

I existfor now
31
Science?
  • What the heck is science?

32
What science is NOT
  • 1. Not defined by subject matter
  • Bio, Chem, Psych, Physics..what about selling
    cars?
  • 2. Not defined by use of particular
    instrumentation and tools.
  • Do I have to blow stuff up?

33
So what is it then?
  • You tell me
  • A way of thinking!

34
Science!
  • Science and Skepticism
  • a set of methods designed to describe and
    interpret observed or inferred phenomena, past or
    present, and aimed at building a testable body of
    knowledge open to rejection or confirmation.
  • What are some VERY important words here?

35
Scientific Principles
  • Induction
  • Forming a hypothesis from existing data
  • Deduction
  • Making specific predictions based on hypothesis
  • Observation
  • Gathering data, driven by our hypothesis that
    tells us what to look for
  • Verification
  • Testing the predictions against further
    observations to confirm or falsify the initial
    hypothesis.

36
Scientific principles
  • Via the scientific method we can come to the
    following conclusions
  • 1.Hypothesis
  • A testable statement accounting for a set of
    observations
  • 2.Theory
  • A well-supported and well-tested hypothesis
  • evolution
  • 3.Fact
  • A conclusion confirmed to such an extent that it
    would be reasonable to offer provisional
    agreement.
  • The earth is not flat

37
Rationalism
  • Basing conclusion on logic and evidence
  • How do we know the world is round?
  • Dogmatism
  • Basing conclusion on authority
  • Parents said so
  • I said so
  • Textbook says so

38
Scientific Principles
  • How to ALWAYS think about explaining the
    universe
  • Systematic Empiricism
  • Production of Public Knowledge
  • Examination of Solvable Problems

39
Systematic Empiricism
  • Empiricism?
  • Relying in observationgood enough?
  • STRUCTURE!!!!
  • My car is scratched Who did it?

40
Production of Public Knowledge
  • No man is an island
  • Must be public and repeatable.
  • Why is this necessary?
  • Findings must be presented to the community in
    such a way that they can be replicated,
    criticized or extended by anyone

41
Cold Fusion?
  • What is it?
  • Pons and Fleischmann
  • Faulty measures
  • Required Special Instruments

42
Empirically Solvable Problems
  • Predict? Control? Explain
  • What are some questions?
  • What are NOT some questions?
  • Pinker Mysteries to Problems?
  • Jefferson and Sally?! Mystery back thenProblem
    now!

43
Pseudoscience/ Paranormal
  • Characteristics
  • 1. non-falsifiable or irrefutable hypothesis.
  • What does non-falsifiable mean?
  • No evidence can show the hypothesis to be wrong.

44
Falsifiability?
  • Scientific theories must be presented in a way so
    as that they can be shown to be false.
  • What SHOULD happen and what will NOT happen
  • Predictions on Josh He SHOULD develop some sort
    of behavior related to the divorce of his parent,
    how it manifests itself is TBD.
  • Josh will NOT develop the power to kill a deer
    from 40 yards with mind bullets, on account of
    his parents divorce.

45
Lets try one
  • I, Andrew D. Dewald am God
  • I created all of you
  • I control all of you
  • And you all have no free will.
  • I determine everything

46
Characteristic 2
  • Unwillingness to look closely at the phenomenon
    they claim exists.
  • Need for hard data completely ignored.
  • We never landed on the moon

47
What if science cant explain?
  • If science cant fully explain the phenomena
    COMPLETELY, reasonable explanations are ignored
    or dismissed and the proponent concludes that
    pseudoscience is supported.
  • Why is this dangerous?

48
Santa?
  • Who has seen him?
  • NASA Apollo 8 saw him
  • Santa produces
  • Who does the burden lie on?
  • The proponent or the Skeptic?
  • -shifting the burden to the Skeptic is NOT a
    legitimate means of defending unattainable
    hypothesis.

