Editing Marcello Truzzi

{{Short description|American sociologist (1935–2003)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Marcello Truzzi
| image              = Marcellotruzzi.jpg
| image_size         = 150
| caption            =
| birth_name         =
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1935|09|06}}
| birth_place        = [[Copenhagen]], [[Denmark]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2003|02|02|1935|09|06}}
| death_place        = [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]], U.S.
| nationality        =
| other_names        =
| known_for          = [[CSICOP]]<br /> [http://www.tricksterbook.com/truzzi/ZeteticScholars.html Zetetic Scholar (journal)]<br />[http://www.irva.org/ International Remote Viewing Association (advisor)]
| education          =
| alma_mater         = [[Cornell University]]
| employer           = [[Eastern Michigan University]]
| occupation         = Professor of [[Sociology]]
| spouse             =
| partner            =
| children           =
| parents            =
}}

'''Marcello Truzzi''' (September 6, 1935 – February 2, 2003) was an American sociologist and academic who was professor of [[sociology]] at [[New College of Florida]] and later at [[Eastern Michigan University]], founding co-chairman of the [[Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] (CSICOP), a founder of the [[Society for Scientific Exploration]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scientificexploration.org/founding-members.html |title=Society for Scientific Exploration Founding Members |access-date=December 6, 2006 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061229151714/http://www.scientificexploration.org/founding-members.html |archive-date=December 29, 2006 }}</ref> and director for the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research.

Truzzi was an investigator of various [[protoscience]]s and [[pseudoscience]]s and, as fellow CSICOP cofounder [[Paul Kurtz]] dubbed him "the [[skeptic]]'s skeptic". He is credited with originating the oft-used phrase "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof", though earlier versions existed.

==Early life and education==
Truzzi was born in [[Copenhagen]], [[Denmark]], and was the only child of [[juggler]] Massimiliano Truzzi and his wife Sonya. His family moved to the [[United States]] in 1940 where his father performed with the [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus]].

Truzzi earned several degrees in sociology: his Bachelor of Arts from [[Florida State University]] in 1957, his Master of Arts from the [[University of Florida]] in 1962, and his doctorate from [[Cornell University]] in 1970.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Oliver |first=Myrna |date=February 11, 2003 |title=Marcello Truzzi, 67; Professor Studied the Far-Out From Witchcraft to Psychic Powers |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-feb-11-me-truzzi11-story.html |access-date=March 20, 2022 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Marcello Truzzi papers 010.MT |url=https://caine.emich.edu/archives/findingaids/html/Marcello_Truzzi_papers.html |access-date=March 20, 2022 |website=Eastern Michigan University Archives}}</ref> He served in the [[United States Army]] between 1958 and 1960; he became a [[naturalized citizen]] in 1961.

== Career ==
A professor of sociology at [[Eastern Michigan University]] from 1974–2003,<ref name=":1" /> Truzzi served as the chair of the sociology department from 1974 to 1985.

Truzzi also taught at [[Cornell]], the [[University of South Florida]], the [[University of Michigan]],<ref name=":0" /> and the [[New College of Florida]].<ref name=":1" /> His 1968 textbook, “''[[Sociology in Every Day Life]]'',” was a best-seller.<ref name=":0" />

Truzzi founded the skeptical journal ''Explorations''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} In 1976, Truzzi was a founding member of the skeptic organization CSICOP and served as its co-chairman along with [[Paul Kurtz]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Kreidler |first=Marc |date=February 4, 2019 |title=History of CSICOP |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/history-of-csicop/ |access-date=March 20, 2022 |website=Skeptical Inquirer |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> Truzzi's journal became the official journal of the [[Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] (CSICOP) and was renamed ''The Zetetic'' ("zetetic" is another name for "skeptic" and is not to be confused with [[zetetics]], the study of the relationship of art and science). The journal was under his editorship for the first year, until August 1977.<ref name=":2" /> He left CSICOP about a year after its founding, after receiving a vote of no confidence from the group's Executive Council. Truzzi wanted to include pro-[[paranormal]] people in the organization and pro-paranormal research in the journal, but CSICOP felt that there were already enough organizations and journals dedicated to the paranormal.  [[Kendrick Frazier]] became the editor of CSICOP's journal and the name was changed to ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]''.

