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ISSUE41 - "Such nonmainstream areas of inquiry as astrology, fortune-telling, and psychic and paranormal pursuits play a vital role in society by satisfying human needs that are not addressed by mainstream science."
WORDS: 570 TIME: 01:00:00 DATE: 2007-8-6 19:37:56
Can nonmainstream inquiry play a vital role in society only by satiating some basic human needs? The statement asserts so. I concede that nonmainstream inquiry to some extent responds to certain basic human needs. In my view, however, the potential harm they can inflict on the participants and on society far outweighs their psychological benefits.
Admittedly, the nonmainstream inquiry indeed addresses some certain human needs, one major function lies in that it can pacify the heart which is frustrated by the unfavorable reality. When people get into a depression due to unfavorable experience, the only thing they need is to be pacified, and thus the opportunity comes that astrology and fortune-telling can play this role. In such sense, the role which is played by the nonmaintream inquiry is to some extent like the one played by religion--they both function to offer people some faith to hold. For example, a girl who has just fell out with her boyfriend tends to turn for help to and astrologist who may tell her about how well the future relationship between her and him will be and whether they will be happy when the love comes back. Another example is that a merchant who has failed in a recent investment is likely to fortune-tell his fortune in his future activities with the help of a fortune-teller. Generally speaking, in some certain circumstances the nonmaintream inquiry can function well than science.
And another effect of nonmaintream inquiry is to satiate the curiosity of human beings about the paranormal phenomena and events. It is clearly that the mainstream science has not set foot in this kind of territories, and thus the desire to unravel it can somewhat be satisfied by nonmaintream inquiry. Take the long-confusing questions as examples, such as the extrasensory perception which is always known as the ability to inquire information through nonsensory means and the psychokinesis which is percepted as the ability to affect an objective at distance by means other than known physical forces. Because there is no such scientific explanation to provide people who want to know this, the Society of Psychical Research which aims at handling them become the most authoritative organization, and people are following their inquiry tightly.
However, as we know, whether the inquiry of nonmainstream is useful to any individual or society is open to question, although the inquiry to some extent releases the frustrated hearts and provides some results to satisfy the people being curious. Because there is no methods to prove its validity, someone then maybe acts irrationally guided by these inquiries. Such as the situation in some villages in China, Huang Li--a calendar which has some future-telling words indicating that whether it is suitable to do some certain thing--still exists to serve as a guide. For that matter, the influence is bad because people rely too much on it to be rational and logical to live lives. And on a social level, such traits as making people pursue blindly can sometimes render a tragedy; for example, the participants who were guided by Li Hongzhi who is the leader of Fa Lun Gong--a cult--burned themselves just in the Tian An Men square.
In conclusion, I concede that the nonmaintream pursuits sometimes function well insomuch as they afford many people psychological solace and curiosity in life. However, when such pursuits serve as substitutes for reason and logic, they lead to stupefaction and sometimes tragedy--in this sense, I will not treat nonmaintream pursuits as a vital role in society. |
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