MediaWatch
July 2001
I'd like to thank everyone who sent clippings and alerted me
to media events including David Kesten, Branka Stamenkovic, Mick
O'Neill, Melanie Reinhart, Roy Gillett, Lynn Bell, Barbara May,
Pat Harris, Rick Levine, Paul Westran, Demetra George, Suzie Champion
and Beth Shaw. Also, special thanks to Morelle Smith for her translation
of the article on Elizabeth Teissier in Le Monde. And many thanks
Vivienne Reed for writing transcripts of astrological exchanges
on the television. Wonderful material!
Our top story is that Roy Gillett's complaint to the ITC over
the Channel 5 documentary, 'The New Zodiac', was submitted on
9 May and we are waiting for a response. It's been a fairly busy
period for astrology in the media with some interesting stories
and the new biography of John Dee, Elizabeth I's astrologer, by
Benjamin Woolley, the featured book on BBC Radio 4 at 9.45 a.m.
and 00.30 for one week in April. In the USA astrologer Arlene
Dahl was interviewed on 9 May, 9 PM EDT, 6 PDT, on Larry King
Live (CNN): thanks to Barbara May for a copy of the video (this
interview aroused a brief discussion on the AFAN E mail newsletter,
nos 168-172). On 4 June the Deborah Orr interview in the Independent
was with Jonathan Cainer (http://news.independent.co.uk/):
Orr visited Jonathan at the Rainbow Circle camp. And in north
London horticulture students from Barbet Council's skills training
centre won an award at rhe Chelsea Glower Show for their zodiac
garden.(Hampstead and Highgate Express 1 June)
There's also been some positive publicity on financial astrology.
Yahoo carried a very positive Reuters online article on financial
astrology by Susan Karlin dated 23 May, titled 'LIVEWIRE-Meet
my consultant, the astrologer, and quoting Bruce Scofield, Jeff
Jawer, Arch Crawford and Jeffrey Armstrong.
Georgia Stathis, who was also quoted reported on the AFAN newsletter
(no 178) that Karlin had even checked her copy with her before
publication, good practice which many other journalists would
be advised to follow. On 2 June Jayj Jacobs reported that 'AOL
& Reuters news service continue to give astrology positive
coverage and a respectful attitude. Two more articles appeared
recently, (May 29 & 31), one a Press Release on Networker
Michael Lutin's new book, the other another report on Financial
Astrology. It interviews Networker Bill Meridian and "Vienna-based
financial astrologist Manfred Zimmler".(AFAN Newsletter 185,
2 June). Meira Epstein sent in the text of the May 31 article
to the AFAN E mail digest (no 190, 8 June).
First, a light-hearted event:
Grand National Predictions
Mick O' Neill e mailed on 7 April reporting that 'This morning
on Radio 4 saw our favourite 4-year-old Tia picking the Grand
National against tipster Cornelius Lycet and Jonathon Cainer who
didn't use astrology. Of course they repeated the 'News story',
as I and anyone latching into media spin would, that the 4-year-old
beat the others, for a few days at least and mentioning how the
stockbroker and astrologer were beaten [see May Media Watch's
report on the Richard Wiseman financial experiment]. Tia went
first and chose forth favourite Moral Support (11-1) and You're
A Goodun(33-1). The method used was "just pointing at the
page" and then she said the names.
Presumably she can't read so she must have been told in advance
what she had chosen (especially since her mother gave a Hi-Five
for doing so well), suggesting that she had been coached to say
her selections. Of course it wouldn't surprise me if her selections
were made for her. This would be most unfortunate because I'm
sympathetic to the idea of the Cosmic Jester of Charles Fort and
the possibility of influencing True RNG, which the stock market
pieces of paper was. Jonathon claimed he personally didn't know
how to use astrology to pick winners but said someone he knows
is now in the south of France, inferring he used astrology on
gambling. He also said he asked the first person he met, presumably
the Daily Mirror racing expert, and got Blowing in the Wind(20-1).I
think his other choice used a pin in the paper and resulted in
She's a Goodun, like Tia. Cornelius went for Earthmover (16-1)
and You're a Goodun.
