Jules

A superb and well-researched post, with many valuable points. I'd like to make a few more, though…

Additional landmark work in the area of understanding grief was done by Dr. Eric Lindemann, who identified six "stages" of grieving during the acute grief stage that his research showed to last for 2-5 years. One of those stages is:
Pre-Occupation with the deceased (including hallucinations of seeing them or feeling their presence.)
In most cases, this feeling or connection was not long-term and brought a sense of closure to the bereaved.

'hallucinations of seeing them' is the key phrase here - they are not real. The problem is when these 'closure' experiences are claimed as experiences of a real person, not simply a loving hallucination.

"What difference does it make?" you might ask. I shall try to expand below.

As Ravi loves to say-"the understanding of something does not make it excusable". Nor am I advocating for the mediums in any way- in fact- it makes them all the more responsible as any who have done their homework would know that this experience is common and marketable.

I do indeed love to use words to that effect - an explanation for behaviour is not the same as claiming it is morally acceptable - is ain't ought. I could launch into a diatribe on the apparent equivalence of money and morality, particularly in the US, but I shall, on this occasion, refrain.

However, for the people who have these experiences, it is important for skeptics to realize that as,Juliet explained, the experience is a completely subjective one. And as shown, it may be one that brings closure and a sense of peace.

All experience and perception is subjective. In our analysis, though, it is important to ensure we understand the distinction between the subjective and the objective, just as it is important to understand the difference between fantasy and reality (the two situations are very similar). We cannot simply stand back and watch a boy decide he is going to be Superman, don his cape, and 'fly' out of a 20th storey window, no matter how storngly the subjective experience he has.

It is not for us to judge those who need this experience and/or believe in it- nor those who guide them in these experiences and support them ( as long as they are not profiting by misleading or tricking them). 

The 'need' for a period of grief, the need for 'closure', the 'need' for communal assistance are all well known, and, I hope, well regarded by sceptics too. The need to claim, however, that these subjective phantasms have a real existence, is not one we watch being made and stand idly by. See below.

This is the slant that most skeptics do not take in their zealous efforts to protect those who believe from charlatans and those who would profit from other's grief- that the actual belief is not the foe- for many it is the path to healing.

True, most sceptics can seem incredibly abrasive for those who simply want comfort for a grievous emotional wound. We don't seem to help the healing by saying "He isn't still living somewhere. He's gone forever." and so on. But there is an important principle at stake here. And, just as importantly, it has real world repercussions for all of us.

The principle is simply this - that it is wrong to encourage the belief that 'in the mind' is the same as 'in reality'. In reality is bricks and stones and air. In the mind is imagination. You may be able to imagine bricks and stones and air, but you cannot build a house to live in with one, shatter a glass window with the other, or breathe the third.

The practical ramifications are important too. You noted that there were strong correlations between ESP and ADC, for instance. It is this set of correlations that allows subscribers to one set of ideas to support those who subscribe to a different but close set. When they get together, they form a voting bloc. When they vote, they help elect GWB. 'Nuff said? Basically, all forms of fanaticism and intolerance tend to stem form an inability to accept that the subjective is merely that, and cannot be imposed upon the world. I have met few para-normalists who are prepared to leave the world alone.

cheer

the sunshine warrior

ps Just for example: what did the bereaved do before those two American sisters had invented mediumship? ADCs are not the only way to cope with grief...

Jules Responds to Shanks

shanks