[[File:zetetic-scholar-12-13.jpg|thumb|The ''Zetetic Scholar'' journal founded by Marcello Truzzi]]

After leaving CSICOP, Truzzi started another journal, the ''Zetetic Scholar''.<ref name=Zetetic_Scholar>[http://www.tricksterbook.com/truzzi/ZeteticScholars.html Zetetic Scholar archives]</ref> He promoted the term "zeteticism" as an alternative to "[[skepticism]]", because he thought that the latter term was being usurped by what he termed "[[pseudoskepticism|pseudoskeptics]]". A zetetic is a "skeptical seeker". The term's origins lie in the word for the followers of the skeptic [[Pyrrho]] in [[ancient Greece]]. ''[[Skeptic's Dictionary]]'' memorialized Truzzi thus:<blockquote>Truzzi considered most skeptics to be pseudoskeptics, a term he coined to describe those who assume an occult or paranormal claim is false without bothering to investigate it. A kind way to state these differences might be to say that Marcello belonged to the [[pyrrhonism|Pyrrhonian tradition]], most of the rest of us belong to the [[Academic skepticism|Academic skeptical tradition]].<ref>[http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/memoriam.html in memoriam Skeptics and Scientists<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref></blockquote>Truzzi was skeptical of investigators and [[debunker]]s who determined the validity of a claim prior to investigation. He accused CSICOP of increasingly unscientific behavior, for which he coined the term ''[[pseudoskepticism]]''. Truzzi stated:

{{blockquote|They tend to block honest inquiry, in my opinion. Most of them are not [[agnostic]] toward claims of the paranormal; they are out to knock them. [...] When an experiment of the paranormal meets their requirements, then they move the goal posts. Then, if the experiment is reputable, they say it's a mere anomaly.<ref>[http://blavatskyarchives.com/zeteticism.htm "Parapsychology, Anomalies, Science, Skepticism, and CSICOP", compiled by Daniel H. Caldwell]</ref>}}

Truzzi held that CSICOP researchers sometimes also put unreasonable limits on the standards for proof regarding the study of anomalies and the paranormal. [[Martin Gardner]] wrote: "In recent years he (Truzzi) has become a personal friend of [[Uri Geller]]; not that he believes Uri has psychic powers, as I understand it, but he admires Uri for having made a fortune by pretending he is not a magician."<ref>''Skeptical Odysseys: Personal Accounts by the Leading Paranormal Inquirers'' edited by Paul Kurtz, Prometheus Books, 2001, p. 360</ref>

Truzzi co-authored a book on psychic detectives entitled ''The Blue Sense: Psychic Detectives and Crime''. It investigated many psychic detectives and concluded: "[W]e unearthed new evidence supporting ''both'' sides in the controversy. We hope to have shown that much of the debate has been extremely simplistic."<ref>Marcello Truzzi, ''The Blue Sense: Psychic Detectives and Crime'', The Mysterious Press, 1991, p. 284, paperback edition
</ref> The book also stated that the evidence didn't meet the [[Burden of proof (philosophy)|burden of proof]] demanded for such an extraordinary claim.<ref>Marcello Truzzi, ''The Blue Sense: Psychic Detectives and Crime'', The Mysterious Press, 1991, p. 252, hardback edition</ref>

Although he was familiar with ''[[folie à deux]]'', Truzzi was confident a shared visual hallucination could not be skeptically examined by one of the participators. Thus he categorized it as an anomaly. In a 1982 interview Truzzi stated that controlled ESP (ganzfeld) experiments had "gotten the right results" maybe 60 percent of the time.<ref>Marcello Truzzi, Detroit Free Press Science Page, October 26, 1982</ref> This question remains controversial. Truzzi remained an advisor to IRVA, the International [[Remote Viewing]] Association, from its founding meeting until his death.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://irva.org/About.html |title=About IRVA<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=September 27, 2007 |archive-date=September 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070916011107/http://www.irva.org/About.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Truzzi was Keynote Speaker at the 1st annual National Roller Coaster Conference, "CoasterMania", held at [[Cedar Point]] Amusement Park, Sandusky, Ohio, in 1978. On the subject of riding in the front vs riding in the back of a roller coaster, he said:
{{blockquote|sign=|source=|The front of the roller coaster is really less stressful than the back part of the roller coaster.  The first time you're worried about a roller coaster, you might be better off riding in the front, because you're not at the tail end of the whip. The average fellow getting on a roller coaster (thinks), "Oh boy, the most dangerous place must be the front, because you're right there, nobody in front of you to tell you how to act, and so on; it must be the worst place, so I'm going to get in the 'safe' part in the back." Because that's what we do: we get in the back of busses, we get in the back of planes, and so on. We figure that’s the safe part.  Well, there's a certain irony here, because the guy who says, "I'm gonna prove how macho I am, I'm gonna to really conquer my fear, I'm gonna get in the toughest place", and he gets in front. When he finishes the ride, he must feel like, "Gee, it wasn't so bad, after all." Whereas that poor milquetoast fellow who gets in the back, he's probably never going to ride again. So one of the things you might predict is that people who ride in the front of roller coasters are more likely to ride again. People who ride in the back for the first time are less likely to bother to go on it again.<ref>Television Special "America Screams" (1978)</ref>}}

