Investigating the Fit and Accuracy of Alleged Mediumistic Writing: A Case Study of Chico Xavier’s Letters
Context
The study of mediumship is important because if
mediumistic abilities were real, they would provide empirical support
for non-reductionist theories of the mind, thus having major
implications to our understanding of the mind–brain relationship. This
study investigated the alleged mediumship of Chico Xavier, a very
prolific and influential “medium” in Brazil.
Objective
To
investigate the accuracy of the information conveyed in Xavier’s
“psychographed” letters (i.e., letters allegedly authored by a deceased
personality) and to explore the possible explanations for it.
Method
After
a systematic search for Xavier’s psychographed letters, we selected one
set of 13 letters allegedly written by a same spiritual author (J.P.).
The letters were initially screened for the identification of items of
information that were objectively verifiable. The accuracy of the
information conveyed by these items and the estimated likelihood of the
Xavier’s access to the information via normal means were rated using Fit
and Leak scales based on documents and interviews carried out with the
sister and friends of J.P.
Results
We identified 99 items
of verifiable information conveyed in these 13 letters; 98% of these
items were rated as “Clear and Precise Fit” and no item was rated as “no
Fit.” We concluded that normal explanations for accuracy of the
information (i.e., fraud, chance, information leakage, and cold reading)
were only remotely plausible. These results seem to provide empirical
support for non-reductionist theories of consciousness.
