Theos-Talk Archives (October 1995 Message tl00137)

I sincerely hope that scientists are and will be more open to trying to
apply the scientific method to the "intangible realms".

But why are psychololgists in general skeptical of even telepathy and ESP?

Why do we not find every university with parapsychology departments or at
least classes on parapsychology being taught in the psychology departments?

Are you aware of the uphill battle parapsycholgists are fighting today to
find funding in order to do just minimal amounts of research?

If you all know of new interest in these subjects and people willing to give
funding for research in parapsychology and related areas, please contact the
Parapsychology Association. Its members will be more than happy to take the
funds and try to devise scientific experiments concerning the intangible realms.

Reductionism is still alive and well within the scientific community. Hopefully
things are changing. For example, read the books by the psychologist Susan
Blackmore on out of body experiences and near-death experiences. She
denies the reality of these experiences and reduces them to something else:
physical processes in the brain; nothing gets out of the body; there is nothing
to get out of the body! This is reductionism, at its best.

As I said hopfully things are changing or at least starting to change, but I
don't get the feeling that the scientific community and the power structure
within the scientific community is opening its arms to embrace the paranormal.
Not yet. I think this is part of what Dr. Algeo is talking about.

If you [Don and Patrick] disagree, please give us a list of books and articles
that indicate differently. I'm sure Dr. Algeo will be happy to know that
scientists are willing to give up reductionism (ie. physical reductionism).

Do introductory textbooks on physics even consider the possibility
of "levitation", etc.? Do any textbooks in psychology deal with
Dr. Ian Stevenson's researchon children who claim to remember
previous lives?etc etc.

Daniel Caldwell