“Magical
Thinking:The Decline of Intellectualism in America”
Supper Club
Presentation by Paul Rider, November 19, 2013
General
definitions: of Magical Thinking
The identification of
causal relationships between actions and events where scientific
consensus says there is none.
The belief that one
event happens as the result of another without a plausible link of
causation between them.
Believing in things
more strongly than either evidence or experience would justify.
Clinical
definition: (from the field of
Psychology)
A belief that merely
thinking about an event in the external world can cause it to happen.
Thinking that can lead
to delusional behavior when done by someone who continues to hold a
belief that is clearly contrary to any evidence available.
All of us resort to
thinking associated with the general category on a regular basis in
our lives, and hope that we do not resort to what is described in the
clinical category. It is probably accurate say that humans have
relied on the general notions of magical thinking since our species
evolved rudimentary intellect.
Although we were
probably analytical in the early stages of human development, owing
to the advantage this provided for our survival, we were not prone to
develop what has become known as the kind of “critical thinking”
associated with modern science and its reliance on the scientific
method of inquiry that has resulted in the kind of culture in which
we found ourselves today.
I have described in
my previous talks how the phenomenon of critical thinking first
emerged through the Ionian approach in ancient Greece and re-emerged
in the Western World during and after the Renaissance and The Age of
Enlightenment in the 18th
Century.
This style of analysis
and thinking relies on acceptance of an external reality from which
an observant mind can extract information and evidence to form
predictive models about how things occur in that reality. The Ionians
were content to use observation to provide information while modern
science has developed a rigorous and stringent set of rules that
apply to not only observing but to actually tweaking the reality to
make it behave in ways that can be studied, analyzed and ultimately
described by theories and models that are predictive and useful.
So, when we contrast
“magical thinking” with “critical thinking,” we begin to
appreciate some of the controversies and conflicts that exist in our
modern culture, especially as they relate to the major areas of human
concern such as politics, economics, social responsibility and
religious beliefs and practices.
While it is an
oversimplification to suggest that people can be placed into one of
these two ways of thinking in some categorical sense, for the sake of
discussion I will suggest that each of us tends to rely more on one
of these approaches than the other in regard to how we view our
existence as it relates to our upbringing and life experiences.
The scientific
approach and its reliance on critical thinking have had a strong
appeal for me throughout most of my life. Thus, I analyze such things
as the meaning of life, particularly my own, in terms of what we can
learn about the Universe in which we live, and the planet on which we
find ourselves. How they relate to one another is a crucial matter in
unveiling the mystery of life in any meaningful way for people like
me.
Someone prone to
magical thinking may reach a level of satisfaction in accepting ideas
about the meaning of life from how they were raised as well as from
what they have seen and read in the religious and philosophical
writings of others. This may be done without the willingness or need
to subject such material to critical analysis. He or she has been
conditioned to accept ideas, with little concern about how they me
be at odds with scientific knowledge.
If there is a
contention in one’s religious views that runs contrary to
scientific fact, a decision about how to resolve this type of
conflict becomes problematic. Not being a critical thinker may make
it easier for such people to ignore such facts. In this way, they can
be described as “ignorant.”
Biological evolution
is an obvious example. President George W, Bush, when asked about his
views, stated that the “jury is still out on the validity of the
theory of biological evolution.” This level of ignorance for
someone in such a position is quite disturbing. The evidence for
genetic variation and change in species through time, driven by the
prevailing natural environment in which those species exist (i.e.
natural selection) is so well established as a scientific reality
that it is disappointing to hear magical thinkers deny it. There
isn’t any jury out there in the scientific community still
wrestling with any questions of validity. Validity isn’t based on
majority vote or acceptance, but on evidence.
Scientists have
confidence (not faith in the religious sense) that the idea of
evolution aptly describes what is going on, and has relevance in all
areas of science, including cosmic evolution. If the model fell
short, it would have been modified to account for its weaknesses, or
even discarded. Science is self-correcting and relies on confidence
derived from how well a model fits the observed behavior. This is
“contingent faith”, not “religious faith.”
