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Aref name="ftc">"FTC Charges "Miss Cleo" with Deceptive Advertising, Billing and Collection Practices". FTC. February 14, 2002.</ref> John Edward, Sylvia Browne, and Tyler Henry. Psychic powers are asserted by psychic detectives and in practices such as psychic archaeology and even psychic surgery.

Critics attribute psychic powers to intentional trickery or to self-delusion. In 1988 the U.S. National Academy of Sciences gave a report on the subject and concluded there is "no scientific justification from research conducted over a period of 130 years for the existence of parapsychological phenomena". A Psychics are sometimes featured in science fiction and fantasy fiction. Examples of fiction featuring characters with psychic powers include the Star Wars franchise, which features "Force-sensitive" beings that can see into the future and move objects telepathically, along with Dungeons & Dragons and some of the works of Stephen King, amongst many others.

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"). The Greek word also means "soul". In Greek mythology, the maiden Psyche was the deification of the human soul. The word derivation of the Latin psȳchē is from torge Liddell; Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, entry for psyche</ref>

French astronomer and spiritualist er=Psychics|last=Melton|first=J.G.|publisher=Thomson Gale|year=1996|isbn=978-0-8103-9487-2}}</ref>

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 (French word meaning "clear sight" or "clear seeing") 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 find the donkeys of the future king Saul. The role of prophet appeared perennially in ancient cultures. In Egypt, the priests of the sun deity 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 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 many 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 betwe

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.

Nineteenth-century progression

[[movement was fueled in part by anecdotes of psychic powers. One such person believed to have extraordinary abilities was Daniel Dunglas Home, who gained fame during the Victorian period for his reported ability to levitate to various 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.

Late twentieth century

By the late twentieth century me, or at psychic fairs.

Popular culture

Belief in psychic abilities

In a survey, rrticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2320/is_n3_v56/ai_13771782/pg_5 Research in Parapsychology, 1990: Abstracts and Papers from the Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association], Journal of Parapsychology, Sept, 1992, Retrieved July 4, 2009</ref>

A survey of the beliefs of the gec.com/PsychicBeliefPoll.html}}</ref> 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 anyone can have psychic abilities which can be activated or enhanced through the study and practice of various disciplines and techniques such as meditation and divination, 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.

Science fiction

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Psychic abilities are common in science fiction, often under the term "psionics". They may be depicted as innate and heritable, as in Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man, A. E. van Vogt's Slan, Anne McCaffrey's Talents universe series or setting, 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, as well as the ghosts in the StarCraft franchise. 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. Popular movies include The Initiation of Sarah. Psychic characters are also common in superhero comics, for instance ], and research trials conducted under contract by the U.S. government to investigate remote viewing. 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.

Critics such as Ray Hyman and the National Science Foundation suggest that parapsychology has methodological flaws that can explain the experimental results that parapsychologists attribute to paranormal explanations, and various critics have classed the field as pseudoscience. 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, disagree with critics who believe that no psychic ability exists and that many of the instances of more popular psychic phenomena such as mediumism, can be attributed to non-paranormal techniques such a=36–38}}</ref> Magicians such as James Randi, Ian Rowland and Derren Brown have demonstrated techniques and results similar to those of popular psychics, but they present physical and 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.

A detailed study of [[Sylvia 8_1_psychics-james-van-praagh-reality-tv |title=Putting Psychics to the Test|newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=2011-09-21 |accessdate=2011-09-12}}</ref>

Skeptical activist Susan Gerbic has summarized a number of techniques, which she says are used by psychics to create their effects.

See also

References

  1. James Randi (1982). Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions. Prometheus Books. pp. 173–195. ISBN 978-0-87975-198-2.
  2. ^ Gracely, Ph.D., Ed J. (1998). "Why Extraordinary Claims Demand Extraordinary Proof". PhACT. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
  3. "Psychic Debunking". NOVA. April 15/people/feature/2002/06/13/probability/index.html. PBS. {{cite episode}}: |archive-url= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |airdate= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. Druckman, D. and Swets, J. A. eds. (1988). Enhancing Human Performance: Issues, Theories and Techniques. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-309-07465-0. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Melton1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. 1 Samuel Ch. 9
  7. Morgan 1990, p. 148.
    • Fontenrose, Joseph (1978). The Delphic Oracle: Its Responses and Operations. pp. 196–227.
    • Maurizio, Lisa. "The Voice at the Centre of the World: The Pythia's Ambiguity and Authority". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) (in Lardinois, Andre; McClure, Laura (2001). Making Silence Speak: Women's Voices in Greek Literature and Society. Princeton University Press. pp. 38–54.)
  10. Chevignard, Bernard (1999). Présages de Nostradamus.
  11. Melton, J. G. (1996). Dreams. In Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology. Thomson Gale. ISBN 978-0-8103-9487-2.
  12. Podmore, Frank (1997). Mediums of the Nineteenth Century. University Books. ISBN 978-0-253-33315-5.
  13. Melton. Chapter "Theosophical Society"
  14. Wendy Haskett Psychic Fairs Aim for Aura of Fun in Mind Reading LATimes.com, August 15, 1987
  15. Britt, R.: "Higher Education Fuels Stronger Belief in Ghosts" LiveScience, January 2006, Retrieved September 18, 2007.
  16. Chauran, Alexandra (2012). So You Want To Be a Psychic Intuitive. Llewellyn Worldwide. ISBN 978-0738730653.
  17. "Psychics – myths & misconceptions". Retrieved April 25, 2007.
  18. "Science and Engineering Indicators 2006". National Science Board. 2006. Archived from the original on 2015-08-18. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. Hyman, Ray. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); Text "authom/p/articles/mi_m2320/is_n4_v59/ai_18445600" ignored (help)
  20. Akers, C. (1986). "Methodological Criticisms of Parapsychology, Advances in Parapsychological Research 4". PesquisaPSI. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-07-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. Child, I.L. (1987). "Criticism in Experimental Parapsychology, Advances in Parapsychological Research 5". PesquisaPSI. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-07-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  22. Wiseman, Richard; Smith, Matthew; et al. (1996). "Exploring possible sender-to-experimenter acoustic leakage in the PRL autoganzfeld experiments – Psychophysical Research Laboratories". The Journal of Parapsychology. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2007-07-30. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  23. Moulton ST, Kosslyn SM (January 2008). "Using neuroimaging to resolve the psi debate" (PDF). Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 20 (1): 182–92. doi:10.1162/jocn.2008.20.1.182. PMID 18095790. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-12. Retrieved 2017-11-01. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  24. Science contradicts Psi, Skeptical Inquirer, July/August 2008
  25. Gerbic, Susan. "Ten Tricks of the Psychics I Bet You Didn't Know". CSI. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Retrieved 23 March 2018.

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