This book revolves around the idea that one does not have to be a scientist in order to use and appreciate the scientific method. The author, Carl Sagan uses the scientific method to debunk the very thought of demons, myths, gods, devils, and strange obsessions to the supernatural that he believes plagues humanity. Scientists explain this behavior in humans as an intellectual curiosity towards science, however it is pseudoscience. Pseudoscience is a collection of beliefs mistakenly regarded as being based on the scientific method. From this scientists have also come up with an art which they like to call the art of baloney detection. Sagan uses this throughout his book to debunk theories that many people in this society tend to believe, and …show more content…
In the chapter titled The Demon-Haunted World, Sagan explores this belief that has been around for thousands of years. The belief in demons was very widespread in the ancient world and were usually thought of as natural beings rather than supernatural beings. Plato’s Symposium states “everything demonic is intermediate between God and mortal, that God has no contact with man” (Sagan, p. 115). “Only through the demonic is there intercourse and conversation between man and gods, whether in the waking state or during sleep” (Sagan, p. 115). Platonists and Neoplatonists grasped this and used it to powerfully influence Christian philosophy that held the belief that some demons were good while others were evil. Later on Aristotle considered the contention that dreams were scripted by demons and Plutarch and Porphyry proposed that demons who filled the upper air came from the moon. As time passed, early Church Fathers were anxious to separate themselves from the pagan belief system and taught that the pagan religion consisted of worshipping demons and men resulting in a misconstruction of gods. Other supernatural beings such as witches, fairies, devils and ghosts materialized from these past beliefs. There are accounts in which people discuss their experiences with supernatural beings within their own home. Many people claim to being tormented and terrified by these supernatural beings. These …show more content…
For some people however, the distinction between imagination and memory is often blurred. Many people will undergo hypnosis as an attempt to refresh their memories. People do not understand that hypnosis is an unreliable way to relive memories because it often inflicts imagination and fantasy as well as playing true events simultaneously. This occurrence often makes it difficult for the therapist and the patient to distinguish between true events or false events formulated from the imagination. This ultimately means that memories can be contaminated mainly for those who do not consider themselves vulnerable and uncritical. “In science the theories are always being reassessed and confronted with new facts; if the facts are seriously discordant - beyond the error bars - the theory may have to be revised” (Sagan, p.141). Hypnosis cannot serve as evidence, therefore, it has no place within the scientific theory due to the inconsistencies planted within the observations that would cause the theory to constantly change. However, theories due tend to change over time but in this case hypnosis is such a large grey area that it cannot be
In conclusion, memory errors can be made by the retrieval stage of memory. The false memory syndrome and coerced confessions can take place in this stage. Both of these concepts can be unconscious
Gould’s attempt at explaining how this type of hypnosis occurs began at first comparing two sides of a certain word. He started by using the word ‘Certainty; one definition is that certainty is warm, provides peace, and security. The other definition is that certainty is also threat; “ certainty is also a great danger...how
1. Video “Here Be Dragons” by Brian Dunning (4/15/14) is a fresh and critical overlook on the huge variety of so called “dragons” which exist in abundance even in our civilized society. This video promotes critical thinking and demonstrates the “red flags” that one has to look out for in order to detect pseudosciences. A pseudoscience is an idea that claims to be real but is not backed by any real science or evidence. For instance, hair analysis, feng shui, psychokinesis, homeopathy, numerology, aura analysis, the list could go on forever. The warning signs for such “sciences” are - appeal to authority, ancient wisdom, confirmation bias, confuse correlation with causation, red herring, proof by verbosity, mystical energy, suppression by authority, all natural and ideological support. The one “red flag” I have always been skeptical about and this video confirmed it for me is “appeal to authority”. It is hard for me to understand how people actually trust advertisements that are simply screaming “we are specialists, look at our white lab coats and and all the certificates and the celebrities that support our product”. It is simply pathetic. As Brian says - “Good science presents good data, it does not aim to impress”. However, the one “red flag” that I have to be careful about myself is confusing correlation with causation. It is the natural human tendency to assume that, if two events or phenomena consistently occur at about the same time, then one is the cause of the other. Our weakness for this tactic is often exploited by scammers and bogus scientists when they want to persuade us that a relationship exists between two variables without providing supporting evidence. In order to secure ourselves from falling for all the nonsense...
Books that promote pseudoscience are often popular and profitable. Much less marketable are those books which promote skepticism (Nickell 106). The underlying theme in the first part of Carl Sagan's book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark is that there can be overwhelming harmful effects if science is not used as a way to observe that which is not completely understood. This means that people should study everything objectively and let popular beliefs interfere when drawing their conclusions. In the last part of the book Sagan emphasizes that education is a tool which is much too rarely utilized (Sagan 351).
Although hypnosis might produce increased recall, it also produces more error; quantity doesn't always mean. quality in this case, he said. Through hypnosis it is easy for the interrogator. to implant false information into the mind of the eyewitness. In this way, again memory can be distorted.
