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Introduction to Parapsychology
Parapsychology is the scientific study of so-called "paranormal" phenomena. The popular term "paranormal" is misleading, though: psi phenomena are mental phenomena science has yet to understand. Read what parapsyhology really is and what are parapsychologists study.
By Michele Bugliaro Goggia - last modified: May 10, 2006 2:21 AM
Paranormal, psi, parapsychological. All three words describe the same phenomena in a general way. As you could expect, the public is split into two groups: those who just take anything for paranormal, desperately looking for new so-called "evidence" (ghosts, orbs and more); those who remain sceptic and deny the paranormal. Mid-way sits the psi researcher. Psychic Science, by Michael Daniels PhD, gives a good definition for "the paranormal" I'm quoting right below:
The "paranormal" (beside or beyond the normal) refers to unusual experiences that do not seem to be explainable in terms of our everyday understanding or known scientific principles. Paranormal experiences often seem weird, uncanny, or unnatural. Typically they are quite rare but there are a few exceptional "stars" who have regular paranormal experiences and may show seemingly consistent paranormal ability.
Scientifically speaking, we aim at understanding and explaining psi phenomena. This can only mean one thing: that unusual experience that doesn't seem to be explainable is not the correct way to seek.
A parapsychologist is a scientist graduated in Psychology with a Master in Parapsychology. The researcher is confident with the scientific method. In some Universities (mostly in USA, but there's one in Germany) it is possible to study parapsychology. Outside all this, no one is parapsychologist. There are basically two big areas for psi research: mental and physical phenomena. The first includes extrasensory perception (ESP), telepathy and remove viewing. The second includes, for example, psychokinesis (PK), healing and poltergeist.
Parapsychology has yet a better classification: ESP, PK and survival after bodily death.
ESP & General ESP
- Telepathy: mind-to-mind communication, not verbal nor gesture-based.
- Clairvoyance: a subject perceives objects or places far from the reach of the eyes.
- Precognition: the ability to receive precise images of future events.
- Retrocognition: the ability to receive informations from the past.
PK
- Micro-PK: PK applied to the microworld (invisible to our eyes).
- Macro-PK: PK applied to the macroworld (visible to our eyes).
- Telekinesis: PK applied to a physical object, without direct mechanical action.
Survival after bodily death
- Near-death experiences occurring after a physical traumatic accident.
- Apparitions, including ghosts and hauntings.
- Reincarnation, memories from past lives.
Each field quoted above has had researches conducted by scientists with academic standards. Despite this, mainstream science denies psi phenomena as parascience or, even worse, nonscience. This is, in my own mind, due to general ignorance regarding parapsychology and to the implications. If psi phenomena were real, and they are, it could indicate we don't know all about nature and the universe. Furthermore, it suggested the human limits have been underestimated. On a more philosophical note, mind and body were not two separate elements of Homo sapiens. Take telepathy: science knows no way for our brain to communicate this way, but the phenomenon is real. Take poltergeists: an emotionally-dusturbed teenager can influence the physical environment through PK. Again, science does not know how.
The interest for parapsychology goes well beyond the passion for the occult. For physicists, psi phenomena could indicate we have a gross understanding of space, time and energy. For biologists, it'd be a new way of sensing the world.
External links
Introduction to parapsychology at Psychic Science
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