Now, he could be terrified of Tia but if he was he would have
gone for Moral Support, logically 3 times as likely to win. If
I thought Tia had really used a truly random method to choose
hers then I would have bet in a first-second bet on her two if
that's possible. I suspect adult input - now seeing the chance
of numerous media performances if she keeps winning.
Nonetheless Jonathon using a pin and both the others choosing
a 33-1 shot, I couldn't resist and my pound now rests firmly on
She's a Goodun. Don't risk your mortgage!
All the best Mick, the postscript came from Roy Gillett on 9
April:
"Dear All - This is just for our fun, but I think it does
put Wiseman's stunts in perspective. In case you did not notice,
Wiseman had an item on Radio 4 last Saturday, where the three
below competed in tipping for the Grand National. This also gave
him the chance to remind everyone of Tia's success in the stock
competition. I have sent a copy to Jonathan too. Jonathan's agreement
to take it on, if he did not have to use astrology, seems to have
worked brilliantly - was he advised by his friend Uri Geller?
Of all those selected, astrologer Jonathan Cainer's horse was
the only one to escape virtually unscathed in last Saturday's
Grand National. Using the advanced astrological method of "asking
and acting on the opinion of the first person he met", Jonathan
selected Blowing in the Wind, which was placed third of the four
horses that finished, while tipster Cornelius Lycet and four year
old Tia chose mounts that fell in the first half of the race.
Only two horses completed without mishap - Red Marauder (winner)
and Smarty (runner up). Blowing in the Wind and Papillon were
the only other two to complete the course. (there were thirty
six casualties)."
Elizabeth Teissier's PhD
One big story concerned the PhD gained by Elizabeth Teissier,
much to the outrage of many French academics. This story from
Le Monde reached us via Denis Laboure, Eric Cordier and Lynn Bell,
and was published, I believe on 5 May in Le Monde. Many thanks
to Morelle Smith for her translation.
'Once again Elizabeth Teissier is at the centre of a storm of
controversy. Astrologer for Tele 7Days, astrological consultant
for Francois Mitterrand and other public notables, one-time model
and actress, she has just submitted to the Sorbonne a sociology
thesis devoted to the "epistemological situation of astrology
looking in particular at the ambivalent attitude of attraction/repulsion
towards it in postmodern societies. (Le Monde of 10th April) .
These 900 odd pages have immediately aroused a lively controversy.
The rationalists - "who are lagging behind the times"
according to Ms Teissier - are on the defensive against her constant
attempts to rehabilitate astrology in the Sorbonne, while certain
sociologists are denouncing this as leading their discipline astray.
The sociologist Christian Baudelot (in higher education) challenges
this "stirring defence on behalf of astrology". The
researcher specifies that it's perfectly legitimate to write a
sociology thesis whose subject is astrology "including the
fact that it's written by an astrologer". It also seems quite
legitimate to him that an astrologer makes, among other things,
a vindication of astrology. But "the really scandalous thing
is to make the pretension that it has to do with sociology";
this he cannot accept.
Faced with a jury made up of sociologists, how was Elizabeth
Teissier able to successfully defend her thesis? Her curriculum
vitae has nothing out of the ordinary in it. Born in 1938, the
holder of an honours degree in literature from the Sorbonne, taken
before the reform of degree courses, she was able to enrol directly
into the sociology faculty in 1992 in the department of the Centre
for Modern Studies (CEAQ) supervised by the sociologist Michel
Maffesoli, who accepted her thesis. As Odile Piriou (from the
department of sociology concerned with institutional change )
remembers, such a course of events is quite normal; a third of
those writing sociology theses have formerly followed a different
profession and among those 42% choose a subject "directly
related to that profession" (Le Monde' of 2nd May)
A Lady With a Strong Personality...
