Prof Gary Schwartz – Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence: Science, Ethics and Truth
Does science and society have an ethical responsibility to seek and speak the truth?
It has been said that we live today in a “post-truth” world, not only in business and politics, but even in science and education. There are many technological and sociological reasons why humanity’s devotion to the accurate communication of information is declining. One result of this sea change in society’s ethical commitment to living a truth-focused life is the increase of individuals and institutions making extraordinary claims in the absence of corroborative evidence. Carl Sagan, the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences at Cornell University, co-writer of the award-winning 1980 television Series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, and avid skeptic, popularized the phrase Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence – which the speaker selected as the title of his 2021 book. The subtitle of this book is The Science and Ethics of Truth Seeking and Truth Abuse.
This webinar addresses the question “what is truth?” from an accuracy of information perspective, and explains how everything at every level in the universe, from atoms and molecules, through cells and organisms, to ecologies and superclusters of galaxies (beyond), deeply depend on accuracy of information transmission and interpretation for its survival and evolution. The speaker explains how the Sagan Ethic and the Kepler Challenge speak to our learning how to practice the “heart of science” and live an “evidence-based life.” He illustrates this practice by ongoing extraordinary research on the controversial topics of (a) survival of consciousness after physical death, and (b) focused life force energy and wellbeing. Despite the presence of pervasive degrees of “truth abuse” in society today, the opportunity for our collectively correcting this systemic error is here. Are we up to the challenge?
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About the speaker:
Gary E. Schwartz, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology, Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Surgery at the University of Arizona, and Director of its Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health. Gary received his PhD from Harvard in 1971 and was an Assistant Professor at Harvard (1971-1976). He then served as a tenured Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Yale University, director of the Yale Psychophysiology Center, and co-Director of the Yale Behavioral Medicine Clinic, before moving to the University of Arizona in 1988.
He has published more than 500 scientific papers, including six papers in the journal Science, and co-edited 14 academic books. His twelve books for the public include Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence (2021), The Case for Truth (2020, with Alan Bourey), Greater Reality Living (2019, with Mark Pitstick), Super Synchronicity (2017), The Energy Healing Experiments (2007, Foreword written by Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17thSurgeon General of the United States, winner of a Gold Nautilus Book Award), The Afterlife Experiments (2002),and The Living Energy Universe (1999).
He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and The Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. He is co-founder of the Academy for Advances in Postmaterialist Sciences and served as its first president. His research integrates mind-body medicine, energy medicine, and spiritual medicine. His current research focuses on applications of innovative technologies for (1) communicating with people who have physically died (www.soulphone.org), and (2) advancing human consciousness and wellbeing (www.flfe.net/evidence/).
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Speaker
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Gary E. SchwartzProfessor, AuthorDr Gary E. Schwartz has been a Professor of Psychology, Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Surgery at the University of Arizona for more than thirty years. He was an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and a tenured Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Yale University. His integrative research bridging mind-body medicine, energy medicine, and spiritual medicine has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Mental Health, and numerous private foundations. He has published more than 500 scientific articles and chapters and authored or edited 25 books. He directs the Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health at the University of Arizona and served as the founding president of the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences
