Okay. Let's try and use language to communicate in non-contradictory, precise and understandable terms.
If we are going to assert into being a LAW of ATTRACTION we will need to define it in terms of known entities. We can't just
make things up. As the old saying goes, "everybody is entitled to his own opinion---not his own facts."
What is the difference between:
1. Hypothesis
2. Theory
3.Postulate
4.Principle
5.Conjecture
What is a Law of Science, for instance?
Science uses a METHOD.
All known facts are gathered. Those facts are sorted into a pattern. An experiment is developed to test to see if the pattern exists and what the
implication might be. A hypothesis is formed. More observations and experiments are conducted to determine cause and effect.
A General Theory emerges which must be exposed to Falsifiability (a means of proving it untrue). Once the Theory meets the peer review of other
testing scientists it becomes an Accepted Law.
It is quantifiable and demonstrable to all persons in all places. It contains facts rather than assertions. The nature of the Law is expressed in
mathematical certainty within a certain margin of error.
Laws of science may be disproved if new facts or evidence contradicts them.
A "law" differs from hypotheses, theories, postulates, principles, etc., in that a law is an analytic statement, usually with an empirically determined
constant. A theory may contain a set of laws, or a theory may be implied from an empirically determined law.
What constitutes the LAW OF ATTRACTION? How is it defined, quantified, tested and falsified? What is its HISTORY and ORIGIN?
The Secret lists three required steps — "ask, believe, receive" — as the essence of the Law of Attraction:
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HistoryAn "occult law of attraction", 1879In 1879, the New York Times was the first major newspaper to use the phrase "Law of Attraction", describing the wagon trains of the Colorado gold rush as "moving in obedience to some occult law of attraction that overcomes all obstacles in their progress to their destination". [ 17 ] A physical "energy of attraction", 1902As early as 1902, references to something similar to the law of attraction can be seen particularly in discussion of matter formation. John Ambrose Fleming, an electrical engineer and turn-of-the-century physicist, described "every completed manifestation, of whatever kind and on whatever scale" as "an unquenchable energy of attraction" that causes objects to "steadily increase in power and definiteness of purpose, until the process of growth is completed and the matured form stands out as an accomplished fact". [ 18 ] The New Thought Movement, 1904–1910Thomas Troward, who was a strong influence in the New Thought Movement, claimed that thought precedes physical form and that "the action of Mind plants that nucleus which, if allowed to grow undisturbed, will eventually attract to itself all the conditions necessary for its manifestation in outward visible form." [ 19 ] In 1906, William Walker Atkinson (1862 - 1932) used the phrase in his New Thought Movement book Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World. [ 20 ] The following year, Elizabeth Towne, the editor of The Nautilus Magazine, a Journal of New Thought, published Bruce MacLelland's book Prosperity Through Thought Force, in which he summarized the principle, stating: "You are what you think, not what you think you are." [ 21 ] The book "The Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace D. Wattles espouses many of the exact same principles [improper synthesis?] —that truly believing in the object of your desire and focusing onto it will lead to that object or goal being realized on the material plane (Wallace indicates in the Preface and later chapters of this book that his premise stems from the monisticHindu view that God pervades everything and can deliver that which we focus on). In addition, the book also indicates that negative thinking will manifest negative results. [ 22 ] The "law of attraction" in Theosophy, 1915–1919The phrase "Law of Attraction" appeared in the writings of the Theosophical authors William Quan Judge in 1915, [ 23 ] and Annie Besant in 1919. [ 24 ] The Law of Success in 16 LessonsBefore the release of Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill released The Law of Success in 16 Lessons (1928) which directly references the Law of Attraction, by name, repeatedly. "Think and Grow Rich", 1937In 1937, author Napoleon Hill published his book Think and Grow Rich which went on to become one of the best selling books of all time, selling over 60 million copies. In this book, he discusses the importance of controlling your own thoughts in order to achieve success, as well as the energy that thoughts have and their ability to attract other thoughts. In the beginning of the book, Napoleon Hill mentions a "secret" to success, and promises to indirectly describe it at least once in every chapter of the book. It is never named directly for he says that discovering it on one's own is far more beneficial. Many people have argued over what the secret actually is, with some arguing that it was the Law of Attraction. Mid-1900s–2000By the mid 1900s, various authors addressed the topic and related ideas [improper synthesis?] under a range of religious and secular terms, such as "positive thinking", "mental science", "pragmatic Christianity", "New Thought", "practical metaphysics", "Science of Mind" / "Religious Science", and "Divine Science". [ 1 ] [ 25 ] Among the mid 20th century authors who used the term were Florence Scovel Shinn (1925), Sri K. Parvathi Kumar (1942) [ 26 ] , Alice Bailey (1942) [ 27 ] [ 28 ] [ 29 ] , and Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov (1968) [ 30 ] . Author Louise Hay in 1976 released a pamphlet in which she links various diseases and disorders to certain thoughts and states of minds. This list was included in her 1984 best-seller book You Can Heal Your Life, in which she promotes positive thinking as a healing method. [ 31 ] Other proponents of the Law of Attraction included Wallace Wattles, Robert Collier, and Helena Blavatsky, who all published books in the early 1900s. 21st centuryIn 2006, a film entitled The Secret (2006) based on the "Law of Attraction" was released and then developed into a book of the same title in 2007. The movie and book gained widespread attention in the media from Saturday Night Live to The Oprah Winfrey Show in the United States. [ 1 ] The same year the Hicks' The Law Of Attraction was on the New York Times best seller list. [ 32 ] The success of the film and various books led to increased media coverage. Oprah Winfrey devoted two episodes of her show to discussing the film and the law of attraction. [ 33 ] Talk show host Larry King also discussed it on his show but criticized it for several reasons. He pointed to the sufferings in the world and asked: "If the Universe manifests abundance at a mere thought, why is there so much poverty, starvation, and death?" 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