The 'trial' itself is being carried out according to classic
court proceedings; the thesis was firstly made the subject of
2 preliminary reports - by Patrick Tacussel and Patrick Watier
whose state theses were supervised by Michel Maffesoli. The vice
president of the university then gave permission to go ahead.
The jury members, chosen by the theses director, were not in principal
querying the giving of the post-graduate title but playing on
the awarding of the inclusion "very honorable".
Michel Maffesoli, who is considered by many of his colleagues
to be a maverick and a very hard worker, has supervised 49 theses
between 1989 and 1995; did he slip up by accepting to supervise
Elizabeth Teissier, who, having Francois Mitterand's ear since
1989 would have been given the highest recommendations? "I
was always trying to guide her, to steer her thesis towards investigations
into the practice of astrology rather than into its scientific
basis" he explained. " She's a lady with a strong personality
and I didn't always manage it. It doesn't really matter as I knew
that, once she had produced the minimum requirements for a thesis,
a good 400 pages, the digressions and gaps would not be serious
as she wasn't doing it to gain a necessary qualification for a
position or to make money out of it; I could tolerate the digressions."
Nevertheless, it's doubtful that a researcher who voluntarily
describes himself as "someone in touch with what's going
on" wouldn't have anticipated the media impact of Ms Teissier's
thesis. On this occasion did he want to place himself as chief
of the 'comprehensive' school of sociology, which he advocates?
This approach, which considers that the personal involvement of
the sociologist is not an obstacle to a valid analysis, has been
opposed, since the origin of sociology, to a current of thought
which, to sum it up briefly, would like to study social activities
as if they were objects.
In recent years, the sociology of everyday life has had the wind
behind it but has become the stage for a lively concurrence between
the two approaches, notes Bernard Valade, professor of sociology
at Paris-V. If he judges it "unfortunate" that sociology
is "enriched" by a thesis which, according to him, involves
a completely superfluous development which will assist in justifying
astrology as a science, he doesn't reject the possibility that
the defiant reaction against Michel Maffesoli might also be underpinned
by conflicts of a more personal nature. "Credits in the faculty
are stingily distributed". Michel Maffesoli doesn't only
have enemies however. The philospher Jean Baudrillard suggests
sending his "peculiar detractors" clinging to scientific
rationality "back to their fantasies of being a disciplinary
body and throwing out without appeal their pretension to set themselves
up as a tribunal to judge intellectual morals".
Letter to Jack Lang...
In the opposition's camp, we are witnessing the formation of
a new common front - the rationalists of the French Association
for Scientific Information (AFIS), not always kindly disposed
to the humanities "particularly psychoanalysis" have
got together with sociologists to make a critical reading of the
thesis. The astrophysicist Jean-Claude Pecker, professor at the
College of France and President of AFIS says that four Nobel Prizewinners
have addressed letters of protest to Jack Lang, the Minister for
Education.
The physicist Jean Bricmont, the future president of AFIS sees
in the "Teissier affair" a parallel with the "Sokal
affair" launched by his American colleague Alan Sokal who
succeeded in 1996 in publishing in the American journal 'Social
Text', a text parodying the jargon of the social sciences. "Only
here, its not a hoax we're dealing with" he points out, condemning
"the tendency of the social sciences to relativism and the
way they concentrate on the connections with social circumstances
while ignoring the foundations of the empirical approach in science."
As for Elizabeth Teissier, she is "seething" at not
being able to take part in the debate while her doctoral qualification
has not yet been validated according to the correct procedures.
But there's no doubt about one goal she has attained: she's got
people talking about astrology.
Other reports were carried in the Times on 9 April and the New
York Times (see www.nytimes.com)
on 3 June.
Also on Astrology at University:
The Indian government's decision to encourage teaching of astrology
at university level (reported in May's Media Watch) continued
to inspire occasional media interest and criticism, mainly because
it's being encouraged by the ruling Hindu fundamentalist BJP party.
Reports were carried on the Financial Times web site, FT.com,
on 4 May and in the newspaper itself on 5 May, and in Nature on
17 May. Closer to home, Time, 18 June, carried a full page report
on the Sophia Project, reporting fairly on the Research Group
for the Critical Study of Astrology at Southampton University.
