Mediums May Need To Justify Claims
Crime and Punishment, Current Affairs, Law April 18th, 2008A change in the law could mean mediums, psychics and healers face prosecution if they cannot justify their claims. Spiritualists are delivering a mass petition to Downing Street and complaining that a genuine religion is being discriminated against. BBC
Although I am not a fan of state intervention in this manner, I have a greater desire to see certain cults hindered that that charge their followers for access to their “truth”.
AC1
April 19th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I agree that the potentially exploitative nature of such practises needs to be vigorously examined.
I am a little curious though over how one can examine or test the claims of a medium or spiritualist?
If we consider that rational science and spiritualism are incompatible cosmologies how can one language game properly examine the other?
This is not to say that science cannot give a scientific rational account for the claims of spiritualism.
But it is to say that scientific rationalism is a tradition, way of life, form of life, language game, just as spiritualism is and therefore a scientific account of spiritualism presents us not only with observation-like statements, but will also display the traits of participation-like statements, it is simply one language games account of another language game.
I guess what this legislation demonstrates is the nefarious dangers of one language-game or form of life dominating over all others and imposing their claims to universal objectivity over all others.
But just to reiterate in general although I am for the plurality of traditions I would support action to prevent the exploitation of the gullible and the vulnerable which is what this aims to do.
But just to complete the circle and tip a nod to Nietzsche even my support for this legislation is an imposition of one set of arbitrary values over another!