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| Proponents and practitioners of various ] forms of ] and ] refer to a variety of claimed experiences and phenomena as being due to "'''energy'''" or "'''force'''" that defy meaurement and thus are distinguished from the scientific form of ].<ref name="Stenger">{{cite journal |last=Stenger |first=Victor J |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508003317/http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/vstenger/Medicine/Biofield.html |url=http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/vstenger/Medicine/Biofield.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-05-08 |title=Bioenergetic Fields |journal=The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine |volume=3 |number=1 |date=Spring–Summer 1999 |access-date=2017-04-20}}</ref><ref name="Smith">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Jonathan C. |title=Pseudoscience and Extraordinary Claims of the Paranormal: A Critical Thinker's Toolkit |date=2010 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |location=Malden, Massachusetts |isbn=9781405181228 |pages=268–74}}</ref> | Proponents and practitioners of various ] forms of ] and ] refer to a variety of claimed experiences and phenomena as being due to "'''energy'''" or "'''force'''" that defy meaurement and thus are distinguished from the scientific form of ].<ref name="Stenger">{{cite journal |last=Stenger |first=Victor J |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508003317/http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/vstenger/Medicine/Biofield.html |url=http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/vstenger/Medicine/Biofield.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-05-08 |title=Bioenergetic Fields |journal=The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine |volume=3 |number=1 |date=Spring–Summer 1999 |access-date=2017-04-20}}</ref><ref name="Smith">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Jonathan C. |title=Pseudoscience and Extraordinary Claims of the Paranormal: A Critical Thinker's Toolkit |date=2010 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |location=Malden, Massachusetts |isbn=9781405181228 |pages=268–74}}</ref> | ||
| Cope and Seethe materialists, energy exists, science is gay | |||
| Claims related to energy therapies are most often ], rather than being based on repeatable ] evidence.<ref name="energy">{{cite web |url=http://skepdic.com/energy.html |title=energy – (according to New Age thinking) |publisher=The Skeptic's Dictionary |date=2011-12-19 |access-date=2014-05-02}}</ref><ref name=Barrett>{{cite web |url=http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/reich.html |title=Some Notes on Wilhelm Reich, M.D |publisher=Quackwatch.org |date=2002-02-15 |access-date=2014-05-02}}</ref><ref name="Jarvis">{{cite web |last1=Jarvis |first1=William T. |url=https://www.ncahf.org/articles/o-r/reiki.html |title=Reiki |publisher=National Council Against Health Fraud |date=2000-12-01 |access-date=2014-05-02}}</ref> | |||
| There is no ] for the existence of such energy,<ref name="Smith"/><ref name="Stenger"/> and physics educators criticize the use of the term "energy" to describe the ideas as potentially confusing.<ref name="arias">{{cite journal |last1=Arias |first1=A. G. |date=August 2012 |title=Use and misuse of the concept energy |journal=Latin American Journal of Physics Education |volume=6 |issue=1 |page=400 |citeseerx=10.1.1.669.3285}}</ref> | There is no ] for the existence of such energy,<ref name="Smith"/><ref name="Stenger"/> and physics educators criticize the use of the term "energy" to describe the ideas as potentially confusing.<ref name="arias">{{cite journal |last1=Arias |first1=A. G. |date=August 2012 |title=Use and misuse of the concept energy |journal=Latin American Journal of Physics Education |volume=6 |issue=1 |page=400 |citeseerx=10.1.1.669.3285}}</ref> | ||
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| {{quote|That's all that energy is: a measurement of work capability. But in popular culture, 'energy' has somehow become a noun. "Energy" is often spoken of as if it is a thing unto itself, like a region of glowing power, that can be contained and used. Here's a good test. When you hear the word "energy" used, substitute the phrase "measurable work capability". Does the usage still make sense? Remember, energy itself is not the thing being measured: energy is the measurement of work performed or of potential... Thus, this New Age concept of the body having an "energy field" is fatally doomed. There is no such thing as an energy field; they are two unrelated concepts.<ref>{{Skeptoid |id=4411 |number=411 |title=Your Body's Alleged Energy Fields |date=22 April 2014 |last=Dunning |first=Brian |access-date=3 September 2016}}</ref>}} | {{quote|That's all that energy is: a measurement of work capability. But in popular culture, 'energy' has somehow become a noun. "Energy" is often spoken of as if it is a thing unto itself, like a region of glowing power, that can be contained and used. Here's a good test. When you hear the word "energy" used, substitute the phrase "measurable work capability". Does the usage still make sense? Remember, energy itself is not the thing being measured: energy is the measurement of work performed or of potential... Thus, this New Age concept of the body having an "energy field" is fatally doomed. There is no such thing as an energy field; they are two unrelated concepts.<ref>{{Skeptoid |id=4411 |number=411 |title=Your Body's Alleged Energy Fields |date=22 April 2014 |last=Dunning |first=Brian |access-date=3 September 2016}}</ref>}} | ||
