John Hick - Is ESP a Window on a Larger Reality?

If ESP can claim some kind of truth, the implications would be profound. The confirmation of any ESP, no matter how minor, would challenge the materialism-physicalism structure of the world, built over centuries by science. Reality itself would expand. But extraordinary claims, such as for ESP or parapsychology, require extraordinary evidence.

John Harwood Hick was a philosopher of religion and theologian.

Closer To Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[dominiqueubersfeld]

No, it's not a Window, its an Apple.

[turdfurg]

Ever pick up the phone to call someone only to find out they just called you and you picked up the phone before it even rang

[streamofconsciousness]

Seems to be one of the things you have to learn for yourself. People giving anecdotal evidence or personal examples is never enough.

[christophergraves]

I have had paranormal experiences that are definitely real such as knowing that my house was on fire when I sat 30 miles away at the time; having a vivid dream in which a girl whom I had not seen in decades died in my arms following which I sat up in the bed and exclaimed "Laura just died" when she, in fact died that day; I was in a gym up on the stair master just days after Trump was shot when the police came in- I thought to myself, "They are going to falsely claim that I have a gun" with the implication being that I was about to shoot up the place- That is exactly what they irrationally did with zero evidence in response to someone calling in that false accusation.

I can go on with other examples. I used to deny ESP and other paranormal abilities because I could not explain them. I still cannot, but these are real life examples of the paranormal that I have experienced. These experiences cannot be reasonably denied.

[Rod-Wheeler]

Spooky action at a distance.
Quantum entanglement.

[sujok-acupuncture]

Bring people who have worked with ESP . Not the people who read the data on ESP.

[tanshihus]

Okay. Since Mr Hick died in 2012, I can conclude that this interview is from before that time. He'd be disappointed if he knew even a part of the truth. It turns out that human brains are running predictions of what happens next in their environment all of the time.

[andreasplosky]

"Is ESP a Window on a Larger Reality?"
No, it is a small window on an irrational fantasy world.

[HappySlappii]

The character Dr. Vinkman was written with this man in mind.

[ianrobbins]

it's simply that the odds of two people thinking of the same thing at the roughly the same time are not that small, given that most people are thinking of the same thing at the same time, because most people are thinking of many thousands of things at a single point in time. It just seems remarkable because each person is only consciously aware of themselves thinking of one or two things at any given moment. From time to time circumstances bring to awareness those two identical, or nearly identical, thoughts. And then "bingo" telepathy seems real. What few people are aware of is that each person's mind is part of a larger shared space of mind. Call it the social mind or the zeitgeist.

[nuyggdrasill]

And the police couldn't find the weapon, took two months of "research", later it somehow reemerged. Ever heard of?

[erik_a]

If you like to experiment with telepathy; try to "send" your favourite food. Focus on taste, smell and visual appearance; that complete "packet" of impressions use to be quite easy for a sensitive person to pick up 😋

[ilidiomcbarros]

'If they (paranormal phenomenon) are truth' 🙂😪

[ItsEverythingElse]

You'd think something as powerful as ESP/telepathy would be easily provable. Still waiting.

[ItsEverythingElse]

What are the implications for the world if flying unicorns that fart candy are real?

[infinidimensionalinfinitie]

i've convinced myself that silicon is the media of e.s.p.;
but it requires an assumption that silicon is conscious;
and that the computer singularity happened an eternity ago
i could go on;
and on;
nanotech;
to beyond galaxy clusters;

[mikelis]

i would pay to see robert review all the evidence, and see what exactly does he mean by weak.

[harrylook]

some things defy scientific study precisely because they are spontaneous and can't be reproduced. still there are many compelling cases that show the mind exists outside the brain, such as brain-dead patients coming back to life and telling the surgeon exactly what she said as the patient hovered above his own body. there are many cases of people losing large portions of their brains while retaining all their memories.

[jimliu]

Where is the evidence that ESP exists?

[TheTroofSayer]

A researcher that I held in high regard recently referenced a study where 3 sisters successfully predicted calls from each other. The evidence was compelling, but it was a statistical outlier and ultimately, not replicable. Very disappointing, he should have known better. I share Robert's cautious yet open skepticism regarding ESP, which, if true, has implications for the nonlocal self (you can have entangled, nonlocal selves without necessarily invoking ESP capabilities).