49
Because Im a nerd.
  • 2 Billion Children in the World
  • (Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children no
    need to apply)
  • 378 Million Children (Assuming they are good)
  • 31 Hours to work 821.6 visits per second
  • 1/1000th of a second/ kid
  • 650 miles per second, 3000 times the speed of
    sound 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy per
    SECOND

50
Conspiracy Theories
  • Not paranormal in nature but pop up in the belief
    systems of proponents of claims.
  • Who knows some?
  • Biggest Problem?
  • HUGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO NOT COME FORWARD!

51
Polywater
  • 1960s Russia
  • Boils way high, freezes way low
  • More stable than H20
  • If allowed to contaminate actual waterBOOM!
  • Skeptics could not make it
  • Russia Youre not doing it right!

52
Conclusion
  • Extraordinary claims need extraordinary proof!
  • Science is open minded Believers are NOT!

53
What is the Paranormal?
  • A subset of pseudoscience
  • any phenomenon that in one or more respects
    exceeds the limits of what is deemed physically
    possible according to current scientific
    assumptions
  • A reliance on explanations for alleged phenomena
    that are WELL outside the bounds of established
    science.
  • Paranormal?Pseudoscience

54
Pseudo vs. Paranormal
  • UFOs-You tell me.
  • We have been visited by aliens who use wormhole
    technology to warp space to reach us.
  • All UFO space craft is actual psychic projections
    from the dead spirits of the Universe.

55
Who cares?
  • What does it matter if people believe crazy
    stuff?
  • What do you think?

56
Who cares?
  • Late 19th/ Early 20th century
  • People started to care
  • Spiritualists were exposed by magicians.
  • Today
  • CSICOP (1970)
  • Committee for the Scientific Investigation of
    Claims of the Paranormal.

57
CSICOP
  • CSICOP established several goals
  • A. to encourage the investigation of paranormal
    and fringe-science claims in a responsible,
    scientific way
  • B. to obtain and disseminate to the public
    accurate, scientifically reliable information
    about the paranormal.

58
Who cares?
?
http//www.csicop.org/
59
Question
  • Is teaching skepticism harmful to curiosity and
    creativity?
  • What do you think?

60
Why do they care?
  • I. Claims might be true!
  • A.Hypnotism
  • Franz Anton Mesmer 1700s
  • B. Stones from space?(17th c)
  • C. Acupuncture?(70s)
  • Aliens?
  • (sure)

61
Why do they care?
  • II. Responsibility to inform the public
  • America is easy
  • Nisbet (1998)
  • 45-Faith Healing
  • 30-UFOs (like actually here now)
  • 37- Astrology (like in the paper!)
  • 25-Reincarnation (Christians)

62
Why do they care?
  • II. Responsibility to inform the public
  • The public spends a lot of time and MONEY on this
    junk.
  • Fraud (John Edward)
  • Uncritical coverage of paranormal claims (Faith
    healers, prayer, Mary on toast)
  • Alternative Medicine (10 BILLION/ year)

63
Why do they care?
  • III. Dangers in belief
  • So what if I believe?
  • 3 levels of why this is trouble
  • 1.Philosophical
  • 2. Practical
  • 3. Social

64
Philosophy
  • False beliefs about how the world actually works
    DANGEROUS!
  • Truthgood
  • Holding an incorrect view of how the world works
    is referred to as a?

65
Practical
  • New Kona Coffee
  • 200 the regular caffeine! (only has 10)
  • Problems?
  • The Amish (sorry boys)
  • Prayer over inoculation

66
SocialBringing it to the masses!
  • Uncritical acceptance of paranormal belief
    systems can be extremely damaging
  • Examples

67
Conclusion
  • Those are extremes
  • However If one accepts faulty evidence,
    intellectual shoddiness and fraud and twisted
    logic for little thingsit be comes EASIER to
    accept the same type of evidence in support for
    REALLY bad stuff.

68
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