PSYC 3240 Lecture 9: Psychology of Anomalous Experience
15 Apr 2017
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Even if there is no such thing as esp or other paranormal process, we will still experience what seems to be esp, etc because of the way our brains work. So, having such an experience is not, on its own, evidence for esp. Science emerged when theory began to be tested against data copernicus: the key notion: we need data. Untested theory may be false or misleading; Yet, without theory, we have nothing to guide us in gathering data, and nothing to test by comparison with data. Positivism - the philosophical system of auguste comte. In 1930s and 40s, science was dominated by an overly simplistic positivist view. Recognizes only positive facts and observable phenomena. Avoids explanations of why things happen, of purpose. Especially avoids reference to religious, superstitious causality. Popper argued that theories must be capable of being falsified. No one has really succeeded in demarcating science from pseudoscience.
