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Psychic
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The word psychic (; from the Greek psychikos—"of the soul, mental") refers to a proposed ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through what is described as extrasensory perception, or to those people said to have such abilities. It is also used to refer to theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation and cold reading to produce the appearance of such abilities.
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The word psychic (; from the Greek psychikos—"of the soul, mental") refers to a proposed ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through what is described as extrasensory perception, or to those people said to have such abilities. It is also used to refer to theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation and cold reading to produce the appearance of such abilities. It has also been used to describe the belief of the ability of the mind to influence the world physically and telekinetic powers some claim to demonstrate, such as Uri Geller.
Psychics appear regularly in fiction and science fiction, such as the The Dead Zone by Stephen King, or Jean Grey from the Marvel comic book universe and Star Wars. A large industry exists where psychics provide advice and counsel to clients, though skeptics attribute such putative powers to intentional trickery or self-delusion. Some famous contemporary psychics include Miss Cleo, Sylvia Browne, and John Edward.
The scientific community has rejected all claims of psychic phenomena, and no compelling evidence of psychic phenomena has been found. A study using neuroimaging published in 2008 provides the strongest evidence yet obtained that paranormal mental phenomena do not exist.
In 1988 the U.S. National Academy of Sciences gave a report on the subject that concluded there is "no scientific justification from research conducted over a period of 130 years for the existence of parapsychological phenomena." In 1991 a survey of opinion amongst scientists in the National Academy of Sciences, 96% described themselves as "skeptical" of ESP, although 2% believed in psi and 10% felt that parapsychological research should be encouraged.
History
Etymology
The word psychic is derived from the Greek word psychikos ("of the mind" or "mental") and refers in part to the human mind or psyche (ex. "psychic turmoil"). French astronomer and spiritualist Camille Flammarion is credited as having first used the word psychic, while it was later introduced to the English language by Edward William Cox in the 1870s.
Early seers and prophets
Elaborate systems of divination and fortune-telling date back to ancient times. Perhaps the most widely-known system of early civilization fortune-telling was astrology, where practitioners believed the relative positions of celestial bodies could lend insight into people's lives and even predict their future circumstances. Some fortune-tellers were said to be able to make predictions without the use of these elaborate systems (or in conjunction with them), through some sort of direct apprehension or vision of the future. These people were known as seers or prophets, and in later times as clairvoyants and psychics.
Seers formed a functionary role in early civilization, often serving as advisors, priests, and judges. A number of examples are included in biblical accounts. The book of 1 Samuel (Chapter 9) illustrates one such functionary task when Samuel is asked to locate the donkeys of the future king Saul. The role of prophet appeared perennially in ancient cultures. In Egypt, the priests of Ra at Memphis acted as seers. In ancient Assyria seers were referred to as nabu, meaning "to call" or "announce".
The Delphic Oracle is one of the earliest stories in classical antiquity of prophetic abilities. The Pythia, the priestess presiding over the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, was believed to be able to deliver prophecies inspired by Apollo during rituals beginning in the 8th century BC. It is often said that the Pythia delivered oracles in a frenzied state induced by vapors rising from the ground, and that she spoke gibberish, believed to be the voice of Apollo, which priests reshaped into the enigmatic prophecies preserved in Greek literature. Other scholars believe records from the time indicate that the Pythia spoke intelligibly, and gave prophecies in her own voice. The Pythia was a position served by a succession of women probably selected from amongst a guild of priestesses of the temple. The last recorded response was given in 393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I ordered pagan temples to cease operation. Recent geological investigations raise the possibility that ethylene gas caused the Pythia's state of inspiration.
One of the most enduring historical references to what some consider to be psychic ability is the prophecies of Michel de Nostredame (1503 – 1566), often Latinized to Nostradamus, published during the French Renaissance period. Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and seer who wrote collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide and have rarely been out of print since his death. He is best known for his book Les Propheties, the first edition of which appeared in 1555. Taken together, his written works are known to have contained at least 6,338 quatrains or prophecies, as well as at least eleven annual calendars. Most of the quatrains deal with disasters, such as plagues, earthquakes, wars, floods, invasions, murders, droughts, and battles — all undated.
Nostradamus is a controversial figure. His many enthusiasts, as well as the popular press, credit him with predicting numerous major world events. Interest in his work is still considerable, especially in the media and in popular culture. By contrast, most academic scholars maintain that the associations made between world events and Nostradamus' quatrains are largely the result of misinterpretations or mistranslations (sometimes deliberate) or else are so tenuous as to render them useless as evidence of any genuine predictive power.
In addition to the belief that some historical figures were endowed with a predisposition to psychic experiences, some psychic abilities were thought to be available to everyone on occasion. For example, the belief in prophetic dreams was common and persistent in many ancient cultures.
Modern psychics
In the mid-nineteenth century, Modern Spiritualism became prominent in the United States and the United Kingdom. The movement's distinguishing feature was the belief that the spirits of the dead could be contacted by mediums to lend insight to the living. The movement was fueled in part by anecdotes of psychic powers. One such person believed to have extraordinary abilities was Daniel Dunglas Home, who gained notoriety during the Victorian period for his reported ability to levitate to a variety of heights and speak to the dead.
