William James, 19th- and early 20th-century philosopher and scientist, who wrote "The Will to Believe" and "Varieties of Religious Experience." (He's the brother of the novelist
Henry James.) He and his colleagues investigated, and never debunked, an alleged psychic known as Mrs. Piper. One thing that can be said of her: she made no money off her professed abilities, something the psychics profiled on this show cannot claim.
See also: Deborah Blum, Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of the Life After Death, NY, 2006.