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What is the importance of Parapsychology in
the Study of Consciousness?
It is through our consciousness that we can
come to understand anything, but only
recently has consciousness itself become a
subject for scientific study. Psychologists
have returned to an earlier interest in
consciousness after decades of avoiding it
as a subject. They have developed new tools
that make meaningful study more possible,
and recent developments in theoretical
physics have been interpreted by some as
indicating that consciousness plays an
important role in the very constitution of
reality. Medicine has new and powerful means
of influencing the quality of consciousness,
as in the case of anti-depressant and other
psycho-active drugs. This raises an urgent
question about the importance of
consciousness: Is it important in its own
right, or is just a film on top of physical
processes that should be manipulated as we
see fit? Another fundamental question about
consciousness has to do with what might be
called its "existential status" -- that is,
in what sense does consciousness exist? This
is one of the question that particularly
concern the Rhine Center. Consciousness is
often seen by scientists as merely an
emergent characteristic of biological,
nervous-system functioning, with no
autonomous existence in its own right.
Contrary to this assumption, might it be the
case that consciousness does in some sense
exist autonomously? If so, traditional
beliefs about the survival of consciousness
after death could be more than folklore and
wishful thinking. The second important
question about consciousness that concerns
the Rhine Center has to do with the efficacy
or "reach" of consciousness. Is it limited
to the input and output mechanisms of the
brain and nervous system? Or might it
somehow extend beyond that, with perceptual
access beyond the boundaries of the senses,
and a capacity to affect physical events in
some cases without physically impinging upon
them?
To address these basic questions is to
explore the age-old mystery of our nature.
Who are we, and what are our limitations? At
the Rhine Center we explore these questions
using the methods of empirical science.
Because of all of the philosophical,
practical and ethical consequences that flow
from correct answers to these basic
questions, we can think of no more central
concern to occupy the energy of science.
ESP
What is ESP?
ESP stands for extrasensory perception, or
an act of learning something about the world
that has not been conveyed to us in ordinary
ways. It appears to arrive in spite of
ordinary barriers of space and time. If the
act of knowing involves the physical world
only, then it is spoken of as clairvoyance;
if it involves the thoughts or feelings of
another person, it is often called
telepathy; and if it involves something that
has not yet happened but occurs in the
future, it is called precognition.
Who has ESP?
Really, we have not found any type or kind
of person that can be counted on to not
demonstrate some evidence of ESP. So far as
we know at present, it is a widespread
(perhaps universal) capacity, although for
most persons it is expressed only
sporadically and unpredictably. There are a
few persons who have shown unusual
consistency in giving good evidence for ESP
over time, but no clear generalizations leap
out that characterize all of these
individuals. There are some general trends
in terms of personality that have been
found: persons who are better adjusted
emotionally, less anxious, more socially
comfortable and more open-minded all tend to
show more evidence of ESP than their
opposite counterparts. While tendencies like
these are statistically reliable, they are
also weak enough that we cannot use such
dimensions to identify highly psychic
persons with any certainty. Much more
research must be done to learn more about
this fascinating question.
Sometimes my dreams come true. Does this
mean I have ESP?
It certainly may. Parapsychologists feel
safest about drawing conclusions that come
from repeated findings from carefully
controlled experimental studies. Single,
dramatic anecdotes can be fascinating, but
they do not give us scientific conclusions.
In the case of dreams and ESP, considerable
research has accumulated showing that dreams
can indeed carry accurate ESP information,
at least for some persons. We are not sure
how general the phenomenon is, but it does
not seem to be restricted to any particular
kinds of people as far as we now know. So,
indeed, your dreams may sometimes contain
flashes of genuine extrasensory information.
To jump from that to conclude that you are
“psychic” or “have ESP” in some general
sense would probably be a mistake. Even
persons who did very well in scientific
studies of ESP and dreams went on to produce
a majority of dreams, night in and night
out, that did not bear any obvious relation
to outside events. Most times, dreams seem
to be shaped more by our typical waking
concerns and emotional conflicts than by the
mission of carrying extrasensory
information. So don’t take every dream as
evidence that the thing you have dreamt is
somehow going on elsewhere. You would
probably be sadly misled. However, if you do
seem to have ESP in your dreams fairly
often, then it might be interesting for you
to keep a dream diary, and then go over it
periodically to see what things in the
dreams were in fact going on as you slept or
somehow came true in the future. You may
find interesting patterns, such as kinds of
material that you are most likely to learn,
or certain persons with whom you seem to be
most connected. This is the sort of
information that is valuable to all of us
who study these things.
I can clearly read the thoughts of others
and influence them without their knowledge.
Does this mean I should submit myself for
research?