The earth-centered
Universe is another example. It took two centuries to discard it,
even after convincing evidence of its fallacy was provided by Galileo
and others in the 17th
Century. That was not merely an “inconvenient truth,” but was an
“unspeakable truth,” owing to its potential to destabilize the
society of the time. Magical thinking prevailed, as it often does
Currently, the
inconvenient truth about global warming and climate change due to
human activity is running into the magical thinking of those who
simply don’t want it to believe that it is happening. This is one
of those issues that requires a more serious approach because of the
catastrophic consequences associated with it that are beginning to be
felt (the typhoon in the Philippines and the tornados in Illinois
this past week were unique events in the context of weather history
record keeping). Recently, a magically thinking Texas legislator told
a religious television host that global warming and climate change
are the consequence of God punishing humankind for the aborting of
human fetuses.
There is a significant
number of magical thinkers who contend that the earth and Universe
are 6000 years old. When challenged with the evidence to the
contrary, their magical thoughts suggest to them that God has simply
made things appear older. They, too, are ignorant.
Television commentator
Bill O’Reilly recently interviewed Richard Dawkins, the physicist
who wrote “The God Delusion.” Challenging Dawkins’ atheist
mind set, O’Reilly asserted that there must be a divine influence
in the natural world because we observe the tides to come in and go
out, and there is no natural explanation for that phenomenon. Dawkins
was so amazed that he hardly knew how to react. O’Reilly’s
ignorance of what we have known for centuries is inexcusable for
someone pretending to inform the public on important issues .
Other examples of
magical thinking are superstitious behavior, belief in ghosts**,
communicating with those who have “passed over,” healing by the
laying of hands, and rain dancing. (** EXPAND
REFERENCE WITH AN ASIDE)
One of my more
memorable professional experiences occurred in the spring of 1988
when I was chosen to testify before the Space, Science and Technology
Committee of the United States House of Representatives on the future
of science and technical education in America, as well as the need to
encourage bright young people to pursue careers in the hard sciences.
Six of us were
selected to testify, including University of Iowa space scientists
Dr. James Van Allen**, Dr. Donald Gurnett**, Dr. Louis Frank**, and
Dr. Dwight Nicholson**. The other member was Dr. Gene Wubbels from
Grinnell College who had mentored a Nobel Prize winning chemist (Tom
Chech) as an undergraduate. (**EXPAND
REFERENCES WITH ASIDES)
Our agenda was to seek
government support and public money to train technical people and
provide research funds to insure our future as the prime scientific
and technological society in the world.
I had been a “Sputnik”
scientist** and had had my advanced education paid for by fellowships
from NSF, NASA, and The AEC. I worked with Manhattan Project
scientists on rare and exotic metals research during the 1960s,
holding a top secret Q clearance. This provided me with an awareness
of how government support worked in enhancing specialty research that
had the potential for significant breakthroughs (the neodymium alloy
magnets in your cell phone is an example)
In my remarks, I urged
these leaders to not only encourage programs that were aimed at
educating bright young minds, but also to support programs that had
the broader goal of developing critical thinking skills in all
citizens. This would help us meet the challenges and opportunities in
the 21st Century
with a new generation of people who would combine creative and
rational thinking to address the needs of a growing population, an
increasing energy demand, adequate nutrition and clean water, and the
other social pressures. That was 25 years ago, before the wide-spread
internet and in the early stages of personal computer and cell phone
usage. Things really have gotten complicated since then, without much
happening to improve the situation.
What concerns me today
is the apparent decline in efforts to develop critical thinking
skills and the resurgence of magical thinking as a growing influence
in our society. I associate the concept of “intellectualism” with
rationality and critical thinking. I also recognize that some forms
of magical thinking are not a threat to intellectualism. They may
play a role in allowing discussion and learning to occur. When this
kind of thinking trumps the political, social and economic processes
that determines the directions we are taking as a society and as a
global community, there is reason to be alarmed.
