The bill on the legalization of psychics, prepared by the deputy of the Leningrad region Vladimir Petrov, can be submitted to the State Duma. The necessity of adopting a strange law with the author of the initiative was discussed last Friday by the magicians themselves, a clergyman and a member of the RAS commission for combating pseudoscience. More details - in the material of RIA Novosti.
Without Milonov
The small press center of the National News Service in the northwest of Moscow is almost sold out. Half of the hall is occupied by television equipment - even journalists from Poland have arrived. The cameras are directed at an unusual panel of experts: deputy Vladimir Petrov, finalist of the show "Battle of Psychics" Ziraddin Rzayev, clairvoyant Alena Orlova, archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin and member of the commission for combating pseudoscience and falsification of scientific research at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Panchin are sitting at the same table.
The meeting is dedicated to Petrov's initiative to legitimize extrasensory activity in Russia. The bill, which is under consideration in the Legislative Assembly of the Leningrad Region, involves the creation of a special register of sorcerers and special certificates for the use of supernatural forces. If it is accepted, Vitaly Milonov will have to present the initiative in the State Duma.
The deputy was expected at the press center as a special guest, but in his last interview with RIA Novosti he urged to send all the sorcerers "to the shawarma", and did not come to the discussion itself. The alignment of forces at the table remains as follows: two - Petrov and Orlova - are “for” the legalization of magic, three are against, - almost yin-yang.
Face control for magicians
Promotional video:
Deputy Petrov begins the discussion. According to him, the country already has laws that regulate “occult and magical activities”: “The Rosstat classifier defines such professions as astrology or mediumship. Recently, amendments have been adopted to the Law “On the Basics of Health Protection of Citizens,” which defines traditional healers and stipulates the need to issue them a special permit for their activities. Accordingly, we need a law that would separate psychics, magicians, spiritualists, astrologers from the same healers."
The conference host asks the burning question: "Does the law somehow prescribe how to determine who actually has the ability and who does not?"
Deputy Petrov is not embarrassed and replies that "now he will try to find it in the tablet." But halfway through, he stops searching for the text and proceeds to impromptu: “The draft law spells out the concepts of magic and extrasensory perception as an activity that cannot be defined by anyone except the specialist himself. This is the impossibility of defining the indefinable, which is transferred to the internal self-determination of the market participants themselves."
The politician apologizes for the tautology and continues:
Bermuda Triangle
The floor is given to Ziraddin Rzayev, the finalist of the "Battle of Psychics" show. He changes positioning and introduces himself as a clinical psychologist working "under the license of the Ministry of Health."
Alexander Panchin, a member of the Commission for Combating Pseudoscience and Falsification of Scientific Research under the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, looks puzzled. The psychic continues.
“There are angels and demons in Judaism, Christianity, Islam. It is impossible to prove them from the point of view of science, but we are not saying that this is pseudoscience. Science in general cannot explain many things. Pyramids, the Bermuda Triangle … Even the usual herpes virus, which is in everyone's blood, science cannot cure and explain, what are we talking about?"
Scientist Panchin smiles, Deputy Petrov for some reason looks under the table, and the brightly outlined eyes of Rzayev's colleague Alena Orlova express surprise at the sharp change in rhetoric. But the floor is finally given to her.
Put on record
The thick-haired witch also immediately introduces herself as a clinical psychologist - "she graduated from the Institute of Psychology in the last century." According to her, the topic of the legalization of magicians is painful, because esotericism is "what we live in: that supernatural that is created when the forces of man and the elements are applied." But it is impossible to prove magic by science - "humanity is too scanty in the given reason."
Archpriest Chaplin begins to take notes with a clinical psychologist. Scientist Panchin looks around and grabs a glass of water. Orlova moves on to the main idea of the speech, bringing its drama to the heat.
“Magic has become a popular topic not only for television, but also for business. Some programs have created schizophrenia throughout the country, people began to think that everything is possible, despite the fact that technological progress has stepped incredibly and we actually live in the Internet matrix. It is necessary to create a register of people who consider themselves psychics in order to have them registered. If everything is banned, it is difficult to predict what kind of psychiatry this will entail in society."
“Father Vsevolod, will the church ever recognize the activity of psychics?” The presenter addresses Archpriest Chaplin.
He slowly replies: “A very good slogan has now sounded - 'schizophrenization' of the entire country. It is being successfully implemented. How can you legalize something that doesn't exist? Activities that are associated with promises of success in life in exchange for money or contact with some incomprehensible spiritual forces, at best, deception, at worst - communication with the forces of evil, the enemy of the human race - the devil."
Orlova exclaims: "Well, why evil!" and throws up his hands in bewilderment, as if inviting the audience to join in the expression of disagreement. Chaplin pays no attention to this and goes on to compelling arguments: “You can see how the authorities who turned to these unconventional healers, and these healers themselves, finished. The same Juna. This is a warning to all of us."
Psychics Orlova and Rzayev are whispering. When the presenter addresses the RAS employee Panchin, the atmosphere relaxes a little, the faces of the experts take on an interested expression.
Cognitive distortion
The scientist begins with a lyrical digression: “In 1979, the University of Washington in St. Louis received a grant to set up a laboratory to study people who claim to have paranormal abilities. Among the two hundred applicants, two were the most successful. They demonstrated telekinesis, seeing through objects. They spent two years and half a million dollars on the study. Then they organized a press conference, and one of the journalists asked: "How do you do this?" They answered honestly, "We are cheating." They were professional illusionists."
Chaplin nods in agreement
Journalists ask how the licensing authorities will still define psychic abilities. Deputy Petrov rhetorically notes:
Psychic Rzayev answers even more figuratively: “There are different faculties, but the faculty of poetry does not exist. We know that being Pushkin is either given or not. So is magic. When a psychic predicts the future, this is the most real proof. And science cannot explain how to treat oncology."
The representative of science Panchin does not stand: "Can I comment on oncology?" A split is emerging between opponents of the legalization of psychics.
Anthill in the forest
The situation is saved by a journalist who turned to Orlova: "What to do when one sorcerer causes damage, the other says that he cannot film and sends it to the third?" The psychic's face is full of anger.
“I heard a very primitive question. This is all from dullness and underdevelopment. Esotericism is a huge field for personality development. And the friend is talking about some kind of damage."
The journalist replies that information on removing the damage is presented on the witch's website. She inflamed even more:
Scientist Panchin laughs, Orlova immediately diagnoses him with "VVD (vegetative-vascular dystonia - ed.)" And continues: "It has long been proven that a person is not meat and bones with a passport, it is an energy component. ! Give us the opportunity to create our own anthill in the forest. We will reject people who are not psychics, they will receive rejection."
Chaplin is encouraged: "We need a roster of clowns." But then the archpriest reports that he is critical of the possibility of creating a trade union of psychics, because "he knows a little about this world" and "it is still outside the legal and moral field."
His remark becomes the last. The experts remain at their discretion and leave the table in order to answer the journalists in a more substantive manner, already personally.
The easy way
Most of all questions arise to the spectacular Orlova - she is the last to leave the hall. The sorceress says that deputies often turn to her for help, that she does not know the criteria by which one can distinguish a good psychic from a bad one, because “the future is variable: yes, no, plus or minus, something in the middle”, and information can be read only in the limits of the "permissible".
Deputy Petrov, in turn, claims that he did not and will not have the experience of turning to psychics, but there are a lot of scammers in this area. And although it is impossible to confirm or deny the presence of supernatural abilities - “a matter of faith” - the state must protect Russians from deception: “The easiest way to control them is to issue licenses. Is it logical?"
Larisa Zhukova
