Energy (esotericism)

The term "energy" is used by writers and practitioners of various esoteric forms of spirituality and alternative medicine to refer to a variety of phenomena.[1][2] There is no scientific evidence for the existence of such energy.[1][2][3]

Therapies that purport to use, modify, or manipulate unknown energies are thus among the most contentious of all complementary and alternative medicines. Claims related to energy therapies are most often anecdotal (from single stories), rather than being based on repeatable empirical evidence.[3][4][5]

History

Concepts such as "life force" 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.[1][2]

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.[6] However such ideas are discredited and modern science has all but abandoned the attempt to associate additional energetic properties with life.[6]

According to Brian Dunning, the scientific term energy is, in fact, misused in the context of spirituality and alternative medicine:

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.[7]

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.[8] The field of energy medicine purports to manipulate energy, but there is no credible evidence to support this.[3]

The concept of "qi" (energy) appears throughout traditional East Asian culture, such as in the art of feng shui and Chinese martial arts.[9] 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.[10] Deflecting this negative qi through geomancy is a preoccupation in feng shui.[11] The traditional explanation of acupuncture states that it works by manipulating the circulation of qi through a network of meridians.[12]

Locations

There are various sacred natural sites that people of various belief systems find numinous or having an "energy" with significance to humans.[13] 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.[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 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.
  2. 1 2 3 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.
  3. 1 2 3 "energy – (according to New Age thinking)". The Skeptic's Dictionary. 2011-12-19. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  4. ↑ "Some Notes on Wilhelm Reich, M.D". Quackwatch.org. 2002-02-15. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  5. ↑ Jarvis, William T. (2000-12-01). "Reiki". National Council Against Health Fraud. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  6. 1 2 Bechtel, William; Richardson, Robert C. (1998). "Vitalism". William Bechtel's Web. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  7. ↑ Dunning, Brian (22 April 2014). "Skeptoid #411: Your Body's Alleged Energy Fields". Skeptoid. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Latham, Kevin (2007). Pop Culture China!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 285. ISBN 9781851095827.
  10. ↑ Van Norden, Bryan W. (March 2011). Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy. Hackett Publishing. p. 98. ISBN 1603846158.
  11. ↑ Leonard, George J. (1999). The Asian Pacific American Heritage: A Companion to Literature and Arts. New York: Garland Publishing. p. 204. ISBN 9780203344590.
  12. ↑ Lawson-Wood, Denis; Lawson-Wood, Joyce (1983). Acupuncture Handbook. Health Science Press. p. 133.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ Fahy, Thomas (2010). The Philosophy of Horror. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. p. 77. ISBN 0813125731.
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