| Despite the lack of scientific support, spiritual writers and thinkers have maintained ideas about energy and continue to promote them either as useful allegories or as fact.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jonas |first1=WB |last2=Crawford |first2=CC |title=Science and spiritual healing: a critical review of spiritual healing, "energy" medicine, and intentionality. |journal=Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine |date=March 2003 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=56–61 |pmid=12652884}}</ref> The field of ] purports to manipulate energy, but there is no credible evidence to support this.<ref name="energy"/> | Despite the lack of scientific support, spiritual writers and thinkers have maintained ideas about energy and continue to promote them either as useful allegories or as fact.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jonas |first1=WB |last2=Crawford |first2=CC |title=Science and spiritual healing: a critical review of spiritual healing, "energy" medicine, and intentionality. |journal=Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine |date=March 2003 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=56–61 |pmid=12652884}}</ref> The field of ] purports to manipulate energy, but there is no credible evidence to support this.<ref name="energy">{{cite web|date=2011-12-19|title=energy – (according to New Age thinking)|url=http://skepdic.com/energy.html|access-date=2014-05-02|publisher=The Skeptic's Dictionary}}</ref> | ||
| The concept of "''qi''" (energy) appears throughout traditional ]n ], such as in the art of ] and ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Latham |first1=Kevin |title=Pop Culture China!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle |date=2007 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=9781851095827 |page=285}}</ref> Qi philosophy also includes the notion of "negative qi", typically understood as introducing negative ] like outright ] or more moderate expressions like ] or ].<ref name="Norden2011">{{cite book |last1=Van Norden |first1=Bryan W. |title=Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TtK5750bm30C&pg=PA98 |date=March 2011 |publisher=Hackett Publishing |isbn=978-1603846158 |page=98}}</ref> Deflecting this negative qi through ] is a preoccupation in ].<ref name="Leonard">{{cite book |last1=Leonard |first1=George J. |author-link=George Leonard |title=The Asian Pacific American Heritage: A Companion to Literature and Arts |date=1999 |publisher=Garland Publishing |location=New York |isbn=9780203344590 |page=204}}</ref> The traditional explanation of ] states that it works by manipulating the circulation of qi through a network of ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawson-Wood |first1=Denis |last2=Lawson-Wood |first2=Joyce |title=Acupuncture Handbook |date=1983 |publisher=Health Science Press |page=133 |ISBN=0-8277-1427-0}}</ref> | The concept of "''qi''" (energy) appears throughout traditional ]n ], such as in the art of ] and ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Latham |first1=Kevin |title=Pop Culture China!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle |date=2007 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=9781851095827 |page=285}}</ref> Qi philosophy also includes the notion of "negative qi", typically understood as introducing negative ] like outright ] or more moderate expressions like ] or ].<ref name="Norden2011">{{cite book |last1=Van Norden |first1=Bryan W. |title=Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TtK5750bm30C&pg=PA98 |date=March 2011 |publisher=Hackett Publishing |isbn=978-1603846158 |page=98}}</ref> Deflecting this negative qi through ] is a preoccupation in ].<ref name="Leonard">{{cite book |last1=Leonard |first1=George J. |author-link=George Leonard |title=The Asian Pacific American Heritage: A Companion to Literature and Arts |date=1999 |publisher=Garland Publishing |location=New York |isbn=9780203344590 |page=204}}</ref> The traditional explanation of ] states that it works by manipulating the circulation of qi through a network of ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawson-Wood |first1=Denis |last2=Lawson-Wood |first2=Joyce |title=Acupuncture Handbook |date=1983 |publisher=Health Science Press |page=133 |ISBN=0-8277-1427-0}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 03:58, 27 December 2021
Term used by various esoteric forms of spirituality and alternative medicine "Subtle energy" redirects here. For the mystical concept of psychospiritual bodies overlaying the physical body, see Subtle body. "Cosmic energy" redirects here. For other uses, see Cosmic energy (disambiguation).
Proponents and practitioners of various esoteric forms of spirituality and alternative medicine refer to a variety of claimed experiences and phenomena as being due to "energy" or "force" that defy meaurement and thus are distinguished from the scientific form of energy.
Cope and Seethe materialists, energy exists, science is gay
There is no scientific evidence for the existence of such energy, and physics educators criticize the use of the term "energy" to describe the ideas as potentially confusing.