As the Spiritualist movement grew other comparable groups arose, including the Theosophical Society, which was co-founded in 1875 by Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891). Theosophy coupled spiritualist elements with Eastern mysticism and was influential in the early 20th century, later influencing the New Age movement during the 1970s. Blavatsky herself claimed numerous psychic powers.
Popular culture
Belief in psychic abilities
A survey of the beliefs of the general United States population regarding paranormal topics was conducted by The Gallup Organization in 2005. The survey found that 41 percent of those polled believed in extrasensory perception and 26 percent believed in clairvoyance. Thirty-one percent of those surveyed indicated that they believe in telepathy or psychic communication.
A poll of 439 college students conducted in 2006 by researchers Bryan Farha of Oklahoma City University and Gary Steward of University of Central Oklahoma, suggested that college seniors and graduate students were more likely to believe in psychic phenomena than college freshmen. Twenty-three percent of college freshmen expressed a belief in paranormal ideas. The percentage was greater among college seniors (31%) and graduate students (34%). The poll showed lower belief in psychic phenomena among science students than social science and education students.
Some people also believe that psychic abilities can be activated or enhanced through the study and practice of various disciplines and techniques such as meditation, with a number of books and websites being dedicated to instruction in these methods. Another popular belief is that psychic ability is hereditary, with a psychic parent passing their abilities on to their children.
Psychic advice industry
Many people proclaim to have psychic abilities and some make a living as professional psychics or earn celebrity hosting their own TV or radio programs. Individuals such as Gary Spivey, John Edward and Sylvia Browne either have their own television shows or are frequently featured on talk shows. (see Paranormal television).
Some psychics are first known by the public as celebrities. Rock singer and actress Danielle Egnew, who has made frequent radio and television appearances as a psychic, rather than a singer.
Science fiction
The use of psychic abilities as a plot device or super power is common in fiction. Psychic abilities in science fiction are frequently depicted as inborn and heritable, as in Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man, A. E. van Vogt's Slan, and the television series Babylon 5. Another recurring trope is the conveyance of psychic power through psychoactive drugs, as in the Dune novels and indirectly in the Scanners films. Somewhat differently, in Madeleine L'Engle's A Wind in the Door and Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, psychic abilities may be achieved by any human who learns the proper mental discipline, known as kything in the former work and grokking in the latter. Popular movies include ^The initiation of Sarah, ... Psychic characters are also common in superhero comic books, for instance Jean Grey and Professor X from the Marvel comic X-Men. In the Pokémon series, one of the seventeen elemental types is called the Psychic-type. In addition, an attack of said type is also named Psychic. Other popular series are Heroes, Harry Potter, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, ...
Criticism and research
Parapsychological research has attempted to use random number generators to test for psychokinesis, mild sensory deprivation in the Ganzfeld experiment to test for extrasensory perception, and research trials conducted under contract by the U.S. government to investigate remote viewing. Some of these tests such as the Ganzfeld have been put forward as good evidence for psychic phenomena by parapsychologists, and according to the Parapsychological Association, the consensus within that field is that there is good evidence for extrasensory perception, psychokinesis, and presentiment, though the survival of death remains unproven. Critics such as Ed J. Gracely say that this evidence is not sufficient for acceptance, partly because the intrinsic probability of psychic phenomena is very small.
Parapsychology involves research that does not fit within standard theoretical models. Methodological flaws in parapsychology have been invoked by critics such as Ray Hyman to explain apparently successful experimental results, as opposed to the paranormal explanations offered by many parapsychologists, and the field has been classed as pseudoscience by many. This has largely been due to lack of replication of results by independent experimenters.
The evidence presented for psychic phenomena is not sufficiently verified for scientific acceptance, and there exist many non-paranormal alternative explanations for claimed instances of psychic events. Parapsychologists, who generally believe that there is some evidence for psychic ability, agree with critics who believe that no psychic ability exists that many of the instances of more popular psychic phenomena such as mediumism, can be attributed to non-paranormal techniques such as cold reading, hot reading, or even self-delusion. Magicians such as James Randi, Ian Rowland and Derren Brown have demonstrated techniques and results similar to those of popular psychics, but they present psychological explanations as opposed to paranormal ones.
In January 2008 the results of a study using neuroimaging were published. To provide what are purported to be the most favorable experimental conditions, the study included appropriate emotional stimuli and had participants who are biologically or emotionally related, such as twins. The experiment was designed to produce positive results if telepathy, clairvoyance or precognition occurred, but despite this no distinguishable neuronal responses were found between psychic stimuli and non-psychic stimuli, while variations in the same stimuli showed anticipated effects on patterns of brain activation. The researchers concluded that "These findings are the strongest evidence yet obtained against the existence of paranormal mental phenomena." James Alcock had cautioned the researchers against the wording of said statement. Since psi is defined as defying known physical laws, all that could be said about the study was that it failed to find evidence for psi."[Science contradicts Psi, Skeptical Inquirer, July/August 2008]"
See also
Footnotes
External links
- A course syllabus from The College of Wooster.
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