Pseudoscience and Extraordinary Claims of the Paranormal (eBook)

Jonathan C. Smith, Ph.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Professor of Psychology at Roosevelt University, Founding Director of the Roosevelt University Stress Institute, and Head of the Pseudoscience and Paranormal Laboratory. Dr. Smith has published 17 books and has written numerous articles on stress, relaxation, meditation, and mindfulness, as well as spirituality and skepticism. In 1984 he founded the Roosevelt University Stress Institute primarily to combat pseudoscience in the field. He has created classroom and online classes specifically designed to teach critical thinking skills and evaluate extraordinary claims of the paranormal.

About the Author.
Preface.
Acknowledgments.

Part I: Introduction.

1. The Continuum Mysteriosum.

Making Sense out of Mysteries: The Continuum Mysteriosum.

Extraordinary, Nonparanormal Mysteries.

An Invitation.

2. Why Study These Things?

The Dangers of Unexamined Paranormal Claims.

The Risk of Paranormal Passion and the Critical Thinker'sToolkit.

Eight Reality-Checks: The Critical Thinker's Toolkit.

Part II: The Critical Thinker's Toolkit.

Evaluate Support for a Claim.

3. Reality Check: Are the Sources Credible?

Astrology.

Questionable Sources.

The Question of Authority.

When Experts Get It Wrong.

An Invitation to Question.

4. Reality Check: Is the Logic Valid and Sound?

Basic Logic.

Informal Logical Fallacies.

Premises, Logic, and Hypothesis Testing.

5. Reality Check: Are Claims Based on Observation (ScientificTests and Theories)?

Observations.

Tests.

Theories.

Sagan's Balance and the FEDS Standard.

Science and Alternative Hypotheses.

Consider Alternative Explanations.

6. Reality Checking for Oddities of Nature and the World ofNumbers.

Probability Estimates and Bias.

Math Ignorance.

Coincidences.

The Clumpiness of Randomness.

The Law of Very Large Numbers.

Science and Chance.

Summary: Psychic Bias.

7. Reality Checking for Perceptual Error andTrickery.

Top-Down Processes and Perception.

Manipulations of Magicians and Psychics: The Cold ReadingToolkit.

Hypnotic Suggestion Enhancers.

8. Reality Checking for Memory Errors.

Memory Myths.

What Is Memory?

Memory Errors.

Déjà vu.

The Déjà vu Reality Check.

9. Reality Checking for the Placebo Effect.

What are Placebos?

Weak and Strong Placebos.

How Placebos Work.

Placebos and Superstitious Beliefs.

Placebo Controversies.

Placebos and Performance.

10. Reality Checking for Sensory Anomalies andHallucinations.

Sensory Phenomena.

Migraines.

Tunnel Experiences.

Hallucinations.

Hallucinations and the Critical Thinker's Toolkit.

Part III: The Paranormal Files.

11. Spiritualism and the Survival Hypothesis.

History of the Spiritualist Movement.

Impact of Spiritualism.

Spiritualism Today.

Research on Life after Death.

Research on Channeling and Mediums.

Conclusion.

12. Parapsychology.

The Language of Parapsychology.

Research on PSI.

Conclusion: The State of PSI Research.

13. Energy Treatments and Complementary and AlternativeMedicine (CAM).

Contemporary Views of Energy: The Scientific Perspective.

Concepts of Energy in Children and Western History:Vitalism.

Chinese History and Energy: The Yin-Yang School.

Chinese Energy Treatments.

Western Energy Treatments.

Conclusion.

14. Supernatural Cures and Faith Healing.

The Varieties of Healing Experience.

The Evidence.

Conclusion.

15. Creationism, Intelligent Design, and God.

The Great Debate.

Things Great and Small.

16. The Reality Checkup: Using your Toolkit.

The Reality Checkup.

How to Carry on a Civilized Discussion about the Paranormal.

Parting Words: Pandora's Challenge.

Appendix A. Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Appendix B. Critical Thinking and Paranormal Resources.

Appendix C. Susan Blackmore on Paranormal Research.

Name Index.
Subject Index.

"Smith's work is a valuable contribution to the field. It will certainly be of interest to psychologists interested in the consequences of cognitive errors, and it is no doubt the best textbook on the market for a course on the psychology of paranormal belief. Although Smith explains paranormal thinking in terms of cognitive errors, his presentation of psychological issues is not technical; thus, this text would be especially useful in a freshman seminar, so popular now on American campuses, whose purpose is to help entering college students develop critical thinking skills. Students will either love or hate this text, but they will not be left unchanged by it. And that, after all, is what college is all about." (PsycCRITIQUES, April 2010)

"This book, particularly in regard to its discussion of memory
errors and its insistence on the value of real science, takes a
place of prominence on my personal library shelf."

-James Randi, Chairman of the James Randi Educational
Foundation

"I am astonished by the excellence of this book. Smith has
produced a highly readable and very entertaining yet critical
examination of virtually the entire gamut of paranormal claims, and
he demonstrates an encyclopedic knowledge of the field in doing so.
While drawing extensively from psychology, physics, logical
analysis and history, he always manages to keep things clear and
straightforward, so that one is never lost in complexity. Moreover,
the tone is light-hearted throughout, and never becomes pedantic or
condescending. And the book offers much more than an evaluation of
extraordinary claims. It provides a refined set of critical
thinking tools that the reader will find invaluable in everyday
life. I strongly recommend this book to everyone who values the
pursuit of truth in all things. And I can only wish that those who
know that they already have the truth would read it as well, for
they need it the most."

-James Alcock, PhD, Professor of Psychology, York
University

"Can you be both a critical thinker and a believer in the
paranormal? The "reality checks" in Jonathan
Smith's Critical Thinker's Toolkit will guide you to
your answer."

-Robert Todd Carroll, author of The Skeptic's
Dictionary

"An excellent, engaging, and highly readable introduction to the
paranormal and to the distinction between science and
pseudoscience. A superb student-friendly guide to extraordinary
claims. Chock full of interesting and fun examples, not to mention
humor. Should become a favorite in undergraduate psychology
courses."

-Scott O. Lilienfeld, Emory University