Abilities such as you describe are far in
excess of any that have been established
scientifically. It is very likely that you
are mistaken in your judgment. If these
experiences persist you should be open to
the possibility that they do not reflect
psychic ability, but rather some sort of
disorder of adjustment that deserves
professional help. Many people in your
community will be prepared to offer this
kind of help. You might want to begin by
discussing the matter with your physician,
or your community mental health center, or
find a psychologist or psychiatrist in your
community with whom you feel comfortable.
Unfortunately, the Rhine Center is not
equipped to provide this sort of help, and
it is outside our mission to attempt to do
so.
How
do I know if I have ESP?
The possibility of ESP arises when we notice
an interesting and unusual correspondence
between something we think or feel or dream,
and other events that we have no direct way
of knowing about. One person might have a
dream in which a friend is hurt, and the
next day the friend is injured in some way.
Another person may have an unusual feeling
of apprehension, and then find out later
that a loved one was in danger at the time.
Of course these things may simply be
startling coincidences. The best way to know
if you might show ESP ability in some
consistent sense is by taking part in
systematic research -- or carrying it out
yourself. A friend might look at playing
cards one at a time in another room, while
you write down your impressions of what they
are seeing. After 20 or 30 guesses, check to
see how many cards you were able to call
correctly. By chance alone, a completely
correct call would only occur one time on
average in every deck of 52 cards. If you
are doing considerably better than that, you
may be showing real evidence of some ESP
ability. Elsewhere in this website you can
find more information about carrying out ESP
experiments.
How can ESP be blocked?
Little scientific work has been done on this
question, except for studies that have
demonstrated that ESP can occur despite such
barriers as electromagnetic shielding or
physical distance. On a practical level,
this question frequently comes from persons
who feel that they are being manipulated or
spied upon by extrasensory means by somewhat
who means them harm. These beliefs are never
in fact true, as far as we know, and
probably reflect some disorder of
adjustment. If you believe that such things
are happening to you, you should consult a
psychologist or psychiatrist, or some other
physician. Appropriate treatments, including
medications, can usually relieve these
problems.
Parapsychology
What is
Parapsychology?
Parapsychology is the scientific study of
Consciousness or Mind in its basic nature
and potency. Three core families of
questions make up this field of study.
Can the mind acquire information about
reality in ways that reach beyond the
everyday limits of sensory knowledge? This
is the study of Extra-Sensory Perception
(ESP).
Can the mind affect the world by sheer
intention or need, without acting upon it
with the body or some extension of the body
(such as a tool)? This is the study of
Psychokinesis (PK).
Can the mind survive the death of the
physical body? This is the study of
Survival.
What is Parapsychology not?
Parapsychology is not a collection of New
Age beliefs. It is not the study of
everything odd and exotic. It does not
involve collecting evidence for UFOs or
Bigfoot. It is not the study of astrology or
witchcraft. It is an empirical discipline
that is still very young and somewhat
ignorant. It does not endorse beliefs in
angels or demons, ghosts or haunts (although
it may examine cases of apparent haunting in
order to see if any evidence for the action
of a non-physical intelligence is really
present). All of these and many others are
things with which Parapsychology may
sometimes be confused. We cannot list them
all. To be clear on the matter, refer back
to our description of what Parapsychology
is, and assume that beliefs beyond those
core questions are not really
Parapsychology.
What
is a Parapsychologist?
A parapsychologist is someone who conducts
scientific research that inquires into the
fundamental nature of consciousness in terms
of its relation to the physical body and the
rest of reality, or engages in relevant
scholarly work about such research. A
parapsychologist is not a psychic. If some
person who claims to be a psychic refers to
himself or herself as a parapsychologist
thereby, he or she is using the term
incorrectly.
Why the "Para" in Parapsychology?
Logically speaking, the problems studied by
Parapsychologists might best be thought of
as a part of general psychology, and there
should be no need for the prefix para.
The problems we study are essentially
psychological -- can people know things at a
distance from themselves in space and time,
and can they influence physical processes by
sheer intention? If so, how do these things
work, what patterns do they show, by what
mechanisms do they occur? These questions
are as psychological as how attitudes are
formed, why we see visual depth, or how
chronic stress affects a sense of vitality.
For awhile after the publication of Extra
Sensory Perception by J. B. Rhine in 1934
these questions were in fact active if
highly controversial topics of study in many
psychological laboratories. However, since
then psychology has abandoned these
questions because they have proven to be
difficult to answer affirmatively and
clearly, and because they are associated
with religious beliefs. Since that time,
those who continue to work on these problems
have had to do so largely outside of the
halls of orthodox psychological science.
Since para means alongside of, it is
actually a fair description of the state of
the field, an area of scientific work
persisting alongside orthodox psychology.
Those who persist in studying these things
do so because they believe that the
questions are quite important, important
enough to labor outside the mainstream of
science with little support and with
considerable danger to one's scientific
reputation.
