Beyond Belief

Whether ghosts astrology or ESP up to 80 per cent of the population believes in one or more aspects of the paranormal. Such beliefs are entertaining and it is tempting to think of them as harmless. However there is mounting evidence that paranormal beliefs can be dangerous - cases of children dying because parents rejected orthodox medicine in favour of alternative remedies and ''psychics'' who trade on the grief of the bereaved for personal profit and gain. Expenditure on the paranormal runs into billions of dollars each year. In Beyond Belief: Skepticism Science and the Paranormal Martin Bridgstock provides an integrated understanding of what an evidence-based approach to the paranormal - a skeptical approach - involves and why it is necessary. Bridgstock does not set out to show that all paranormal claims are necessarily false but he does suggest that we all need the analytical ability and critical thinking skills to seek and assess the evidence for paranormal claims.