        |
Previous
Page
Back
to Table of Contents
Next
Page
Debunking
PseudoSkeptical Arguments of Paranormal
Debunkers
Foreword by Victor Zammit
This is the
definitive book
on pseudo-skepticism. What author Winston Wu has to tell the world will
have a
huge effect on how we deal with invalid objections to evidence for the
paranormal and other unconventional phenomena. It will be a memorable
and
lasting contribution that will never date.
Winston undoubtedly has shown that he has authority
on pseudo-skepticism. I have known Winston for many years and can
attest to the
skill and endurance with which he has gone into combat with those who
try to
debunk the paranormal. He has deliberately provoked and prodded - and
has had
thrown at him every unfair, unreasonable and deceptive argument that
they could
come up with. I know well the intensity of the attacks because those
who
attacked Winston attacked me as well.
But those attacks were not analytical – they were descriptive and
did not rebut
the evidence. In this book Winston takes the throw away lines, the
“red
herrings” and logical fallacies frequently used by the
pseudo-skeptic and
systematically shows why they are not valid. His contribution is one
that
transcends subjectivity, prejudices and bias and appeals to value-free
objectivity
and repeatability – two ingredients that are most fundamental
when testing the
paranormal for validity.
Winston shows
– and I totally
agree with him – that his critics do not have the skills, the
capacity and the
ability to perceive objective evidence with true empirical equanimity.
He
points out that open minded skeptics – the true, genuine
‘skeptics’ – initially
doubt any proposition made. By being open minded, they can discriminate
between
objective, repeatable evidence and anecdotal or subjective evidence,
and are
willing to put aside their skepticism when the evidence supports the
hypothesis. Winston is an open-minded
skeptic, as I am, and
as most normal people and scientists are too.
But there is also a class of skeptics that Winston calls
pseudo-skeptics who
will never accept any evidence for
the paranormal, no matter how objective, and no matter how repeatable
it is. They
are relatively few in number, but they do make a lot of noise and their
role
has been to aggressively and willfully misdirect, mislead and confuse
the
public about legitimate unconventional research in areas such as the
paranormal.
Winston makes the point that these pseudo-skeptics’ minds
generalize other
things as well: conspiracies are never investigated by them; miraculous
healings
attested to by physicians are never investigated.
Those who have
studied Winston’s
work in the past know already how meticulous he has been in dealing
with every
objection the pseudo-skeptics make. His approach is extremely logical,
thorough
and compatible with courtroom science. Whilst the pseudo-skeptics will
never allow
their unsupported subjective beliefs to be subjected to litigation type
cross-examination,
Winston Wu’s arguments would pass all legitimate tests.
Those of us interested in unconventional phenomena and the paranormal
– i.e. paranormal
investigators, afterlife empirical- investigators, mediums, psychics,
those who
use their services and others – will find this book invaluable.
It provides
irrefutable arguments that can be used to counter unfair attacks by the
ill-informed and the debunker, and shows that unconventional knowledge
and the
paranormal do have a legitimate place in our lives.
Sincerely,
Victor Zammit
Retired Attorney
and Author
of A Lawyer Presents the Case for the
Afterlife
Previous
Page
Back
to Table of Contents
Next
Page