China, India and
countries in Europe and South America are turning out many more
scientific and technical students than we are. It is only a matter of
time before we become a follower, and not a leader. We still win more
than our share of Nobel Prizes, but that will not continue unless we
are willing to enhance our support the development of critical
thinkers.
We should not need a
Manhattan Project, or the Apollo Moon landings to justify increased
efforts. The recent discovery of Higgs boson at CERN in Switzerland
is an indication of the consequences of our bailing out of the Super
Conducting Super Collider Project in Texas 20 years ago. The future
discoveries to be made at CERN that have the potential to revolution
our technology and greatly enhance our understanding of the Universe
could have been made in our universities in this country and the best
minds that are attracted to such facilities.
We are still actively
exploring Mars (a satellite was launched just yesterday) but that
effort is often maligned and criticized by the magical thinkers who
fail to make the correct correlations between our future and the
success of such endeavors.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
gave a Bauxbaum Lecture three weeks ago tonight at Drake University,
hitting on some of the same themes in my presentation tonight. I
greatly appreciated hearing his assessment about our future role in
science and technology, even if it was not too optimistic. Within a
decade, we will be publishing a much smaller fraction of the
scientific research papers compared with other countries that are
developing a new generation of critical thinkers.
Can critical thinkers
and magical thinkers co-exist without causing too much societal
stress? This remains to be seen, since the conflicts have been around
for centuries. Religious and spiritual issues have occupied human
minds for eons, although the scientific elements of our culture have
gained respect, if even if begrudgingly. Some scientists try to
embrace both kinds of thinking and are successful at it from a
personal standpoint. Others, such as me, don’t follow such a path,
out of a commitment to consistency.
I will conclude by
attempting to explain how a critical thinker can appreciate the
meaning life simply by allowing it to remain in the category of being
mysterious. To ponder the existence of a God figure, as described in
religious doctrines requires an examination of the information upon
which this figure’s existence is based. It all stems from magical
thinking that serves a purpose of providing meaning to the lives of
those who embrace an unprovable idea. One accepts the notion for
personal reasons that relate to a meaningful state of mind.
In my in case, I am
intrigued and excited about the mystery of my existence and feel a
sense of spirituality that connects me to others. I do not jump to
any conclusions that are beyond my ability to justify in a rational
way. I have heard the notion that believing in God is a matter of
faith and is not based upon reason. That statement clearly contrasts
magical thinking with critical thinking. There is no basis to debate
it any further.
As I observe the many
religions and denominations in the world in which find myself, I
prefer to embrace my confidence in our ability to expand our
understanding of a 14 billion year old Universe that has only seen
our presence for such a short time (as far as we know) .
On
Friday, April 13, 2029, an asteroid named “Apophis” which
recently passed through our orbital vicinity will eventually return
and intersect with our orbital path. Given what we know and can know
about its behavior, there is a one in 45,000 chance that it will
collide with our planet. Those odds could significantly change in the
next 16 years, given what we don’t know.
If this one doesn’t
hit us, one eventually will and the future of our existence on this
planet will be in doubt. But, life has no doubt evolved all over this
huge system and such events are probably a common occurrence
throughout the Universe. Dinosaurs and the rest of the 99% of species
that have existed on this planet (as far as we can tell) had a long
reign but eventually fell victim to the inevitable (random) asteroid
collision. We are not even approaching the time span of those life
forms.
Maybe, just maybe we
can develop a population of creative, critical thinkers who will find
ways to extend the human presence in the Universe, beyond the hostile
environment on this planet, which is well known for its antagonistic
characteristics toward life (earthquakes, volcanos, mega storms,
droughts, etc.). Maybe we came from somewhere else in the past and
will need to continue our journey through the cosmos by traveling
elsewhere. Life is a mystery, indeed.