Craid Brown, in his silly satirical column in the Daily Telegraph
on 24 March (p. 25) mocked the Project, though - but on the basis
of misleading press reports.
No such fairness was evident from John Silber, the President
of Boston University though, who published an astonishing rant
about Kepler College in the Boston Herald on 16 May. The article
can be found on http://www.bostonherald.com,
but here's a flavour:
"The fact is that astrology, whether judged by its theory
or its practice, is bunkum. In a free society there is no reason
to prevent those who wish to learn nonsense from finding teachers
who want to make money peddling nonsense. But it is inexcusable
for the government to certify teachers of nonsense as competent
or to authorize - that is, endorse - the granting of degrees in
nonsense"
Everyone's entitled to their opinions. Silber's attack was so
malicious though, because he set out to use his position in one
academic institution to stir up trouble for another, yet at no
time did he ever attempt to talk to anyone at Kepler or investigate
the curriculum. His sole intent was to make mischief.
The Nepalese Royal Massacre
The most serious story concerning astrology was undoubtedly the
news that there were apparently certain astrological predictions
associated with the massacred of the Nepalese royal family by
the Crown Prince on 1 June. Arlene Nimark wrote in the AFAN E
mail digest (187, 5 June)that 'Unfortunately there is also a sour
note printed in the Sunday June 3rd NY Times, and that has to
do with the death of the Royal family in Katmandu Nepal. In the
article written by Barry Bearak, he states, on page 14 "Earlier
this year the royal astrologer again seemed to play a role in
the palace affairs.
According to press reports, unchallenged by the royal family,
it was determined by the stars that the Crown Prince should not
marry until age 35. If he did mortal risks were involved'. Many
other papers carried reports. The Daily Telegraph on 2 June carried
the story on the front page and a fuller article on 6 June (see
www.telegraph.co.uk). Under the heading 'Astrologer unable to
foresee royal massacre' Rahul Bedi wrote 'A NEPALESE Royal Astrologer
confessed yesterday that the massacre of the royal family in a
hail of bullets had been "unforeseen".
Mangal Raj Joshi, the court astrologer, said yesterday: "No
one expected it. I am not able to explain what happened but it
is terrible." The 81-year-old astrologer was sitting cross-legged
in a dingy room in a suburb of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, surrounded
by astrological charts, horoscopes and faded pictures of the murdered
King Birendra and Queen Aishwaraya. He added: "Heavenly planets
control the situation on the ground and sometimes we are unable
to explain them adequately'.
And lastly…
On a lighter tack, I'm grateful to Paul Westran for the following:
Simon Mayo made a comment on BBC Radio 5 Live at 13:50hrs Thursday
17th May, in a discussion about Douglas Adams and particularly
his H2G2 web site.Mayo said that he remembered reading a 'particularly
devastating critique of astrology on this web site which was typical
of Douglas Adams'.
Here's the concluding few paragraphs of this web page: www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A464780
'...During all of the 20th century, astrologers have been uneasy
about what they are doing, mainly due to those developments (the
discovery of the outer three planets). Modern science didn't seem
to go with astrology. And that did not even include the discussion
of the thirteenth sign. That may be why people like Michel Gauquelin
tried to prove astrological phenomena statistically.
Actually, in the late seventies even the national statistical
institute of France had to acknowledge lots of Gauquelin's results.
And the latest statistical data gathered by the German Statistische
Bundesamt prove that sun signs have something to do with certain
patterns of behaviour. No doubts possible.
Today, even insurance companies take into account if you are
a Taurus. It'll cost you LESS, then, and that's a sign for truth
in astrology, if you ask me...
So - astrology might be on the rising branch, because the paradigm
is changing. Because all the old farts who don't like astrology,
because their wife's a Leo and that's supposed to go along well
with Aries, are dying away'. Paul comments on this 'Not that devastating
- wrong - but not devastating'
MediaWatch
is compiled by Nick Campion
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