HISTORY OF PARAPSYCHOLOGY

HISTORY OF PARAPSYCHOLOGYBichu AndrewsShravan AbrahamAshwini ASindura SadanandanSneha John

What is ParapsychologyThe termparapsychology(also known aspsi phenomena) originates frompara meaning "alongside", and psychology(study of mind).

Studies related to it seem to show that in some circumstances it is possible for some persons to make direct responses to events not present to their senses as well as to future events, and probably also to influence directly the movement of objects by willing.

As its name indicates, parapsychology is sometimes considered a sub-branch of psychology since it involves the study of apparent mental faculties. In its modern form however, parapsychology is an interdisciplinary field, which has attracted physicists, engineers, biologists, psychologists and those from other sciences. Parapsychology has no formal affiliation with contemporary psychology nor is it studied in most psychology departments.

Psychical research, psi research (or as it is now known,parapsychology),refers to the experimental and quantitative study of paranormal phenomenon. Paranormal means beside or beyond normal, and is used to describe phenomenon that are not explicable in terms of our ordinary understanding or current scientific knowledge.Parapsychologists study a number of apparentparanormalphenomena, includingtelepathy,precognition,clairvoyance,psychokinesis,near-death experiences andreincarnation

Scope

Parapsychologists study a number of ostensible paranormal phenomena, including but not limited to:

Telepathy: Transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than thefive classical senses.Clairvoyance: Obtaining information about places or events at remote locations, by means unknown to current science.

Psychokinesis: The ability of the mind to influence matter, time, space, or energy by means unknown to current science.

Some psychokinesis researchers claim psychokinesis exists and deserves further study, although the focus of research has shifted away from large-scale phenomena to small phenomena.Precognition: Perception of information about future places or events before they occur.

Near-death experiences: An experience reported by a person who nearly died, or who experiencedclinical deathand then revived.

NDEs include one or more of the following experiences: a sense of being dead; a sensation of floating above one's body and seeing the surrounding area; a sense of overwhelming love and peace; a sensation of moving upwards through a tunnel; encountering a being of light,

Reincarnation: The rebirth of a soul or other non-physical aspect of humanconsciousnessin a new physical body after death.

It is specifically the study of "cases of the reincarnation type", that is, cases in which a young child "spontaneously makes remarks about a previous life he would have led before his birth.(Central belief of Hinduism).

A brief HistoryTheSociety for Psychical Researchwas founded inLondonin 1882. Its formation was the first systematic effort to organize scientists and scholars to investigate paranormal phenomena.Areas of study includedtelepathy,hypnotism,apparitions,hauntings, and the physical aspects ofSpiritualismsuch as table-tilting,materializationandapportation.In 1911,Stanford Universitybecame the first academic institution in the United States to study extrasensory perception (ESP) andpsychokinesis(PK) in a laboratory setting.Was followed by Duke University, As opposed to the approaches of psychical research, which generally soughtqualitative evidencefor paranormal phenomena, the experiments at Duke University proffered aquantitative,statisticalapproach usingcardsand dice.Rhine EraJoseph Banks Rhine, initially a botanist by formal training, studied psychology at Harvard and then at Duke with William McDougall. Rhine is generally considered to be the founding father of parapsychology as an area of scientific inquiry. Inspired by a lecture by Arthur Conan Doyle on the possibility of communicating with the dead, he initiated formal laboratory and field research on paranormal phenomena at Duke University. Rhine, along with associate Karl Zener, had developed a statistical system of testing for ESP that involved subjects guessing what symbol, out of five possible symbols, would appear when going through aspecial deck of cards. A percentage of correct guesses (or hits) significantly above 20% was perceived as higher than chance and indicative of psychic ability. Rhine stated in his first book,ExtraSensory Perception(1934), that after 90,000 trials, he felt ESP is "an actual and demonstrable occurrence".

He also started the Journal of Parapsychology, founded the Parapsychological Association and edited several editions of the book "Extra Sensory Perception". His Rhine Research Center and Institute for Parapsychology, originally affiliated with Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, later became a wholly independent entity. Although there is evidence that data produced by some of his assistants may have been fraudulent, Rhine himself was known for rigorous lab research and approach to statistical analysis.

Issues and DebatesSince the 1980s, contemporary parapsychological research has waned considerably in the United States. Early research was considered inconclusive, and parapsychologists were faced with strong opposition from their academic colleagues.

Rupert Sheldrakeis an English biochemist. He is known for his research into parapsychology. He is a famous investigator and scientist looking into parapsychology and supposedly giving the best evidence (or arguing from other research evidence) for the existence of psychic powers. His specialist area concernsGanzfeld Experiment.Parapsychological theories are currently viewed aspseudoscientificby the scientific community as they are incompatible with well established laws of science.

Scientists critical of parapsychology stated parapsychology asclustering illusion,availability error,illusion of control ormagical thinking

Fabricated images of ghosts such as this were very popular in the 19th century

Critical analysts, including some parapsychologists, are not satisfied with experimental parapsychology studies, contend that apparently successful experimental results in psi research are more likely due to poorly trained researchers, or methodological flaws rather than to genuine psi effects.

Stage magicianandskeptic,James Randi has demonstrated thatmagic tricks can simulate or duplicate some supposedly psychic phenomena.

PK ON RANDOM NUMBER GENERATORSPK ON LIVING SYSTEMSESP IN THE GANZFELDREMOTE VIEWINGCriticism: Apparently successful experimental results are actually due to sloppy procedures, poorly trained researchers, methodological flaws, selective reporting, and statistics problems. There is therefore not a shred of scientific evidence for psi phenomena.Criticism: Psi phenomena violate basic limiting principles of science, and are therefore impossible.Criticism: Parapsychology does not have a "repeatable" experiment.