 the committee for skeptical inquiry (csi), formerly known as the committee for the scientific investigation of claims of the paranormal (csicop), is a program within the u.s. non-profit organization center for inquiry (cfi), whose stated purpose is to "encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminate factual information about the results of such inquiries to the scientific community and the public." statement from the heading of the website. csi was founded in 1976 by paul kurtz to counter what he regarded as an uncritical acceptance of, and support for, paranormal claims by both the media and society in general. its philosophical position is one of scientific skepticism. csi's fellows have included notable scientists, nobel laureates, philosophers, psychologists, educators and authors.kurtz, paul. (1996). skepticism and the paranormal. in gordon stein (ed.). the encyclopedia of the paranormal. pp. 684-701. prometheus books. isbn 1-57392-021-5 it is headquartered in amherst, new york. ==history ==  in the early 1970s, there was a significant upsurge of interest in the paranormal in the united states. this generated concern in some quarters, where it was seen as part of a growing tide of irrationalism.the journal of the american society for psychical research, volume 86, no. 1, january 1992 in 1975 secular humanist philosopher and professor paul kurtz had previously initiated a statement, "objections to astrology," which was co-written with bart bok (lead author) and lawrence e. jerome, and endorsed by 186 scientists including 19 nobel laureates and published in the aha's newsletter the humanist, of which kurtz was then editor. in addition, according to kurtz, the statement was sent to every newspaper in the united states and canada. the positive reaction to this statement encouraged kurtz to invite "as many skeptical researchers as [he] could locate" to the 1976 conference with the aim of establishing a new organization dedicat
1976_establishments_in_the_United_States Inquiry Non-profit_organizations_based_in_New_York Organizations_established_in_1976 Scientology-related_controversies Skeptic_organisations