History
Concepts such as "life force", "qi" and "élan vital" existed from antiquity and emerged from the debate over vitalism in the 18th and 19th centuries with Mesmer and the magnetism. They continued to be discussed in the 20th century by some thinkers and practitioners in the modern New Age movement.
As biologists studied embryology and developmental biology, particularly before the discovery of genes, a variety of organisational forces were posited to account for their observations. German biologist Hans Driesch (1867–1941), proposed entelechy, an energy which he believed controlled organic processes. However such ideas are discredited and modern science has all but abandoned the attempt to associate additional energetic properties with life.
It is not the scientific concept of energy that is being referred to in the context of spirituality and alternative medicine. As Brian Dunning writes:
That's all that energy is: a measurement of work capability. But in popular culture, 'energy' has somehow become a noun. "Energy" is often spoken of as if it is a thing unto itself, like a region of glowing power, that can be contained and used. Here's a good test. When you hear the word "energy" used, substitute the phrase "measurable work capability". Does the usage still make sense? Remember, energy itself is not the thing being measured: energy is the measurement of work performed or of potential... Thus, this New Age concept of the body having an "energy field" is fatally doomed. There is no such thing as an energy field; they are two unrelated concepts.
Despite the lack of scientific support, spiritual writers and thinkers have maintained ideas about energy and continue to promote them either as useful allegories or as fact. The field of energy medicine purports to manipulate energy, but there is no credible evidence to support this.
The concept of "qi" (energy) appears throughout traditional East Asian culture, such as in the art of feng shui and Chinese martial arts. Qi philosophy also includes the notion of "negative qi", typically understood as introducing negative moods like outright fear or more moderate expressions like social anxiety or awkwardness. Deflecting this negative qi through geomancy is a preoccupation in feng shui. The traditional explanation of acupuncture states that it works by manipulating the circulation of qi through a network of meridians.
Locations
There are various sacred natural sites that people of various belief systems find numinous or having an "energy" with significance to humans. The idea that some kind of "negative energy" is responsible for creating or attracting ghosts or demons appears in contemporary paranormal culture and beliefs as exemplified in the TV shows Paranormal State and Ghost Hunters.
See also
- Aether (classical element)
- Animal Magnetism
- Ase (Yoruba)
- Aura (paranormal)
- Barakah
- Earth mysteries
- Ectoplasm (paranormal)
- Energy (psychological)
- Kundalini
- Lung (Tibetan Buddhism)
- Mana
- Manitou
- Numen
- Odic force
- Prana
- Qi
- Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism
- Shakti/shaktipat
- Shrine
- Silap Inua
References
- ^ Stenger, Victor J (Spring–Summer 1999). "Bioenergetic Fields". The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine. 3 (1). Archived from the original on 2016-05-08. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
- ^ Smith, Jonathan C. (2010). Pseudoscience and Extraordinary Claims of the Paranormal: A Critical Thinker's Toolkit. Malden, Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 268–74. ISBN 9781405181228.
- Arias, A. G. (August 2012). "Use and misuse of the concept energy". Latin American Journal of Physics Education. 6 (1): 400. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.669.3285.
- ^ Bechtel, William; Richardson, Robert C. (1998). "Vitalism". William Bechtel's Web. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
- Dunning, Brian (22 April 2014). "Skeptoid #411: Your Body's Alleged Energy Fields". Skeptoid. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- Jonas, WB; Crawford, CC (March 2003). "Science and spiritual healing: a critical review of spiritual healing, "energy" medicine, and intentionality". Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 9 (2): 56–61. PMID 12652884.
- "energy – (according to New Age thinking)". The Skeptic's Dictionary. 2011-12-19. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
- Latham, Kevin (2007). Pop Culture China!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 285. ISBN 9781851095827.
- Van Norden, Bryan W. (March 2011). Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy. Hackett Publishing. p. 98. ISBN 978-1603846158.
- Leonard, George J. (1999). The Asian Pacific American Heritage: A Companion to Literature and Arts. New York: Garland Publishing. p. 204. ISBN 9780203344590.
- Lawson-Wood, Denis; Lawson-Wood, Joyce (1983). Acupuncture Handbook. Health Science Press. p. 133. ISBN 0-8277-1427-0.
- Ivakhiv, Adrian (24 February 2007). "Orchestrating Sacred Space: Beyond the 'Social Construction' of Nature" (PDF). Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture. 8 (1): 11–29. doi:10.1558/ecotheology.v8i1.1642. ISSN 1363-7320. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- Fahy, Thomas (2010). The Philosophy of Horror. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. p. 77. ISBN 978-0813125732.
External links
Media related to Energy (esotericism) at Wikimedia Commons
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