The Ethics of ESP: Mind-Reading

[Maze]

If I'm telepathic or capable of stuff like that, I'm likely better at sending than I am at receiving. I've had people report feeling me poke them, but I hardly ever notice anybody returning the favour.

Again, no empirical evidence for telepathy, though.

I should practice my shields and whatnot more, but work's awful busy these days.  

[AniMajor]

The way I see it, anything that leaves your mind is no longer private. If you tell someone your deepest secret, it's no longer private. If you write your feelings in a journal, it's no longer private. And if you're projecting your thoughts into actions, it's no longer private.

I don't think those who claim to read minds are actually entering someone's mind, but instead, seeing what's already there. And if you're projecting your thoughts, I don't see how it's wrong if someone reads them.

Breaking into someone's mind to read it is wrong, I guess, but I'm not sure how you could tell if it happened. I don't see the point of doing it to some random person, I could really only see the benefit of doing it to someone you didn't like who knew something you needed to know.  

[Deoridhe]

I think I'm empathic, in the "inadvertently feeling what other people feel" sense. I've unshielded/had my shields shatter from within and I couldn't go out into public.

As such, I have very defensive shields with multiple layers of defense, and what I think of as a "cloak" on top of it, since I'd rather not have every tom, d**k, and harry who could see it (if this isn't hallucinations) showing interest in me because I shield so heavily. (The defensive shields are also a bit of a mental exercise for me, because I played with reflection, energy sinks, and other slightly more offensive stuff if people try to break them from the outside, but I've never been threatened that I know of, so like I said - mental exercise.)

I have a second set of what I consider "psyche shields" which are much more subtle and have to do with discerning emotional and mental energy coming out from me and bouncing back off of other people (aka projection) and e/m energy coming out of others and bouncing off of me (aka also projection) but which allow for more nuanced readings of other people. This has mostly been developing in response to my training as a therapist, since I need to be able to have a more permeable shield while still protecting myself from unaccountable public breakdowns.

I suppose you could consider the shields a way of giving other people privacy, since it seems like without them I pick up on at least the stronger projecting emotions (why oh why oh why are they so often anger or grief?) without any seeming ability to avoid it.

I try to not reach "into" other people, but I do a lot of ..."surface reading," especially of clients as it's a way of getting another set of information. I consider this similar to watching body language and listening to and interpreting what clients' say - perfectly reasonable. I would consider any kind of "dive" to be invasive (Wing's phrase of "rape" resonates for me) without an invitation (I've had people ask what they "looked like" inside my head, but that's a more measure thing but still without a "dive").

I'm not at all telepathic, as far as I know.