Paul Smith wrote:
> People apparently find it very easy to believe in all sorts of
> magical powers, universal cures (ever really look at the lists of
claims for
> those herbal supplements?), and religious miracles. Surely the belief
is not
> the product of the very meager real-world evidence. One would expect
these
> to be the kind of exceptional claims that require exceptional
evidence, but
> they're treated almost as though the burden of evidence is in the
other
> direction.
And Ken Steele agreed:
> Paul brings up a point that I have wondered about, surely there
> is little real-world experience supporting the belief in magical
> powers and outcomes.
In thinking about the origins of human belief systems focused on the
existence of a transcendental world of unseen entities and forces, I
began to question the premise that there is little "real-world" evidence
or experience of such a realm. In fact, it seems to me that our most
fundamental experience of ourselves gives a vast amount of support to
the claim that a supernatural world is the provenance of the natural
one. Our experience of ourselves is that of a consciousness that feels
separate from our bodies and from the rest of the natural world. It
feels as if we make decisions independently of any determinants in the
natural world (i.e., we feel as if we have free will). Although our
thoughts and emotions are affected by what happens to our bodies, it
still feels as if the mind somehow is independent of these happenings.
One might explain these experiences by arguing that they are conditioned
by cultural conceptions of the self; but, for our students (and for us,
too), that doesn't remove the visceral power of the experiences nor does
it explain why such conceptions seem so self-evident. The mind is
experienced as supernatural (by even a naturalist such as myself). It
takes years of intellectual labor to begin to see that such an
experience is not necessarily good evidence for conceiving the mind as
supernatural. Even then, it often is difficult to bring this view into
our everyday dealings with others.
If this analysis is adequate, it has very important implications for how
we approach the teaching of psychology to undergraduates. But I really
need to get to class. So, let's talk later.
Jeff
--
Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213
9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (480) 423-6298
Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626
"The truth is rare and never simple."
Oscar Wilde
"Instead of having 'answers' on a test, they should just call
them 'impressions'. And, if you got a different 'impression',
so what? Can't we all be brothers?"
Jack Handey
