Such appeals to mystery can be particularly effective if
combined with a veil analogy. Suggest that the
observable, scientifically investigable world is not all there is—there is a
further mysterious reality hidden from us, as if behind a veil. Maintain that
some of us-those lucky enough to be equipped with the right sort of transcendent
faculty or insight—can glimpse this mysterious reality (and of course it's
terribly important that we listen to these “experts”—psychics, say, or
“spiritual” people). Suggest that, even if we are not fortunate enough to be
equipped with such a transcendental sense ourselves, we can all discover suggestive clues about the character of what lies beyond (at
this point, you might wish to reach for a generous helping of supporting anecdotes to bolster your conviction that, say, angels or
psychic powers exist—see Piling Up the Anecdotes). But
insist that science, as a discipline, with its overly rigid and restrictive
conception of what counts as “evidence,” is pretty useless when it comes to
establishing anything about what lies behind the veil. Yes, science is a
remarkably powerful tool when it comes to discovering how things are on this side of the veil. The natural, physical world is its
proper domain. But maintain that only a fool would suppose science can reveal
what lies beyond the natural, physical realm.
So what does lie beyond the veil? Some would begin with the
dead. Spiritualists often use the veil analogy, describing the deceased as
having “passed over to the other side.” While science is unable to penetrate the
veil, the spiritualist, luckily, has the ability to glimpse, if only dimly, what
lies on the far side. If the spiritualist's abilities fail to show up when
subjected to some rigorous scientific testing, well, you wouldn't expect them
to—such gifts are just not the kind of thing science is equipped to
investigate.
Of course, it's not just our dead loved ones who are supposed
to reside behind the cosmic divide. Angels, fairies, demonic beings, and
trans-dimensional aliens do as well. Supernatural powers or energies, such as
those that account for the miraculous abilities of psychics, spoon benders, and dowsers also operate behind the
veil. And of course God, the ultimate agent, resides in large measure beyond the
divide. “God,” as the philosopher G. W. F. Hegel once put it: “does not offer
himself for observation.”
Because all these phenomena lie beyond the cosmic curtain,
it's widely supposed that belief in such things cannot be discredited by
rational or scientific means. Such beliefs are all immune to
rational or scientific refutation.
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