There seems to be a wide interest into whether or not that extrasensory perception or ESP exists or not. But what exactly is ESP? Let’s first answer that question. ESP is a sensory process that is separated from the senses of sight, sound, taste, hearing and touch (Carroll, Robert T., 1994-2010). It delves into the realms of clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition, and clairaudience (Carroll, Robert T., 1994-2010). What does this exactly mean? Well let’s first look at these individually and then move to the both sides of the debate. On one side of the debate there are those who claim that ESP does not exist, and on the other side there are those who claim ESP exists. Both sides also claim to have evidence. I believe that ESP may exist. I have read research on both sides of this debate and have come to the conclusion that there are things that happen in the world that we cannot fully explain. You have to ask this question, just because I can’t explain it does that mean it does not exist?
One part of ESP is telepathy. Telepathy is basically mind reading, or a direct connection between two minds in, and also direct communication between two minds (Carroll, Robert T. 1994-2010). This basically means if you have the ability to use telepathy you can look into someone’s mind and know what they are thinking and possibly be able to transmit your thoughts into their minds. You also have clairvoyance which is also called remote viewing and is the ability to see things beyond the ability of natural vision (Carroll, Robert T., 1994-2010). So, with this ability one would be able too not only predict the future but also be able to tell one what has happened in the past in vivid detail. This ability is also known as a psychic ability and one ...
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...stimuli and non ESP stimuli, and their findings were that the brain responded both in the images that they had taken (News Staff, 2008) This would also be evidence to support the opposing view point that ESP does not exist. I plan to go further in finding evidence on both sides and from there develop my opinion on the subject and then articulate that opinion.
Works Cited
News Staff, Science Blogging, Is ESP Real? Harvard Scientists Say They Have Settled The Debate, January 2008 retrieved from http://www.science20.com/news_releases/is_esp_real_harvard_scientists_say_they_have_settled_the_debate
Bem, Daryl, Feeling the Future: Experimental Evidence for
Anomalous Retroactive Influences on Cognition and Affect, retrieved from http://dbem.ws/FeelingFuture.pdf
Carrol, Robert T, Skeptics Dictionary, Esp, 1994-2010, retrieved from http://www.skepdic.com/esp.html
In this essay I outline Casey O’Callaghan’s liberal view of multimodality. I suggest that our current understanding does not justify such an extensive view on the multimodality of the senses, and I critique his stance on the prevalence of crossmodal interactions between the senses as an over interpretation of the current experimental data. I argue for a more conservative account of crossmodal interactions between the senses, and hypothesize that perception is best described in terms of distributions. To support this hypothesis, I provide evidence in the form of Jonathan Cohen’s account of synesthesia.
Three lines of evidence suggest that PVS patients are "noncognitive, nonsentient, and incapable of conscious experience [12]." First, motor and eye movement, and facial expressions in response to stimuli occur in stereotyped patterns rather than learned reactions. Second, positron emission tomography reveals cerebral glucose metabolism at a level far below those who are aware or in locked in states. PVS levels are comparable to those in deep general anesthesia and as such are totally unaware and insensate. Third, neuropathological examinations of PVS patients show "lesions so severe and diffuse [12]" that it would be almost impossible, giving our current understanding of neural an...
A methodological paradigm employed would be a combination of that outlined in (5) and (6). The use of video varying in, rated, emotional intensity would be used as the stimulus in a similar fashion as (6), the methodology would then follow that outlined in (5) [with video stimuli inserted in place of pictures]. EEG recordings would be taken while participants viewed the stimuli and, subsequently, analyzed appropriately.
...re either out of date or present controversial evidence (Grüter et al., 2008, pg. 82) (Dalrymple, 2010, pg. 2554-2555) (Rossion, 2008). The specific contributions of each structure is highly debated and continuously being researched. It is agreed upon that damage to any combination of these area is necessary and sufficient to produce facial recognition deficits (Rossion, 2008, pg. 424). Common ways to test the activity in the brain when it is processing faces is by using different event related potentials. One such ERP is the N170, which is believed to be particularly more sensitive to faces than to objects (Towler et al., 2012) (Dalrymple, 2010). However, researchers are not convinced that it actually is face specific (Earp, 2013). The p300 is used as well to test how long it takes the brain to recognize a face after being exposed (Towler et al., 2012, pg. 3588).
