Mediums: Allies of Science in the Search for Consciousness
Upcoming Talks
Mediumship directly contradicts the current scientific paradigm that consciousness is an emergent property of the brain.
One of us is right. But who?
Is it science, or is it mediums?
On Thursday 15th September at 7.30pm BST, the Scottish Society for Psychical Research has invited me to give a talk entitled:
Mediums: Allies of Science in the Search for Consciousness
Synopsis:
Just how effective are mental mediumship readings at proving survival of consciousness after death? Can mental mediumship sittings be resilient against the harshest of criticisms, and demonstrate something authentic - something worth taking seriously - at their core?
I am a medium with two decades experience in private sittings and public demonstrations. In this critical analysis, I will take the strongest possible skeptical stance and attempt to debunk two of my own sittings.
I will begin with the assumption that the instances of accurate information in my sittings are caused by accidental or intentional tricks and illusions, and can be explained away neatly by non-parapsychological, everyday causes.
I will then explore alternative parapsychological explanations; namely, the criticism that the impression of a spirit communicator is only synthesized from various kinds of psi between the ‘medium’ and sitter/s. Since no spirit communicator is necessary to account for the information, the information does not prove a spirit communicator, no matter how accurate it may be.
Can any aspects of these sittings survive the onslaught to show the presence of a spirit communicator? And if so, what clues can be gleaned about the afterlife, the properties of consciousness, and the true nature of human connection?
This talk will dive deeper into the ideas in my BICS essay.
It is taking place in-person, in Glasgow, and you can attend online. Details and tickets can be found at the following link:
On Tuesday 11th October, at 7.30pm BST, I’m giving a similar lecture for the Arthur Conan Doyle Centre’s Tuesday Talk series. This talk is happening online only so you can attend from the comfort of your home, wherever in the world you are.
I will discuss:
How mediums can assist science in the search for the true properties of consciousness.
Whether or not two of my own readings can withstand alternative explanations to show that there is, indeed, a spirit communicator ‘there’ in a sitting.
How ‘psi’ is an insufficient explanation for the data of mediumship. And why psi, as a category, is an illusion.
The experiment I wish science would do on me and other mediums.
Tap the button below for tickets and further information.
I look forward to seeing you there.