Philosoraptor Poll: Please Help!
Don't try to overthink this one, just give me your honest, relatively pre-theoretic judgments about the following question:
Is it possible to conduct scientific investigations into allegedly supernatural phenomena, e.g. ESP and ghosts? For example, is it possible to scientifically investigate the efficacy of prayer?
You'll make me very happy if you answer this with a comment and stick to just 'yes' or 'no' for right now. Or 'y' or 'n' if your [or even you're] in that big a hurry...
Don't try to overthink this one, just give me your honest, relatively pre-theoretic judgments about the following question:
Is it possible to conduct scientific investigations into allegedly supernatural phenomena, e.g. ESP and ghosts? For example, is it possible to scientifically investigate the efficacy of prayer?
You'll make me very happy if you answer this with a comment and stick to just 'yes' or 'no' for right now. Or 'y' or 'n' if your [or even you're] in that big a hurry...
posted by Winston Smith at
3:59 PM
21 Comments:
y
yes
y
"Q" the Enchanter
...your...?
ehh, yes. - dr rilkefan
Yes.
Yes, if they behave consistently.
Yes
[albeit one needs to be *very* conscientious about what exactly one's measuring and what exactly one's results mean]
yes....science can be applied to every facet of life
(sorry..........had to extrapilate)
yes....science can be applied to every facet of life
Well, by definition, if it is in fact supernatural, then it is not amenable to scientific investigation. I would say that purportedly supernatural effects may be amenable to the scientific method.
yes
yes
(can't resist) all real phenonmom are materialistic (assume so) all materialstic phenonom are testable/observable
Yes
I realize I didn't read the question carefully enough. It presupposes that things like the efficacy of prayer, ghosts, ESP are supernatural - or beyond natural and thus cannot be answered by science.
In that case my answer is NO, please change from the previous post.
Yes.
yes.
Yes
or
It depends
Yes
Yes, but not in a way that a falsification will satisfy believers. They'll still believe that the Shroud of Turin is a holy relic.
Yes. And James Randi will gladly design the experiment.
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