These two hemispheres have been thought to work independently if separated from one another. The idea that these two hemispheres of the brain can co-exist independently functioning as separate conscious minds is an interesting one. An idea that was explored in 1981 by Roger Sperry. He pioneered the study of what he called “split-brained” patients. A “split-brained” patient is a person who has had the two hemispheres of their brain disconnected to treat severe epilepsy. The left hand and eye supply data to the right hemisphere and the right hand and eye supply data to the left. In these “split-brained” patients tests were conducted to show that each half was isolated from the other. These same tests allowed the function of each half i...
Paranormal activity is manifestation that lies outside of the normal experience which can’t be proven to be real. Most people have become interested in the haunted houses and stones due to the lack of support that they are getting from the community of science. The lack of support from the community will be hard to get because most people do not believe in this. According to the unknown, “paranormal activities and sightings usually fall into categories: spirituals entities, crytids, which are organisms whose existence is told by legends and myths.” Most people think that paranormal deal with just ghost and their hauntings but it is much more than that. Paranormal phenomena are not accepted by the scientists because they feel the evidence should be required. According to Psychic Readings, "ESP stands for extra sensory perception. While clairvoyance, or seeing clearly is primarily an optional phenomenon." A clairvoyant psychic is someone who shares a vision of unseen in telling about their health or future. "Clairvoyants are people who specialize in supernatural skills," states Psychics Reading. People like this have a magical ability to see into the past, present, and future. ESP is normally addresses as the sixth sense. "The term 'ESP' was used often in 1870 by Sir Richard Burton." Psychical research does not support that everyone is born with this capability. It is said there are people who have experienced at least one ESP in their lifetime. However to Schmeidler, another theory claims that ESP is a super sense which evolves in the nervous system. From David’s perspective, “hundreds of years ago to possess the gift of clairvoyance, one was considered a witch - as unknown knowledge was 'feared' (the emotion which keeps us trappe...
Hamlin, H. "Life or Death by EEG." Journal of the Amedos. Medical A's',, 1W12/84, p. 20.
...tween actual perception and the sensations produced within our minds. It is a fallacy of ignorance to assume that there is no existence outside of the mind because we have no way of perceiving it.
Paranormal activity better known as parapsychology is a non-fictional idea. Parapsychology is the scientific study of interactions between living organisms and their external environment that seem to transcend the known physical laws of nature. (Teresi, 2000) The Society of Psychical Research was established in London in 1882 (Teresi, 2000). Major parapsychological studies had not begun appearing in mainstream scientific journals until the sixties and early seventies (Teresi, 2000).“Furthermore, groups such as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) which publishes the Skeptical Inquirer and the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) have been formed to disseminate credible information on the paranormal. Credibility should be less of a problem in the future” (Teresi, 2000).
Phenomenal consciousness: Also called P- consciousness. It cannot be defined; we can only point towards it. It is basically related to whatever is experienced by us. For example- our experience of redness(and other such qualia) come under P- consciousness. Feelings, sensations, thoughts, desires, emotions etc. also come under P- consciousness.
As previously stated, neuroimaging science and study began in the early 1900s. The “great granddaddy” of functional brain viewing is electroencephalography, or EEG, and was invented by a German researcher by the name of Hans Berger. This exceptional neurologist discovered that the electrical activity of the brain is detectable outside the head. Following Berger’s steps, a group of scientists came up with ...
Claude Messier a 24 year old student in Canadian, a professor at the school of psychology at the University of Ottawa, said after he finished a class on “Out of body experiences” one of his students admitted she could do that at will. “She came after the class and literally said ‘ I thought everybody could do that. She thought i...
With each of our senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, and hear), information is transmitted to the brain. Psychologists find it problematic to explain the processes in which the physical energy that is received by the sense organs can form the foundation of perceptual experience. Perception is not a direct mirroring of stimulus, but a compound messy pattern dependent on the simultaneous activity of neurons. Sensory inputs are somehow converted into perceptions of laptops, music, flowers, food, and cars; into sights, sounds, smells, taste ...
Following the principles of the second camp, van Fraassen offers his alternative to scientific realism. His stance is known as constructive empiricism. According to van Fraassen, “science aims to give us theories which are empirically adequate; and acceptance of a theory involves a belief only that it is true”. The quote means that a theory must fit in an observable, empirical world and its descriptions about the world must be true. In addition, the theory must also save all phenomena related to theory and not just the observable ones. Van Fraassen also mentions that the acceptance of the theory involves more than belief. It requires certain commitments that reveal a pragmatic aspect to the acceptance of a theory.