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SKEPTICS:
TECHNICAL REASONS WHY SKEPTICS REMAIN STUBBORN:
A LAWYER ON
‘STUBBORN SKEPTICS’
By
Retired attorney Victor Zammit
After
26 years of dealing with all kinds of skeptics of the paranormal,
I can relate to  you
there are at least nine reasons why closed minded skeptics
tend to remain stubborn about their skeptical beliefs –
and why some of them unreasonably attack those who scientifically
and empirically investigate evidence for the paranormal
.
Of course,
the nine reasons below can apply to any person who inflexibly
holds strict subjective, personal beliefs. The nine reasons
could equally apply to any Fundamentalist – religious
or secular.
My experience with closed minded skeptics is that they do
not investigate the evidence. Basically, they completely
reject any information which is not consistent with their
own cherished skeptical beliefs - even if it is scientifically
supported.
My experience also tells me that these closed minded skeptics
do not have skills, competence and the ability to perceive
the paranormal with true empirical equanimity - in an objective,
scientific balanced way:
1.
‘RATIONALIZATION THROUGH COGNITIVE DISSONANCE’:
‘Cognitive dissonance’ is a
term used by psychologists to describe the discomfort that
arises when people are confronted with information fundamentally
inconsistent with their beliefs. When a materialist is confronted
with highly persuasive evidence for the paranormal-afterlife
the materialist will deny it has any validity. This is because
the evidence will elicit anxiety, increase his blood pressure,
sweat etc. Denial will follow. The materialist will become
angry, hostile and even aggressive. He will try to reduce
anxiety by rationalizing his beliefs and going into extreme
DENIAL.
2.
‘CATHEXIS’:
This is another term in psychology which explains that some
people may have a very powerful – usually unconscious
super-glue connection with an idea or a thing. Applied to
the skeptics this is where a class of skeptics are ‘cathexed’
to closed minded skepticism. Because the connection is powerful
and unconscious, they will attack their source of anxiety
– the person who puts forward the evidence for the
paranormal. So, one cannot use logic, science or repeatable
and objective evidence to try to reverse their cathexis.
3.
NEUROLINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING (NLP) states
that when these skeptics are confronted with information
which is fundamentally inconsistent with their own deeply
cherished beliefs, the mind of the skeptic will DELETE that
information. This is because the new information will give
a great deal of anxiety to the skeptic. As with ‘cognitive
dissonance’ above, the skeptic will experience anxiety,
disturbance of his ‘comfort zone’. This accounts
for the skeptic going into complete DENIAL. The more aggressive
skeptics will even cheat, mislead and lie about the real
situation.
4.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMMING – ‘environment
determines perception’: there is a saying that by
and large, the environment you were born in will shape how
you will see the world. If a Western skeptic from New York
was born in India, more likely than not the skeptic would
be a Hindu. If born to a radical, extremist Islamic family,
the skeptic would be a Moslem. If born to an orthodox Jewish
family, the skeptic would be an orthodox Jew. One needs
to have skills to rise above environmental conditioning
and programming.
5. BRAIN-EXPLANATION FOR 'CLOSED
SKEPTICISM': Here is another explanation
for the stubbornness of closed- minded skeptics. It's the
biological argument for closed-skepticism. When you have
a rigid belief system the neurons in the brain fire in a
certain defined network. So if information (e.g. afterlife
evidence) comes into the brain and contradicts the rigid
belief system (skepticism) those neural pathways will fire
in the same old way and will not de-code the new information.
It’s just like a filter. It's only when the skeptic
has a dramatic experience that a new neural pathway is established
and the old one gradually falls into disuse. Belief systems
are fundamental to filtering reality.
6.
PRIMARY MOTIVATION: MONEY, POWER, STATUS - AND A JOB.
There is also a minority who chooses to be closed minded skeptic
for career advancement and/ or to make money, to attain influence
and celebrity. Also, if they are scientists, they want to
job to work in science. Traditionally funding is done by big
corporations - and goes only to those scientists and researchers
who have the potential to increase the profits of big business.
For example, you may get a scientist who will reject the paranormal
because he/she can get funding for opposing the paranormal.
The history of funding shows that. These scientists-come skeptics
will never listen to logic, to science, to intelligent reasoning.
They can’t move from their position because they would
lose money, power, status and their job in science. Remember
those scientists and medical doctors we saw in glossy magazines
in the U.S. and on television stating that as scientists they
stated words to the effect that smoking is good, healthy for
you? Or those scientists who stated that certain pharmaceutical
drugs are healthy for you when subsequently it was shown these
drugs must have killed hundreds - even thousands of people
- a drug like vioxx?
7. THE
'SMORGASBORD ARGUMENT': Professor Stephen
Hawking, the astronomer, is most notorious for using this
'SMORGASBORD' argument - picking and using only the information
that substantiates his own negative prejudices. This closed
-minded skeptical professor does not know that in a court-room
situation his 'smorgasbord argument' would be torn to shreds.
Why? Because he would be cross-examined on the critical, most
vital evidence that he deletes - that fundamentally contradicts
his deeply entrenched negative prejudices. This closed-skeptical
scientist makes a huge error thinking that he is an expert
in law as well. Wrong! A litigation lawyer has exclusive technical
knowledge of what is relevant, what is evidentiary what is
essential admissible evidence - certainly not an astronomer!
8. 'HYPNOTIC EFFECT':
those skeptics who are blatantly irrational, illogical and
unreasonable about the paranormal or the afterlife evidence
could be suffering from a powerful negative 'hypnotic effect.'
Some years ago I sent clear, easily identifiable afterlife
evidence to rebut to a couple of hard-line skeptics. Their
reply was, "where is the evidence?". Yet
non-aligned scientists easily identified the same evidence
sent to them. It is possible that skeptics at one time in
their life experienced a 'parallel hypnotic directive' to
encumber their mind that there is no afterlife or paranormal
evidence. This is exactly what happens when we see hypnotists
on stage tell a couple of our friends who volunteer to be
hypnotized on stage - when tranced are told that they will
be eating an apple. But the hypnotist gave them an onion to
eat, NOT an apple. The hypnotized subjects COULD NOT IDENTIFY
THE EVIDENCE and refused to believe they each ate an onion!
Even after when they were taken out of the hypnotic state
- all subjects stated 'the apple was really delicious'
- as was directed by the hypnotist for the subjects to
believe even when they were put out of trance.
9. 'Being Spiritually Retarded':
first, there is no link between
intelligence and being spiritual -( notice I said 'spiritual'
NOT 'religious.') An atheist could be 'spiritual' (or highly
ethical) when he-she does voluntary work for the benefit of
others without a thought of making some kind of profit for
him/herself. But there is a class of closed minded skeptics
who may be highly intelligent but are spiritually retarded
- meaning they have not reached a stage in life where they
can perform 'secular' spiritual work for the benefit of others
- a kind of selfless service. Nor can they objectively identify
legitimate afterlife evidence.
Victor Zammit November 2011
A LAWYER PRESENTS THE EVIDENCE FOR THE AFTERLIFE
http://www.victorzammit.com/
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