The Laboratoire de Zététique (English: ''Zetetic Laboratory'') is a structure founded by professor in 1998.

Purpose and history

The laboratory is a research and information centre concerned with purported " paranormal" or "abnormal" phenomena. The goal is dissemination of the

scientific method The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...

and '' zététique'' (defined as "the art of doubt", in English better known as

scientific skepticism Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence. In practice, the term most commonly refe ...

). The Laboratoire de Zététique is run by an association called the Centre d'Analyse Zététique (''Centre for Zetetic Analysis''), which publishes the ''CAZette'' (a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsgazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

'' and its abbreviation ''CAZ'') since November 2011. Since 2005, it is affiliated with the

Center for Inquiry The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a US nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal, as well as to fight the influence of religion in government. History The Center for Inquiry was established in 199 ...

as "Center for Inquiry–France", with Henri Broch as its spokesperson and ambassador of CFI–Transnational. Between 1987 and 2002, the laboratory offered the

International Zetetic Challenge {{Short description, Former proof of paranormal prize The International Zetetic Challenge (from Greek ζητεῖν ''zēteîn'', "to search") was an attempt to prove or disprove the existence of, or demonstrate events related to, the paranormal. ...

for an award of €200,000; no one has ever succeeded in demonstrating a paranormal phenomenon under these controlled conditions, however. Mediums and

clairvoyants Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

were challenged to show their powers, but all 275 (or 264) candidates failed. In 2004, the

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

skeptic Claude Maugé presented on the site of the laboratory his Composite Reductionist Theory (TCR) about UFOs to explain this phenomenon. Following Joe Nickell, Henri Broch once replicated the

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin ( it, Sindone di Torino), also known as the Holy Shroud ( it, Sacra Sindone, links=no or ), is a length of linen cloth bearing the negative image of a man. Some describe the image as depicting Jesus of Nazareth and bel ...

, demonstrating the bas-relief method as an easy explanation of how the Shroud could have been faked. In October 2007, became the first Doctor of Science Education on the subject of skepticism. His thesis, titled ''Pour une didactique de l'esprit critique – Zététique & utilisation des interstices pseudoscientifiques dans les médias'' ("For Education in Critical Thinking. Skepticism & Usage of Pseudoscientific Interstices in the Media"), was co-edited by codirected by Henri Broch and Patrick Lévy (Institut du sommeil et de la vigilance, faculté de médecine, Grenoble 1). Together with other French academics from other universities in Grenoble, Marseille, Montpellier etc., he founded the Collectif de recherche transdisciplinaire esprit critique et sciences (Cortecs) ("Interdisciplinary Research Collective on Critical Thinking and Science"). As of 2015, the Laboratoire de Zététique no longer offers courses on skepticism, but they have been transferred to the

Joseph Fourier University Joseph Fourier University (UJF, french: Université Joseph Fourier, also known as Grenoble I) was a French university situated in the city of Grenoble and focused on the fields of sciences, technologies and health. It is now part of the Universit ...

of Grenoble, where Monvoisin's lectures on "Zététique & autodéfense intellectuelle" ("Skepticism & Intellectual Self-Defence") attract up to 900 students.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laboratoire de Zetetique 1998 establishments in France Skeptic organizations in France Research institutes in France Universities and colleges in Nice

Purpose and history

See also

References

External links