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Are psychics real? Are psychics real?
Yes, psychics are real Yes, psychics are real
No, psychics are not real No, psychics are not real
Clients have claimed that their experiences were real Clients have claimed that their experiences were real
Psychics possess ESP Psychics possess ESP
The CIA reportedly funded a psychic-based program The CIA reportedly funded a psychic-based program
Psychic predictions are intuition-based Psychic predictions are intuition-based
Psychics use various methods to gain information about clients Psychics use various methods to gain information about clients
Customers are desperate for someone to talk to Customers are desperate for someone to talk to
There is no scientific evidence backing psychics There is no scientific evidence backing psychics
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Are psychics real?
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No, psychics are not real

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There is no scientific evidence backing psychics

The work carried out by psychics is not rooted in science, so psychics are not real. After conducting numerous research studies, scientists at both Berkeley and Harvard could not find any scientific evidence to support the validity of psychic powers.
Psychics
Paul Thagard
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The Argument

Although there have been many studies exploring the ideas that psychics are rooted in, none have come up with any scientific evidence for it. In many studies carried out by scientists at Berkeley, the result of their experiments showed that "...receivers [weren't] particularly accurate in these experiments; no evidence of mind reading or any other sort of ESP [was] found."[1] In multiple studies carried out by Harvard's School of Psychology, a test based in neuro-imaging found no support for the claims of participants having ESP.[2] Whilst there may be certain support to the claim that seeing isn't always believing, there is no scientific basis for psychics and their abilities. What they claim to be able to do cannot be supported factually.

Counter arguments

Perhaps the psychic ability is beyond science. Perhaps ESP and the predictions of the future are just phenomena that cannot be understood by scientists, and cannot be proved in a lab or a test tube.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] There is no scientific evidence backing psychics. [P2] What they claim to be able to do cannot be real.

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/esp
  2. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2008/01/neuroimaging-fails-to-demonstrate-esp-is-real/
This page was last edited on Wednesday, 11 Nov 2020 at 15:17 UTC

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