Noetic science

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'''Noetic science''', according to its promoters, is an "exploration into the nature and potentials of [[consciousness]] using [[crank magnetism|multiple ways of knowing—including intuition, feeling, reason, and the senses"]], most famously mentioned by [[Dan Brown]] in ''[[The Lost Symbol]]''.

Note that noetic "science" and noetic philosophy are distinct. Noetic (from the Greek ''noetikos'', "mental") philosophy is philosophy dealing with the mind, intellect, or consciousness. However, this more often goes under the more obvious name of "theory" or "[[philosophy of mind]]" these days. Noetic "science" is closer to the pseudoscience of [[parapsychology]] and other such [[New Age]] fluff as "[[not even wrong|expanding your consciousness]]."

==Institute of Noetic Sciences==

The Institute of Noetic Sciences is the primary outlet for this form of [[woo]]. It was co-founded by former astronaut [[Edgar Mitchell]] and billionaire and former Exxon executive Paul N. Temple, who is also associated with the [[fundamentalist]] [[Christian]] organization [[The Family]].

According to the Institute, the core of Noetic Science is as follows:

{{cquote|Noetic sciences are explorations into the nature and potentials of [[consciousness]] using multiple ways of knowing—including intuition, feeling, reason, and the senses. Noetic sciences explore the "inner cosmos" of the mind (consciousness, soul, spirit) and how it relates to the "outer cosmos" of the physical world.<ref>[http://noetic.org/about/what-are-noetic-sciences What is Noetic Science?] Institute of Noetic Science</ref>}}

All of which sounds more like [[other ways of knowing]] than [[science]].

Unsurprisingly, noetic science has come under criticism from [[skeptic]]s and actual scientists, and the organization [[Quackwatch]] has placed the Institute of Noetic Science on the "questionable organizations" list.<ref>[http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecorg.html Quackwatch &mdash; Questionable Organizations]</ref>

===Global Consciousness Project===
The Global Consciousness Project (GCP) is more or less the [[Parapsychology#Specific programs|PEAR project]] applied on a global scale. The idea is that random number generators (RNG) run by GCP will be affected by the focused attention of many people or high emotions from a worldwide event (i.e., the alleged "global consciousness"). This essentially boils down to running a whole bunch of RNGs, waiting for a [[improbable things happen|spurious, statistically significant result]], and then claiming to have successfully detected a "great disturbance in The Force."<ref>[http://www.skepdic.com/globalconsciousness.html Global Consciousness] in [[The Skeptic's Dictionary]]</ref><ref>[http://www.lfr.org/lfr/csl/library/Sep1101.pdf GCP: An Independent Analysis of the 11 September 2001 events], Edwin C. May and James P. Spottiswoode</ref>

The project  also has a [[bias]] of trying to prove that [[paranormal]] experiences are true.

==Impact of ''The Lost Symbol''==

Following the publication of [[Dan Brown]]'s book promoting noetic [[woo]] the institute has reported a twelve-fold increase in traffic to its web site and an increase in new members,<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113676181 NPR - Woman Reads Dan Brown Novel, Discovers Herself]</ref> indicating that at least some people take Brown's work seriously.

==See also==
*[[Dean Radin]]
*[[Panpsychism]]

==References==
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[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Parapsychology]]
[[Category:New Age]]
[[Category:Woo]]

Categories: Pseudoscience, Parapsychology, New Age, Woo