Truzzi died from [[cancer]] on February 2, 2003.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=February 9, 2003 |title=Marcello Truzzi, 67; Sociologist Who Studied the Supernatural |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/09/us/marcello-truzzi-67-sociologist-who-studied-the-supernatural.html |url-access=limited |access-date=March 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== Pseudoskepticism ==
{{main|Pseudoskepticism}}

Marcello Truzzi popularized the term ''pseudoskepticism'' in response to [[Scientific skepticism|skeptics]] who, in his opinion, made negative claims without bearing the burden of proof of those claims.<ref name="truzzi1">{{cite journal | last = Truzzi | first = Marcello | url = http://www.anomalist.com/commentaries/pseudo.html | title = On Pseudo-Skepticism | year = 1987 | journal = Zetetic Scholar | issue = 12/13 | pages = 3–4| access-date = October 10, 2008}}</ref>

While a Professor of Sociology at Eastern Michigan University in 1987, Truzzi discussed  pseudoskepticism in the journal ''Zetetic Scholar'' which he had founded:

{{quotation|In science, the burden of proof falls upon the claimant; and the more extraordinary a claim, the heavier is the burden of proof demanded. The true skeptic takes an agnostic position, one that says the claim is not proved rather than disproved. He asserts that the claimant has not borne the burden of  proof and that science must continue to build its cognitive map of reality without incorporating the extraordinary claim as a new "fact". Since the true skeptic does not assert a claim, he has no burden to prove anything. He just goes  on using the established theories of "conventional science" as usual. But if a critic asserts that there is evidence for disproof, that he has a negative hypothesis—saying, for instance, that a seeming psi result was actually due  to an artifact—he is making a claim and therefore also has to bear a burden  of proof.|Marcello Truzzi|"On Pseudo-Skepticism", ''Zetetic Scholar'', 12/13, pp. 3–4, 1987
}}

In 1994 [[Susan Blackmore]], a parapsychologist who became more skeptical and eventually became a [[CSICOP]] fellow in 1991, described what she termed the "worst kind of pseudoskepticism":

{{blockquote|There are some members of the skeptics' groups who clearly believe they know the right answer prior to inquiry. They appear not to be interested in weighing alternatives, investigating strange claims, or trying out psychic experiences or altered states for themselves (heaven forbid!), but only in promoting their own particular belief structure and cohesion...I have to say it—most of these people are men. Indeed, I have not met a single woman of this type.<ref>JE Kennedy, "[http://jeksite.org/psi/jp03.pdf The Capricious, Actively Evasive, Unsustainable Nature of Psi: A Summary and Hypotheses]", ''The Journal of Parapsychology'', Volume 67, pp. 53–74, 2003. See Note 1 page 64 quoting Blackmore, S. J. (1994). 'Women skeptics'. In L. Coly & R. White (Eds.), ''Women and parapsychology'' (pp. 234–236). New York: Parapsychology Foundation.</ref>}}

=="Extraordinary claims"==
{{quotation|An extraordinary claim requires extraordinary proof.|Marcello Truzzi|"On the Extraordinary: An Attempt at Clarification", ''Zetetic Scholar'', Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 11, 1978}}

Truzzi's remark is derived from the 18th century French mathematician [[Pierre-Simon de Laplace]]'s "{{lang|fr|plus un fait est extraordinaire, plus il a besoin d'être appuyé de fortes preuves}}" (the more extraordinary a fact is, the more it needs to be supported by strong evidence). [[Carl Sagan]] later popularized Truzzi's adaptation of Laplace as "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", which came to be known as the [[Sagan standard]].<ref>{{Cite episode | title= Encyclopaedia Galactica | series= Cosmos  | last = Sagan| first = Carl| author-link = Carl Sagan| network= PBS | airdate= December 14, 1980 | number= 12 | minutes= 01:24}}</ref>

