Everyone knows that universities and institutes are serious institutions. In addition to teaching students various sciences there, researchers conduct all kinds of research in mathematics, chemistry, physics, medicine, psychology, etc. But there is another area of human knowledge - parapsychology. The fact remains: the most authoritative universities in the world at various times have been engaged in research in this "unscientific" area.
ON A SEPARATE LINE
First, let's figure out what parapsychology is. Strictly speaking, this discipline systematizes and analyzes information about paradoxical biophysical phenomena, the implementation mechanisms of which are directly or indirectly related to the mental processes of humans or other living beings. Parapsychology arose as a result of a rational scientific rethinking of the occult-mystical heritage of mankind, as well as various phenomena traditionally considered as inexplicable cases, in some way generated or associated with the human psyche, sometimes with the psyche of animals.
Despite the close attention to it from scientists, parapsychology has not acquired the status of an official science. Why? Experts have failed to form a theoretical basis that would reliably explain and effectively investigate the nature of psi phenomena. In fact, parapsychology still remains "a pseudoscientific discipline aimed at investigating the existence and causes of supernatural psychic abilities in humans, animals and plants, the phenomena of life after death and the like using scientific methodology," according to Wikipedia.
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The lack of a clear scientific basis has led to the fact that there is no consensus among parapsychologists about the interpretation of a particular psi phenomenon. In addition, speculators, swindlers and falsifiers made their contribution, discrediting parapsychology both in the eyes of the public and in the eyes of the scientific community.
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Nevertheless, parapsychology, albeit as a pseudoscientific discipline, has its own long history of study. In 1882, the Society for Psychical Research was formed in Great Britain. The English scholarly brotherhood included politicians, philosophers, teachers and scientists. The society conducted research in various fields (telepathy, hypnosis, clairvoyance, spiritualism, automatic writing).
One of the first works was the study of the paranormal abilities of people who suffered hallucinations in the form of ghosts. In 1885, thanks in large part to the support of psychologist William James, the Society for Paranormal Research opened its doors in New York. In 1911, Stanford University became the first educational institution in the United States to begin the study of extrasensory perception and psychokinesis in the laboratory. The experiments were led by psychologist John Edgar Coover.
In 1930, Duke University became the second major US institution to engage in the critical study of ESP and psychokinesis. Under the guidance of psychologist William McDougall, Karl Zener, Joseph Rein, and Louise Rein began laboratory experiments using volunteers from university students.
In contrast to the approach of the Society for Psychical Research, which generally sought to provide qualitative evidence for the existence of the paranormal, the experiments at Duke University were quantitative - using maps, symbols and signs. The work was successful: the percentage of correct guessing of the symbols turned out to be quite high, which was received with a bang.
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Rein stated in his first book, Extrasensory Perception (1934), that after 90,000 trials, he felt that extrasensory perception was "factual and obvious." The data, however, drew a lot of criticism among scientists. When Raine retired, the parapsychological research department was disbanded.
But his work did not die. In the early 1970s, parapsychological organizations were formed from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. These are the Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine (1970), the Institute of Parasciences (1971), the Academy of Religion and Psychological Research, the Institute of Spiritual Sciences (1973), the International Kirlian Research Association (1975), as well as the Engineering and Anomalistic Department of the Princeton Research Laboratory (1979). During this time, parapsychological work was also carried out at the Stanford Research Institute. The focus on parapsychology has increased.
And the influx of spiritual teachers from Asia contributed to the fact that out-of-body experiments began to be carried out in the United States. Bursts of interest in parapsychology reached Europe. The Soviet Union was also "noted": in many Soviet laboratories, parapsychological experiments were carried out under the heading "top secret".
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However, interest in parapsychology was undulating, and in the 1980s it markedly faded. Parapsychological research in the United States has declined dramatically. Researchers faced strong resistance from their academic colleagues. Some experiments came under tight control, resulting in a dead end. Many laboratories in the United States have closed due to lack of recognition from mainstream science. Part of the research was funded by private individuals.
Currently, only two universities in the United States officially have academic parapsychology laboratories. The first is the Perceptual Research Unit at the University of Virginia in the Department of Psychiatry, which studies the survival of consciousness after bodily death. The second is the S Veritas laboratory at the University of Arizona, which conducts research into mediumistic phenomena.
Several private institutions, including the Institute of Noetic Sciences, conduct and encourage parapsychological research. The UK conducts parapsychological research in Europe, funding private laboratories at the universities of Edinburgh, Northampton and Liverpool.
THE PATIENT IS LIVING SOON
And yet it is premature to talk about the death of parapsychology as a science. Here and there, scientific work in this area is periodically conducted. The United States has undoubtedly made the greatest contribution to the study of the paranormal.
In the early 1970s, the United States spent about $ 20 million through the US Department of Defense, NASA and various intelligence agencies, including the CIA, on parapsychological research at the think tank - the international Stanford Research Institute. In 1985, the implementation of this program was entrusted to the International Corporation for Scientific and Technological Development, one of the largest private research organizations operating under military contracts.
The problems of clairvoyance, the transmission of thoughts at a distance, were studied, which government departments considered as possible information of a strategic nature. At the end of 1994, funding for the program was discontinued. The research results were not disclosed.
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A number of universities around the world are pursuing academic parapsychology programs. These include the Koestler Parapsychology Group at the University of Edinburgh; Rhine Research Center at the Institute of Parapsychology; Parapsychological Research Group of the University of Liverpool; The Sofia Project at the University of Arizona; the Research Unit of Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology from John Maurice University of Liverpool; Center for the Study of Abnormal Mental Processes at Northampton University; research arm of anomalistic psychology at Goldsmith University of London.
Parapsychological experiments are being carried out quite actively in Japan. The Japanese, oddly enough, are especially sensitive to their ghosts, and the University of Tokyo funds research related to ghosts. In 1983, some negligent student hanged himself in one of the classrooms, failing an important exam. Since then, students and teachers, having found themselves here, experience unreasonable fear, feel the icy cold. How not to take advantage of what is literally at your side?
Our scientists are not lagging behind. In the last 20 years alone, a lot of interesting research has been carried out in the country. Here are just a few of the achievements. In 1995, under the guidance of Professor A. G. Lee, experiments on telekinesis were carried out under controlled laboratory conditions. In 1996, an ambulance service for poltergeists was organized in Moscow.
In the same year, the scientific conference "Reality of the Subtle World" was held in St. Petersburg. Three years later, another conference was held in the capital - on the problems of modern parapsychology. Since then, such events have been regularly organized in Moscow.
Ksenia SVETLOVA