Statement Of Purpose: The Skeptical Believer

Why I Do Not Believe in PSI: The Skeptical Believer

The field of parapsychology (also known as Psi) is, according to The Rhine Institute, “the scientific study of interactions between living organisms and their external environment that seem to transcend the known physical laws of nature” (Rhine, 2014). More broadly, it is often considered the study of consciousness, the mind, and the paranormal. One of the oldest forms of paranormal study, Parapsychology studies and monitors the science that extends far beyond psychology and into the realm of the strange and often unexplainable phenomena not yet recognized by general science. These phenomena, as discussed by Texas Christian University’s Dr. Timothy Barth, include telepathy, clairvoyance,

I know I am skeptical when it comes to a variety of phenomena and often scoff at them or brush them off. That is one of the many reasons in which I enrolled in this course; as a tool to believe and prove to myself that maybe it is more than a ruse. However, I have yet to study anything that has led me towards my desired goal, to believe. That alone has led me to be a lifelong skeptic. Learning more about these phenomena and more about the field of study might help me understand. Not that I am hoping to find out if I can see the future. But this education might help me decipher these things I call ‘coincidences’. Even what little phenomena I have studied so far hasn’t done much for my wanting to believe.

One of the first phenomena that prevent me from thinking PSI is real and making me a believer is that of Psychokinesis (PK). According to Barth (2014) PK is a phenomenon that revolves around controlling physical objects with one’s mind without having contact with them. It is stated that this practice goes back hundreds of years and was a common study of many Parapsychologists in the 19th and 20th centuries. Even today it is common to come across those who believe in PK and often practice this strange

According to researcher Louisa B.Rhine, a psychic experience “is the kind of occurrence in which knowledge seems to come without the use of the senses. People generally keep in touch with the world around them by sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. But occasionally a person [may] became aware of something when none of these channels operated, and then the argument begins. How? Such debatable occurrences could be instances of extrasensory perception, or ESP” (Rhine, 2014).
Generally speaking, a Psychic Experience is when one perceives objects or events beyond the range of the ordinary senses in the form of dreams, impressions, or