It must also be noted that the term
"parapsychology" can be somewhat misleading
in the sense that the questions of the field
are of great interest to some persons in
fields other than psychology, notably
physics, engineering, biology and medicine;
and many leading parapsychologists had
training in fields other than psychology.
How can I become a Parapsychologist?
There are many people who would like to do
work in the field of Parapsychology.
However, there are relatively few accredited
institutions in which a person can pursue a
doctorate in this field. You should realize
that most parapsychological work is done
part-time by dedicated people who support
themselves with other employment. There are
probably no more than 30 or 40 full-time
parapsychologists in the world, and most of
these are badly underpaid in terms of their
academic credentials. This is a popular
field in terms of popular interests, but
perhaps paradoxically, it is a very
unpopular field in terms of the academic
mainstream.
If you are do want to get a doctorate
specializing in parapsychological studies,
in the United States you could attend the
Saybrook Institute, the California Institute
of Integral Studies or the Institute of
Transpersonal Psychology. All are in
California, although the latter two allow
at-large studies carried out elsewhere. All
focus on consciousness studies in general,
with an emphasis on counseling, but all of
them do have faculty equipped to supervise
scientific work in Parapsychology. Saybrook
may be the most research oriented of the
three. Beyond the United States, your best
bet is in Europe, particularly the United
Kingdom, Sweden and Germany. In the UK, the
University of Edinburgh, Liverpool-Hope
University, and Northampton University all
provide such courses of study. Even with
such a doctorate, though, you should be
prepared to find your prospects for academic
employment in the United States rather dim.
The best way to prepare yourself for
scientific work in this field is by pursuing
a doctorate (or equivalent terminal degree)
in some related mainstream field, and then
look for opportunities to carry out research
after your studies are finished and your
employment is secure. You can then join the
Parapsychological Association and make
yourself current on the research literature.
Present-day parapsychologists have advanced
degrees in many disciplines: psychology,
biology, medicine, physics, engineering,
sociology, and philosophy, are probably the
most common.
The professional biography of any
parapsychologist is a unique story with many
unusual twists and turns. This is not a
clearly laid-out, orthodox career path! If
you are serious about contributing at a
professional level to this field, be warned
that it will take an unusual degree of
persistence, inventiveness, and independence
of spirit. You will have to become expert in
orthodox methods and assumptions without
being completely limited by them. You will
have to find some balance of passion and
discretion. You will have to be very
entrepreneurial in finding support for your
work. You will have to tolerate some degree
(perhaps a lot) of intolerance and
misunderstanding.
If you choose to go to all of this trouble,
you will be welcomed into a remarkable group
of scientists, scattered over the globe.
Since the field is so small and relatively
new, you can count on making real
contributions with any substantial work you
carry out (as opposed to much work in
mainstream science, where tiny problems are
often being pursued by many separate groups
at the same time), and you will know that
you are asking very bold questions with very
great potential ramifications for all of us.
Rhine Research Center
Why is it named the "Rhine" Research Center?
Our Center is named after our founder, J. B.
Rhine (1895-1980). Dr. Rhine, with his wife
Louisa, came to Duke University in 1927 to
join the Department of Psychology there, at
the invitation of Dr. William McDougal, an
eminent psychologist who was interested in
the study of unusual powers of the mind that
were suggested by the claims of
spiritualists who carried out informal,
uncontrolled investigations in séance rooms.
Rhine was interested in these questions, and
had recently received considerable attention
for his role in exposing a very popular
medium of the day as a clever fraud. Rhine
accepted the challenge of finding some way
to use the clear and objective methods of
laboratory science to study to study what he
came to call the reach of the mind. His
Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University
developed clear and quantifiable means to
determine if in fact the human mind had an
"extra-physical" dimension. Using these
methods, the laboratory reported a series of
astonishing and ground-breaking studies that
showed that persons can indeed sometimes
acquire information to which they have never
been exposed by their physical senses. He
called this capacity Extrasensory
Perception. They also reported evidence for
psychokinesis (or mind-over-matter) in which
persons could sometimes influence the
movement of physical objects such as dice,
merely by wishing for a certain outcome.
Finally, they showed that it was indeed
possible to gain information about future
events before they had occurred. Rhine
called this precognition.
Rhine's Duke laboratory remained the center
of a new branch of science that spread to
new laboratories around the world, and
aroused a firestorm of controversy as it
developed. In 1963 Rhine retired from Duke
and founded an independent Institute which
he named the Foundation for Research on the
Nature of Man. In 1995, on the centenary of
his birth, the name of the Institute was
changed to the Rhine Research Center to
honor the memory and legacy of its founder.
Do you have
a question? Use our
Contact Page
to submit your questions about
parapsychology.
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