Felix E. Planer. Superstition. Cassell, 1980.
🔻
These two books take radically different sceptical approaches to psi and related 'paranormalisms'. Marks and Kammann have re-examined the Stanford Research Institute studies on remote viewing with Pat Price and have found serious methodological errors. They also attempted to duplicate these claims using a tighter methodology, with negative results . A major part of the book is devoted to Uri Geller, and leaves little doubt that during his New Zealand visit, at least, he was no more than a conjurer. The authors differ from some other Geller debunkers in being willing to specify just how he performed his tricks.
The authors also discuss the stage mentalist Kreskin, who however has never been regarded as anything other than an illusionist by parapsychologists. It is when they try to generalise from these examples to the wider parapsychological field that they become rather unstuck, quoting C E Hansell as gospel , without seemingly being aware that his critiques were strenuously rebutted at the time . But it is refreshing to see that Marks and Kammann also apply their critique to other, more conventional ideas in science.
Planer 's book is the sort of thing that gets 'rationalism' a bad name. Superstition is best defined as 'beliefs held or actions performed out of habit without knowing the reason for the belief or action'. Planer's definition is 'a belief affording the relief of an anxiety by means of an irrational notion' (my emphasis) . Definitions of what is rational are purely subjective, and almost any belief is regarded as capable of demonstration by argument or experience by the believer. So one is back to a definition of rational as equivalent to the western scientific consensus.
In fact, Planer 's thunderous polemic against every world-view apart from his own is a monumental fabrication of antiquated prejudices which rarely rise above the intellectual level of Alf Garnett (Archie Bunker to our American readers). Many of the typical features of pseudo-science are displayed: argument by authority; the use of old and discredited theories (Sir James Fraser is his major anthropological authority, despite the fact that he is utterly discredited); emotional appeals; appeals to 'common-sense'; drastic over-generalisations and numerous factual errors. All to prove that everyone , apart from members of the White Anglo-Saxon Atheist Elite is just a bunch of pig-ignorant savages and peasants. Which is just about the biggest, silliest, and most dangerous superstition of them all!
- Peter Rogerson, from Magonia 6, 1981.
No comments:
Post a Comment