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Psi
What is psi?
Psi is an umbrella word for extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK).ESP is also known as telepathy, clairvoyance or precognition. They all involve anomalous communication, that is information is gained by somebody through means other than the regular five senses. Our current understanding of how we access information is limited to these five senses and consequently information gained through ESP is considered anomalous by science and philosophy.
PK is anomalous action at a distance. When someone effects something physically without any known motor mechanism then an instance of PK is thought to have occurred.
Both of these phenomena are defined negatively and consequently their anomalous nature is an anathema to science. However, there is a growing body of evidence which suggests that psi is a genuine phenomenon and part of the human experience of the world.
There is a resulting tension between the continued belief in the phenomena, the build up of evidence of the phenomena and the continued resistance of the phenomena to be explained by a working theory that makes it compatible to mainstream science and philosophy.
There could be historical reasons for this which I explore in a paper called Beyond Beliefs: anomalous phenomena and explanation. (with publisher's consent from: Consequentiality Volume II: Mythology, Theology, Ontology. Expanding Human Consciousness, Florida, 2006). Click on the title for a copy in word if you are interested - there is also a very brief run down on the evidence for psi. Scroll down for more information...(There is now a grander version in the form of my thesis, which I've posted up as a PDF on the CV page: http://www.utas.edu.au/philosophy/postgradpubs/Hannah/cv.html
Why study psi?
There is a reasonable amount of evidence for psi and yet it remains an anomalous phenomenon to mainstream science. There is a long history of the study of psi as part of the human experience which will eventually be explained in natural terms and the evidence continues to grow. I believe that eventually psi will be understood in these terms but as there is still no dominant theory that explains psi there is a challenge to work out how to expand the limits of science and philosophy to contend with a phenomenon that for so many centuries has been viewed as supernatural. It is this puzzle that I find fascinating.
Many people ask me why I originally became interested in this area of study. They assume that people who study psi have had some kind of experience that has taken them down this track. Alas, that is not the case for me. Aside from one very inane instance of anomalous communication I haven't had any such experiences with either ESP or PK. I can't remember though not having an interest in psi and since I was young I have always read widely in the area. I was also lucky enough to stumble across a stack of academic literature on parapsychology as an undergraduate (thanks to the Dewey decimal system they were in the shelf next to the philosophy of mind reading I was supposed to be doing). This stirred my curiosity further as it allowed me access to information about the study of psi as natural phenomena that is not widely available through mainstream publications.
I have a great respect for all the people who have contributed to this field of study over the last 120 years and I find the ongoing challenge of understanding psi a worthy one. I also think that philosophy of mind issues will be influenced by psi theory but the latter must take place before it can be used to help understand the former.
Links
Psi is usually associated with parapsychology which is a sub-branch of psychology. This is a link to some general information about parapsychology:
http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file1.html#4Here is a link to the Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research which has information on their journal and current researchers in Australia among other general information on psi:
http://www.aiprinc.org/index.asp
I draw on the results of parapsychology for my research on psi in philosophy. Although I think that an interdisciplinary approach is now required to unravel the puzzle posed by psi, parapsychology has provided much needed experimental evidence for psi and there is a wealth of information out there for those who are interested.
Here are some of the major institutions and foundations that study psi
or encourage the study of psi:
http://www.parapsych.org/index.html
http://www.parapsychology.org
http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk
http://www.noetic.org/index.cfm
I undertook an online course through the University of Utrecht in 1998 and can recommend it to those who are interested in studying psi at university level and who are after an introduction into experimental and statistical psi evidence. It is now offered at the University of Humanistics in Utrecht and details can be found at:http://m0134.fmg.uva.nl/edu/excexp/
It is run by Dick Bierman - an academic who has made considerable experimental and theoretical contributions to the area of psi research.
As has Dean Radin another favourite author of mine who wrote The Conscious Universe which is an excellent entrée into the world of psi, the history of the study of psi and potential theoretical ramifications of the acceptance of psi.
I appreciate his contributions to psi research for their intelligent, thoughtful, level-headed and exceedingly patient approach.
Here is a link to the youtube page with a video of him giving a talk to the Google techies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw_O9Qiwqew
It is a definite must-see for all you people out there who are ignorant about the current state of play of psi research. (For all you people I keep meeting at parties who say 'but there is no evidence, but what about the million dollar prize, but its impossible' - please watch this first before we continue any disucssions...)Here are some links to pages with experimental data:
http://www.princeton.edu/~pear/
http://psi-sweden.org/artiklar/ganzfeld.html
It is rare that philosophers write in any depth about psi but an exception to this is Stephen E. Braude who wrote two important books that deal specifically with philosophical issues and psi: ESP and Psychokinesis: A Philosophical Examination and The Limits of Influence: Psychokinesis and the Philosophy of Science. He has also published a more recent book: Immortal Remains, and even more recently The Gold Leaf Lady and Other Parapsychological Investigations. Details of the books can be found here.
For a general introduction to online psi experiments and online journals try:
http://www.psiexplorer.com/And before any of you red-faced skeptics who might be perusing these pages get up in arms that the skeptical position is not represented - I do read the skeptic literature (I have sometimes been challenged otherwise by those who only read the skeptic perspective) and I have some respect for the work of the skeptic James E. Alcock. He is psychologist who has patiently engaged with the literature on psi research and has some interesting things to say about the lack of development of psi theory. He is one of the few skeptics about psi to take the time to become informed before discussing the controversies surrounding the evidence for psi. Here is the link to an edition of the Journal of Consciousness Studies entitled Psi Wars in which there is a thought provoking article by him on the current state of play in psi research and theory (among other interesting articles)
For those who are interested in a book on the current state of play relating to psi research and psi theory, the Australian author Damien Broderick has just published a new book called Outside the Gates of Science: Why it's time for the paranormal to come in from the cold. I recommend it as a book that is accessible, current and eminently readable - he has a style of writing that is both entertaining and informative and he spices the topic up with a healthy sense of humour and genuine questioning tone. It is available widely through the usual net book stores.
Some people have expressed an interest in reading my thesis which I recently completed. It deals with psi and explanation theory in philosophy of science. It is rather dry, as it must be to pass the academic standards, so it might make good late night reading if you need something to help you drift off... But, jokes aside, it does make quite a strong case against the prevailing dominant arguments that continue to be reiterated in both academic and non-academic literature which maintain that evidence for psi must be produced by fraud, or self-deluded scientists. So, if you are interested in getting into the philosophical angle of discussion over the evidence it could be of use to you. I also tackle the current literature in philosophy of science regarding explanation, which brings some interesting explanatory issue to light regarding explanation of the anomalous. I am planning a more reader friendly, publishable version, but as this is unlikely to appear at your local bookstore anytime soon, I've created some PDFs of thesis itself. They are post on the CV page: http://www.utas.edu.au/philosophy/postgradpubs/Hannah/cv.html
Robert R. Coly Prize
Many thanks to the Parapsychology Foundation for supporting international psi research. I was fortunate to be awarded the Robert R. Coly Essay Prize for 2006. More details can be found here.
More questions?
I am always happy to answer any questions about psi and the study of this intriguing phenomenon.
You can email me at hjenkins@utas.edu.au