InPresence 0025: Science & Pseudoscience with Jeffrey Mishlove

InPresence host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in "parapsychology" ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). For many years he served as president of the non-profit Intuition Network, an organization dedicated to creating a world in which all people were supported and encouraged in developing inner intuitive abilities.

Here he highlights the distinction between facts and theories in science. He notes that some claim parapsychology to be a pseudoscience because they believe in a "rational universe" in which psychic phenomena are impossible. However, theoretical beliefs should begin with empirical observations, not deny their existence. He reviews a number of historical theories, such as animal magnetism, that were based on cutting edge ideas of their age, but later turned out to be inconsistent with science.

(Recorded on March 14, 2018)

[CosmicJonas]

can't believe we're on 25 already! absolutely loving this series and looking forward to many more!

[leslietaylor]

You're so right Dr. Mishlove, there's so much we don't know; neither the scientists nor the mystics. You state that maybe the ancient's view of things (e.g. that the gods bestowed powers upon individuals) is worth revisiting. Ted Owen's, Uri Geller, and others claimed that advanced beings, aliens, facilitated their remarkable abilities. I've found, in general,  the mainstream scientific community (I've known many and have studied 4 scientific fields - undergrad, non-technical) to be outright insulting when psi, paranormal or even spiritual matters are mentioned in their presence. I heard the word pseudoscience and was referred to as insane, looney, etc., enough to eventually disassociate myself. William James' pragmatism: if it works and is beneficial then that is what is real and matters most.

[RKrk-jjli]

I’m really enjoying these InPresence videos Jeffrey. Thanks.

[bajajones]

episode 25 and enjoying and learning from each and every on.

[adc]

Thanks Jef for new idea-food for thoughts-

[Dolphn-Productions]

Spiritual thinking is the direction and Science is the rudder. Still one might ask themselves; is it the journey or the destination, which is more important? Thanks Dr. Mishlove.

[chiccorealo]

Had a very negative experience as a child with math and science. Wanting to be an astrophysicist due to the moon shots of the 1960s, young girls and staff in my parochial school did not believe in thinking outside the box. Now I observe the sun everyday, taking dozens of photos each day for 10 years! As filtering digital images and making new discoveries is awe-inspiring. Creating a startup company in 2008 which I call Solarionics using new ideas to push the envelope. SOLARIONICS and QUARKION and FORMAS science has made amazing discoveries and I'm enjoying my own personal satisfaction with not allowing the naysayers to discard my methodology simply because it does not conform to "imperial" standards. Psuedo-standards that rarely make new discoveries for humanities ills. Solarionics gave me back my sense of self-worth! I understand how PSI Science must have felt at its inception, during the discovery stage when things are being created and reworked, retooled to fit that very lofty impossibility of "not much happening here, move along!".😄💞🕊

[Paddyllfixit]

"Energies" and/or "Forces", such as Orgone or Ether, cannot be so readily dismissed, when Science accepts the existence of Dark Energy, the Higg's Field, the Quantum Field, and even research in Consciousness is beginning to indicate a similar direction. But we cannot just accept them either. Should be put in the box, "we don't know enough yet".

[bennguyen]

Regarding Jeffrey's parapsychology phd from Berkeley.. would love to see a curriculum for a self directed 'degree' in parapsychology.. videos from the (New) Thinking Allowed, required reading, etc. Any thoughts on the University of Virginia's Department of Psychiatric Medicine and University of Arizona's Veritas Laboratory?

BTW, I've never heard Jeffrey talk about the Montauk project. Many books and documentaries have covered the case, but at center of it is Preston B. Nichols (fellow parapsychologist doctorate holder), time-travel, the Philadelphia Experiment, and Portals to another dimension (similar to Skinwalker Ranch, Scole Experiment and Kailash Manasarovar in China)!

[Chicken_Little_Syndrome]

We'd call the Music of the Spheres the Music of the Fields were we geocentrically inclined as a civilization today.

[bycunreamer]

What is it about Carl Jung's archetypes that makes you think that we have any chance of learning more about them? He states that they are likely forms with no content. It would be like trying to eat a wheat husk.

[danzigvssartre]

Some years back I read an article by James Alcock outlining a list of reasons as to why Parapsychology was a pseudo-science. His list included: defining its terms negatively eg. extra-sensory perception is defined as not working like ordinary perception, failure to replicate experiments, weak Psi effect sizes in experiments and lack of an overarching theory and mechanism. Later, I came to realise that by Alcock's criteria, psychiatry must also be a pseudoscience. Psychiatry defines it terms negatively eg. by the notion of mental abnormality or dysfunction, as opposed to what we see as normal or functional. Psychiatry (like psychology) suffers from inability to replicate it's findings and weak effect sizes. Many anti-depressants are now less therapeutic then placebos. Finally, psychiatry lacks an overarching theory. Freudian theory has been mostly buried and finding simple genetic and brain-based correlates of specific mental disorders is proving to be almost impossible. The bottom line is that both parapsychology and psychiatry are dealing with mind. Scientific exploration in the mind sciences is much more murky and complicated than doing first year physics experiments. Idealistic ideas from classical physics still stand for our models of "real" science...but please, no one mention Quantum Observers, Parallel Universes and Simulation Theories.

[michelef]

Jeffrey, just a heads-up. Clicking on your video InPresence 0026 opens a page that interrupts access to actually viewing the video in youtube.

[tinjos]

The pseudoskeptics who idolize people like Randi remind me of the Christian fundamentalists they so despise in a number of ways, one of which being their need for certainty. Anyway, I wish you would do an episode on the dark side of the New Age movement, or if you think there was. I have in mind people who went off the deep end, joined cults, that sort of thing. You were such a prominent figure in the New Age movement, even if you never saw yourself as such, and interviewed many of the leading people.

[magic-ball]

That's true, but how do you account for the lack of dynamism in markets, healthcare, social mobility? What ways can technology and human innovation correct these imbalances? Taos, NM good place to connect with these issues! Still looking for all the ley lines though.

[denok]

Relative to William James’ statement about scientifics and mystics, it only appears that the scientifics have the better of the argument when it comes to theories, because we choose to ignore mystical theories. For example, the model for explaining mystical phenomena causally is subtle body theory, which has existed from ancient Egypt to present day, in almost every culture. Yet this model always gets ignored, and modern efforts to explain psychic/mystical/spiritual phenomena are mind boggling concepts like warped space, worm holes, quantum entanglement, and even superstring theory, etc. None of these concepts, no matter how you bend and twist them, can explain any of these phenomena. None of them provide a useful model. Best we start understanding subtle body theory so we can get a better handle on mysticism. Did we think the mystics were speculating?

[bycunreamer]

Rudolf Steiner explicitly differentiates The Ether that he talks about from the one that was theorised scientifically. I'm guessing that other theosophist do the same.

[cagedgreed]

So I just read this morning that science still can't explain gravity (mathematically, I presume.) So, perhaps what they call pseudoscience is just gravity (it's all just so heavy, man.)

[pratchleskorch]

I fear that man will be just learning how to use sticks as tools in 1000 years.