1st Edition

Parapsychology Research on Exceptional Experiences

Edited By Jane Henry Copyright 2005
    272 Pages
    by Routledge

    272 Pages
    by Routledge

    Psychic and other exceptional experiences are surprisingly common but opinions as to their causes vary widely. Can tricks of the mind such as hallucinations, mistaken perception and errors of judgement explain such phenomena or does some yet to be understood non-sensory means of communication come into play?

    In Parapsychology, leading researchers from both the UK and the USA combine their expertise to form a lucid account of research into the science of psychic experience. Beginning with an introduction to the methodology, Parapsychology addresses topics including coincidence, telepathy, precognition, psychokinesis, healing, apparitions, reincarnation and out-of-body experiences. Each chapter describes the phenomenon, outlines the main lines of research and discusses the merits of possible explanations for such anomalies of cognitive function. Extensive suggestions for relevant further reading on each individual subject are provided, along with a detailed glossary of terms.

    Parapsychology provides an accessible and succinct overview of the research and current thinking on the subject of psychic and allied experiences. This balanced account of work in this fascinating area will be of great interest to students and researchers in psychology as well as anyone with an interest in the field.

    List of Illustrations. About the authors. Acknowledgements. Introduction. Part 1. Parapsychology. J. Henry, Parapsychology. J. Milton, Methodology. D. Delanoy, Meta-analyses. C. Watt, Psychological Factors. C.C. French, Scepticism. Part 2. Paranormal Cognition. S.A. Cohn-Simmen, Second Sight. J. Beloff, J. Henry, Extra-sensory Perception. K. Hearne, J. Henry, Precognition and Premonitions. R. Sheldrake, Animal Psi. Part 3. Paranormal Action. J. Henry, Psychokinesis. D. Benor, Healing. S. Krippner, Shamanism. Part 4. Anomalous Experience. J. Henry, Coincidence. A. MacKenzie, J. Henry, Apparitions and Encounters. S. Blackmore, Out-of-body Experiences. S. Blackmore, Near-death Experiences. R. Taylor, Imagery. Part 5. After-life Associations. A. Gauld, Survival. I. Stevenson, Reincarnation. M. Perry, Religion. Appendices. Glossary. W. Poynton, Websites, Organisations and Journals. Index.

    Biography

    Jane Henry is a psychologist and senior lecturer at the Open University where she chairs the Experiential Research Group. She was founding Chair of the British Psychological Society's Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section.

    '..the later chapters manage to be minor masterpieces of concise, authoritative exposition.' - by Dr. Roger Straughan, in The Christian Parapsychologist v.16 no.7, Sep 2005.