Parapsychology (Literature) Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

What is meant by the paranormal? Though it cannot be defined exactly, except as a group of anomalies, it is better known for what it is not. It is not normal. As a group of phenomena it is broken down as either ESP (Extra-Sensory Perception) of PK (PsychoKinesis): This breakdown represents a natural split between purely mental and physical. There are still arguments against the legitimacy of parapsychology based on an older mind/matter (religion/science) dualism, yet parapsychology itself is plagued by internal arguments whether psi is mental or physical. Once that road is traveled, we can move on and develop a physical theory, which may be necessary because of certain shortcomings in parapsychology if for no other reason. The final acceptance of psi in the scientific community will depend on a theory which can form a framework for research. Such a theory is necessary and is recognized as such, whether mentally or physically based, by most parapsychologists. Yet analogies between characteristics of psi events and modern physical phenomena demonstrate that a physical theory is what is really needed. This leads to the question “is there such an ‘animal’ as Paraphysics?” Unfortunately, very little has been done along the line of developing a real a physical theory and there may still be reasons why such a theory may be unacceptable. The physical theories presented are broken along two basic lines paralleling trends in modern physics: Quantum mechanics versus field theory. The greater trend seems to be toward an explanation along quantum mechanical lines. However, arguments for both are given. Some general characteristics of psi are mentioned, but the main emphasis will be on the relation of psi signaling to the inverse square law, physical barriers to ESP and electrical brain waves. Some of the theories dealt with in more detail are those authored by Wasserman, Marshall, Walker, Dobbs, Forwald, Carrington, Roll and Puharich, among others. Again, these are physical theories, related directly to the physical aspects of psi. Where possible, comments either pro or con relative to the different theories are discussed. And finally, I propose my own physical theory, or perhaps my first speculation on which a true physical theory will develop. My own theory is completely original, approached from a completely different angle and hopefully far more basic than the theories thus far investigated. * The original paper comprised more than one-hundred handwritten pages and was entered into a word processor nearly two decades later, so the intent was never to publish this paper. Yet it is important because it was the starting point for all of my later work in physics, the history of science and paraphysics. Although never published in its entirety, all the material in this paper eventually found its way into other published work.