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True-believer syndrome is a term coined by the reformed psychic fraudM. Lamar Keene and Allen Spraggett (1997). The Psychic Mafia, pp. 152, 160: "To make my renunciation of mediumship complete, I knew there were other things I yet had to do. Seeking out a Masonic friend, I poured forth to him the whole story. At my request he went with me to the authorities. I turned myself in to the Internal Revenue Service for evasion of income tax. (I eventually paid all back taxes in full). I also visited the FBI, the county sheriff's office, and the state attorney-general. To all of these I made full confession of my years of fraud...I simply hit the high spots of my fraudulent career, warning that audience of mainly sincere seekers of the pitfalls and booby traps strewn along the path to truth by those who prefer to keep men believing profitable lies." M. Lamar Keene to refer to an irrational belief in paranormal events, even after direct confession and evidence that the events were fraudulently staged. In his book, The Psychic Mafia (as told by Allen Spraggett), Keene stated that true-believer syndrome "merits study by science" and is the greatest thing phony mediums have going for them.M. Lamar Keene and Allen Spraggett (1997). The Psychic Mafia, page 151: "The true-believer syndrome merits study by science. What is it that compels a person, past all reason, to believe the unbelievable. How can an otherwise sane individual become so enamored of a fantasy, an imposture, that even after it's exposed in the bright light of day he still clings to it — indeed clings to all the harder? The true believer syndrome is the greatest thing phony mediums have going for them. No amount of logic can shatter a faith consciously based on a lie."

It is not a scientific term and as such is not used by mainstream psychologists, psychiatrists or doctors.

In The Psychic Mafia, the Rev. Canon William V. Rauscher and M. Lamar Keene describe a difference between true-believer syndrome and general belief in the paranormal. In the foreward to this book, Rauscher wrote that he accepts the reality of paranormal manifestations and that "good mediums" do exist. Rauscher does not see this type of belief as being indicative of true-believer syndrome.M. Lamar Keene and Allen Spraggett (1997). The Psychic Mafia, Foreward by Rev. Canon William V. Rauscher: "This may sound strange coming from one who accepts the reality of paranormal manifestations (as attested in my own book, The Spiritual Frontier, an account of my psychic exploration). However, I have spent as much time arguing some people out of an overly credulous attitude toward the subject as arguing into being open-minded towards it. As Lamar's story devastatingly reveals, the greatest friend the fraudulent medium has is overbelief on the part of his victims. Lamar calls it 'true believer syndrome'. The need to believe in phony wonders sometimes exceeds not only logic, but seemingly, even sanity...Now I believe that 'good mediums' exist. I believe I have met some of them. Not all mediums are dishonest, and this book is not intended to discredit those who are legitimate. Nor will it do so. The honest psychic or medium has nothing to fear from this book...The only medium threatened by this book is the fraudulent one." Keene explicitly professed a belief in life after death, psychic phenomena and ESP, even after making his case against true believers and renouncing his trade as a phony medium.M. Lamar Keene and Allen Spraggett (1997). The Psychic Mafia, page 162, 163: "Life after death? I believe in it. I believe that human beings maintain their individuality after death. I believe that we go on to higher and better expressions of ourselves than those which we are now expressing. I believe that evolution, growth, is the whole thing: mankind evolves, it doesn't regress. I believe that, in spite of all I've seen and experienced...Extrasensory perception and psychic phenomena? I believe that the individual can have his or her own private psychic experience - that there is such a thing as ESP." Therefore, Rauscher and Keene do not condemn or belittle belief in the supernatural. They condemn and belittle persisting belief in events that have been openly faked, with a full admission of fraud, and refer to this persisting belief as "true-believer syndrome".

Robert T. Carroll

The American philosophy professor, and self-professed "hardened skeptic", Robert T. Carroll (the author of the Skeptic's Dictionary) stated that true-believer syndrome may account for the popularity of Deepak Chopra, Uri Geller, Sathya Sai Baba and James Van Praagh (albeit none of these people have openly confessed to fraud).

Although not a psychologist, Carroll stated, "Since by definition those suffering from true-believer syndrome are irrationally committed to their beliefs, there is no point in arguing with them. Evidence and logical argument mean nothing to them. Such people are by definition deluded in the psychiatric sense of the term: they believe what is false and are incapable of being persuaded by evidence and argument that their notions are in error."Definition for "True Believer Syndrome" as taken from Robert T. Carroll's book, "Skeptic's dictionary", pp. 384-86: "True-believer syndrome may account for the popularity of Deepak Chopra, Uri Geller, Sai Baba, and James Van Praagh, but the term does not help us understand why people believe in the psychic or supernatural abilities of such characters, despite the underwhelming evidence that they are genuine. Since by definition those suffering from true-believer syndrome are irrationally committed to their beliefs, there is no point in arguing with them. Evidence and logical argument mean nothing to them." In his book, Carroll also stated that his opinions are not meant to present a balanced view on occult subjects.pages 1-3 as taken from Robert T. Carroll's book, "Skeptic's dictionary" pp. 1-3, "My beliefs are clearly that of a hardened skeptic...I use the term 'occult' to refer to any and all of these subjects. The reader is forewarned that The Skeptics Dictionary does not try to present a balanced account of occult subjects."

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Harriet Hall, (2006). Teaching Pigs to Sing: An Experiment in Bringing Critical Thinking to the Masses, Skeptical Inquirer, Vol 30, #3, May/June 2006, 36-39.

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