==Martin Gardner – Truzzi correspondence==
In 2017, ''[[World Scientific]]'' released a book edited by [[Dana S. Richards|Dana Richards]] about the correspondence between Martin Gardner and Truzzi. The book called ''Dear Martin, Dear Marcello: Gardner and Truzzi on Skepticism'' is broken up into four sections; "The Road to CSICOP", "The Demarcation Problem", "The Dissolution", and the "Return to Cordiality". The early letters from Truzzi were not preserved and the beginning of the book seems one-sided with only Gardner's letters. The editor, Richards states in the introduction the conflicts between the two men, their differing goals for CSICOP, and various people in the skeptic and paranormal communities. They discuss many topics including publishers, Geller, and the "definitions of charlatan and crankpot".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ward |first1=Ray |title=The Martin Gardner Correspondence with Marcello Truzzi |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=2017 |volume=41 |issue=6 |pages=57–59 |publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry}}</ref>

==Books by Truzzi==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* {{cite book| first= Marcello | last=Truzzi |title=Sociology and Everyday Life | url= https://archive.org/details/sociologyeveryda00truz | url-access= registration |publisher=Prentice-Hall| year= 1968}}
* {{cite book| first= Marcello | last=Truzzi |title=Caldron cookery: An authentic guide for coven connoisseurs | year= 1969 |publisher= Meredith Press }}
* {{cite book| first= Marcello | last=Truzzi |title=Sociology: the classic statements | url= https://archive.org/details/sociologyclassic0000truz | url-access= registration | year= 1971 |publisher=Random House| isbn=97-80394312804 }}
* {{cite book| first1=David M |last1=Peterson| first2= Marcello | last2=Truzzi |title= Criminal Life: Views from the Inside| url=https://archive.org/details/criminallifeview00pete | url-access=registration | year= 1972 |publisher=Prentice-Hall|isbn=978-0131929630 }}
* {{cite book| first1= Marcello | last1=Truzzi |first2= Philip B| last2= Springer |title= Revolutionaries on Revolution: Participants' Perspectives on the Strategies of Seizing Power| year=1973 |publisher= Goodyear Publishing Co }}
* {{cite book| first= Marcello | last=Truzzi |title=The humanities as sociology;: An introductory reader | year= 1973 |publisher= Merrill}}
* {{cite book|editor-first=Marcello|editor-last=Truzzi|title=Chess in Literature: A Rich and Varied Selection of the Great Literature of Chess-Poetry and Prose from the Past and Present|year=1974|publisher=Avon|isbn=0380001640|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/chessinliteratur00truz}}
* {{cite book| first= Marcello | last=Truzzi |title= Verstehen: Subjective Understanding in the Social Sciences| url= https://archive.org/details/verstehensubject00truz | url-access= registration | year= 1974 |publisher= Addison-Wesley}}
* {{cite book| first= Marcello | last=Truzzi |title= Sociology for pleasure |publisher=Prentice-Hall| year= 1974}}
* {{cite book| first2= Marcello | last2=Truzzi | last1=Jorgensen| first1= Joseph G|title= Anthropology and American Life| url= https://archive.org/details/anthropologyamer0000jorg | url-access= registration | publisher=Prentice-Hall| year= 1974 | isbn=978-0130384225 }}
* {{cite book| first1= Marcello | last1=Truzzi |first2= Philip B| last2= Springer |title=Solving social problems: Essays in relevant sociology |publisher= Goodyear Publishing Co | year=1976 }}
* {{citation |last=Truzzi |first=Marcello
|chapter=Sherlock Holmes, Applied Social Psychologist
|pages=55–80
|editor=Umberto Eco
|editor-link=Umberto Eco
|editor2=Thomas Sebeok
|editor2-link=Thomas Sebeok
|date=1984
|title=The Sign of Three: Dupin, Holmes, Peirce
|publisher=History Workshop, Indiana University Press
|location=Bloomington, IN
|isbn=978-0253352354}}, 236 pages. Ten essays on methods of abductive inference in [[Edgar Allan Poe|Poe]]'s [[C. Auguste Dupin|Dupin]], [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]]'s [[Sherlock Holmes|Holmes]], [[Charles Sanders Peirce|Peirce]] and many others.
* {{cite book| first1= Arthur| last1 =Lyons| first2= Marcello | last2=Truzzi |title= Satan Wants You: The Cult of Devil Worship in America| year=1988 | publisher= The Mysterious Press }}
* {{cite book | first1= Arthur | last1= Lyons | first2= Marcello | last2= Truzzi | title= The Blue Sense: Psychic Detectives and Crime | year= 1991 | publisher= The Mysterious Press | isbn= 089296426X | url-access= registration | url= https://archive.org/details/bluesensepsychic00lyon }}
* {{cite book| first1= Marcello | last1=Truzzi |first2 = Sarah |last2= Moran |title= Psychic Detectives}}
* {{cite book| first1=Jerome |last1=Clark |author-link1= Jerome Clark|first2= Marcello | last2=Truzzi |title= UFO Encounters: Sightings, visitations and Investigations| url=https://archive.org/details/ufoencounterssig0000clar | url-access=registration | year=1992 |publisher=Publications International Ltd |isbn=978-1561736058 }}
{{div col end}}