In addition, some argue that the recovery of repressed memories during psychotherapy might be a result of suggestive practices employed by the therapist (Madill & Holch, 2004). This has raised questions among scholars who have suggested that the creation of false memories is plausible, especially if repressed memories have been recovered in therapy where suggestive techniques, such as hypnosis, have been used by the therapist in treatment. Ms. Jaynor stated that after experiencing symptoms of depression and low self-esteem, she decided to seek help and started therapy to treat her symptoms. Ms. Jaynor mentioned to therapist Janet Balderston that she did not recall any traumatic experiences as a child. Memories of her childhood were not clear but she remembered it as being average, neither terrible nor extremely happy. Ms. Jaynor’s therapist suggested hypnosis and dream interpretation as part of treatment since Cindy’s description of her childhood was typical of a person who suffered from
First, it is important to understand past experiences from the perspective of Helga Ryan, an inductor of hypnosis. One of her many articles describes how on a spiritual level, we hold the energy of our past experiences and memories in every cell we are made of. Because of this, we are constantly forced to relive these memories and be reintroduced to the energies associated with them (1). Although Ryan tends to focus more on her practice and its psychological benefits, she very clearly and openly describes that our past does indeed affect our future. In fact, her entire practice is based on this principle as she makes a living through helping people heal the negative feelings people experience from their past. This basis of
Franz Anton Mesmer, a German physician in the 1700s is said to have brought animal magnetism (hypnosis) to light. However, since many people were beginning to seek out Mesmer and his fellow colleagues, King Louis of France at the time asked Benjamin Franklin and others to delve deeper into this new practice. Which led to a setback into hypnotism, brought on by the brought to light doubt surrounding this new found practice, as being a medically beneficial method. The full acceptance of hypnosis in medicine did not come about until 1847 and in 1958 the American Medical Association (AMA) approved and published a 2-year study written by the Council on Mental Health. In the report it stated that there could be, “definite and proper uses of hypnosis in medical and dental practice and the establishment of necessary training facilities in the United States” (James, 2008). Some of the multiple t...
In today’s world there are always people trying to come up with a new way to explain something. There will always be people trying to pedal a new product or story about an innovative new way to look at things. Some of these ideas will really be ground-breaking, but many of these will be false ideas. Many of them will just be honest mistakes, but just as many will be ideas from people trying to trick other people. Carl Sagan recognizes this and writes about it in his article The Fine Art of Baloney Detection. Within it he describes how he has been vulnerable himself wanting to believe things that people have told him that didn’t seem true, but was what he wanted to hear. He then goes on to talk about how people need to be skeptical about what they are told/read. He has developed a system using the scientific which he calls “Tools for Skeptical Thinking.” These are things that people can do when evaluating a situation or idea to check for “baloney.” I have picked six of these tools to explain in further detail.
Most doctors at the time treated hysteria as a physical illness, except Breuer and Freud. Freud and Breuer had a patient named “Anna O.” who they used hypnosis to treat. They published their findings in Studies in Hysteria, which talked about hypnosis to treat hysteria. In the case of Anna O., her symptoms were relieved after her hypnosis sessions. After disclosing information about her father’s death during hypnosis, Anna O. was able to feel her arm again and speak, which she wasn’t able to do previously. Freud’s work using hypnosis helped him understand the power of unconscious influences on behavior (Burger
The author uses supposedly technical words that prove how people can be easily tricked into believing what they hear from scientific experts is always true. The developer of the product, “Magna Soles”, uses words like “magnetism” and “biomagnetic field” to describe the product, and persuade the consumers that the product is effective; however the words aren’t being used accurately. In addition, MagnaSoles employed a new brand of “pseudoscience known as Terranometry” created by Dr. Wayne Frankel, the word “pseudoscience” simply means, practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method. Which emphasizes how companies reach out to people’s ignorance and stupidity in order to persuade them into purchasing the product without any accurate evidence. Lastly, Dr. Wayne Frankel uses “scientific” words named after himself to make MagnaSoles seem accurate. By using words like “Kilofrankels” illustrates the irony, by creating a unit of measure simply named after the founder of Terranometry, which has nothing to do with MagnaSoles. This Market strategy is very affective because it allows the pro...
Garry, M., & Palaschek, D. L. (2000). Imagination and Memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 6-9.
Starting in chapter twenty-three until the final chapter, twenty- seven, Stoker mentions small, yet significant details that have a great influence on the outcome of the hypnosis. These small details illustrate how Stoker researched and understood how hypnosis worked and its final outcome. Analyzing these small details can hel...
Bartlett’s “War of the Ghosts” experiment (1932) is a classic example of false memories. The results of his study found participants would unintentionally alter the information of a story they read in a way that was more reflective of their own lives. Otagaar, et.al. (2013) examined false memories by developing non-believed memories in adults and children about taking a ride in a hot air balloon. The results of this study found that when the participants were asked immediately after reading a passage about this memory, most did not recall going on a hot air balloon. However, when the participants were called back a few months later, a higher percentage of participants recalled having experienc...
In the article, the author reveals his passion for science began at an early age becoming curious to learning how things work, and as an adult qualified the gratification you receive from its understanding when he states “Doing science is still among my chief pleasures” (Sagan 2). Throughout the article, Sagan reiterates his passion for science while he explains the disconnect in today’s democratic American society due to the movement away from science and into an information and service economy. The author argues from the point of view of how children and adults who do not understand science could be detrimental to society because people are less knowledgeable about the world and have the inability to find new ideas. In a plea, the author explains “…how gratifying it is when we get it…” Sagan’s article in the Washington Post directly aligns with the interest and passion with our protagonist, Victor Frankenstein who says “I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasure know too few besides myself” (Shelley 22). Frankenstein describes his passion to learn the secrets to which nature holds for the purpose of rewards of discovery. And Sagan just like Frankenstein indicates “When you’re in love, you want to tell the world ” and”when we understand and put this knowledge to use, many feel, if not a wild exhilaration, a least a deep satisfaction” (Sagan 3). Although science is not absolute with a definitive answer it is important to collaborate with others thus roping them into thinking about how science integrates into their lives instead of maintain isolation giving no room for