==See also==
* [[The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience|''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'']] (2002).
* [[Sextus Empiricus]]
* [[Charles Fort]]
* [[Thomas Kuhn]]
* [[Michael Polanyi]]
* [[Strong programme]]
* [[Science wars]]
* [[Modern flat Earth beliefs]] ("Zetetic astronomy")

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
;Obituaries
* [[Robert Todd Carroll|Carroll, Robert Todd]]. "[http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/memoriam.html In Memoriam]"
* Coleman, Loren. "[http://www.lorencoleman.com/marcello_truzzi_obituary.html Marcello Truzzi, 67, Always Curious, Dies]". 2003.
* [[Paul Kurtz|Kurtz, Paul]]. "[http://www.looksmartcollege.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_3_27/ai_100755214 Skeptical gadfly Marcello Truzzi] – 1935–2003", ''Skeptical Inquirer'', News and Comment – Obituary. May–June 2003.
* Mathis, Jo Collins. "Expert on the Paranormal Dies: Longtime EMU Sociology Professor Marcello Truzzi Explored 'Things That Go Bump in the Night'". ''Ann Arbor News'', February 9, 2003.
* Oliver, Myrna – "Professor Studied the Far-Out From Witchcraft to Psychic Powers". ''Los Angeles Times'', February 11, 2003, Home Edition, p. B.11.
* Smith, Paul H. – "[http://www.tricksterbook.com/truzzi/Tributes/IRVA-Aperture.html Marcello Truzzi: In Memoriam]"
* "Marcello Truzzi, Sociologist was Student of Magic". ''Detroit News'', February 12, 2003.

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
;Truzzi's writings
* Steveknightspost. "[http://www.zem.demon.co.uk/truzzi.htm Emails from Marcello Truzzi]".
* Truzzi, Marcello. "[http://www.anomalist.com/commentaries/pseudo.html On Pseudo-Skepticism]". ''The Anomalist'', US, 2005.
* Truzzi, Marcello. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20080602021158/http://66.221.71.68/psir.htm An End to the Uri Geller vs. Randi & CSICOP Litigations?]". ''Psi Researcher'' No. 21. (originally in ''Parapsychological Association Newsletter'')
* Truzzi, Marcello. "Reflection on the reception of unconventional claims of science". ''Frontier Perspectives'', vol. 1 number 2, Fall/Winter 1990. (''ed''., copy located at: [http://www.fiu.edu/~mizrachs/truzzi.html Marcello Truzzi on Zeteticism])
* Truzzi, Marcello, and Massimiliano Truzzi. "[http://www.juggling.org/papers/history-2/ Notes toward a history of juggling]". Bandwagon, Vol. 18 No. 2, March–April 1974.
* Truzzi, Marcello. "[http://www.juggling.org/fame/truzzi/truzziact.html Massimiliano Truzzi's Act]". ''Juggling Hall of Fame'', July 1996.
* Truzzi, Marcello. "[[Project Alpha (hoax)|Project Alpha]]: Sabotage". ''Skeptical Inquirer'', 8(2)187.

;Other
* Clark, Jerome, "Archive > Milestones [http://www.anomalist.com/milestones/truzzi.html Marcello Truzzi (1935–2003)]".  ''The Anomalist'', US, 2005.
*  Hansen, George P., "[http://tricksterbook.com/truzzi/ Marcello Truzzi (1935–2003)]". (''ed''., recognizes Marcello Truzzi's contributions to sociology, the history of juggling, magic, and the study of the paranormal.)
* [http://wiki.tfes.org/Zeteticism Zeteticism] on the Flat Earth Wiki.

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:1935 births]]
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[[Category:Danish emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Michigan]]
[[Category:American sociologists]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Danish people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:New College of Florida faculty]]
[[Category:Eastern Michigan University faculty]]
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