Extra Sensory Perception
Have you ever had the feeling that you’ve
been in an establishment before
you’ve actually gone inside? Did you ever
feel like you’ve known that
something was about to happen before there were
any signs that it was about to
occur? If you’re not a skeptic about the
powers of the mind, then there might
just be an explanation for your
seemingly coincidental premonitions. It’s a
phenomenon called extra sensory
perception, better known as ESP. The textbook
definition of this
classification of parapsychology is "sensing"
anything beyond the
normal.(www.paranormalatoz.com) Most scientists do not
believe that this
phenomenon exists. Nevertheless, controversial evidence can be
used to sway
the incredulous. By viewing and researching evidence of ESP and/or
having a
personal experience, the truth lies within the eye of the beholder. The
man
who said it best was C.G. Jung during a lecture given to the Society
for
Psychical Research in 1919. He quotes, "I shall not commit the
fashionable
stupidity of regarding everything I cannot explain as a fraud."
(http://moebius.psy)
ESP includes telepathy, precognition or premonition,
and clairvoyance or
"remote viewing".(www.paranormalatoz.com) Telepathy is
the direct
response to another individual’s thoughts.(Schmeidler,805)
Premonition is a
direct response to a future event.(Schmeidler,805)
Clairvoyance is the direct
response to a future event.(Schmeidler,805) These
types of ESP and other forms
of parapsychology were not even studied until
1882.(Schmeidler,806) In 1882, the
Society for Psychical Research was
established in London , England by a
extraordinary group of Cambridge
scholars. Its purpose was to examine allegedly
paranormal phenomena in a
scientific and unbiased way. It was the first society
of its kind in the
world. (http://moebius.psy) This society is still in full
operation today,
117 years later. The actual term extra sensory perception
wasn’t used until
the early 1930’s. During this time an American scientist,
Joseph Banks
Rhine first began his ground breaking experiments testing
ESP’s
validity.(Encarta) His research was conducted at the Parapsychology
Laboratory
of North Carolina’s, Duke University.(Encarta) Rhine’s most
well-known
experiment involved a deck of twenty-five cards. On the cards,
written in heavy
black ink, each card had a different design on them. The
designs included a
star, a cross, a square, or wavy lines.(Encarta) The
concealed deck of
twenty-five cards was shuffled. One random card was drawn
from the deck at a
time and the test subject was asked to identify the hidden
marking on the
flip-side of the card. If the test subject correctly
identified five out of
twenty five cards correctly, it was considered pure
chance.(Encarta) Rhine and
his associates concluded that if the individual
named six out of ten of the
cards correctly, then indeed the test subject
possessed extra sensory
perception.(Encarta) From his experimentally proved
evidence, it can easily be
seen which stand Rhine took on the controversial
existence of ESP. However, not
all scientists had acknowledged the
authenticity of his trials and the
legitimacy of this branch of
pseudo-science called parapsychology. Certain
scientists do not believe in
the reality of extrasensory perception due to their
lack of faith in the
experiments that test it’s existence. These scientists
claim that the ESP
experiments are hard to if not impossible to repeat.(Encarta)
In
researching, scientists also observed that test results differ according
to
the subject’s attitude. Individual’s that had biased opinions of the
ESP
testing did not score nearly as high as those who were open-minded toward
the
experiment. (Schmeidler 805) Psychologists analyzing the testing
methods
concluded that the subjects who doubted the credibility of
extrasensory
perception were consciously trying to succeed in the testing,
but could have
been unconsciously wanting to fail.(Schmeidler 805) This is an
example of what
scientists call the "file drawer" effect. This is better
explained by
stating that the "...results that the experimenter likes are
published, but
other results stay buried in the files." This makes it hard to
know if
information given is accurate or falsely misinterpreted.(Schmeidler
806) This
main recognition of possible false data is why the majority of
conventional
scientists disregard the findings made in the field of
parapsychology. The
discoveries are labeled unscientific or at best
inconclusive. However, even if
the most solid evidence is found to conclude
that ESP does in fact exist, there
will always be the skeptical scientist who
will feel that the entire basis on
which parapsychology is grounded is
nothing but a fraud. Perfect examples of
this ignorance are psychologists,
Samuel Moss and Donald C. Butler. Both
psychologists are set in denying the
existence of ESP despite seemingly
well-founded evidence. Their mutual view
is that the widespread belief in extra
sensory perception can be, "attributed
to cultural and psychological
factors."(Rubenstein,46) For example, Christian
theology supports the
presence of spiritual phenomena. (Rubenstein,46)
According to Moss and Butler
children might also be prone to believing in ESP
because of fairy tales and
television shows featuring heroes that possess
supernatural powers. This would
be an acceptable explanation for ESP
fraudulence , except for the blatantly
noticeable fact that children aren’t
normally found setting up their own
fortune telling businesses claiming to
predict the future. The adult population
makes up the majority of people who
publicly profess their telepathic or
premonition abilities. However, overall
Moss and Butler believe that the,
"...power to predict and control without
undue effort is alluring that
wishful thinking becomes hardened beliefs."
Which undoubtedly explains
those among us that have proceeded from their
childhood’s still believing that
the powers of their favorite super human
idols are in fact real. Not all
scientists conform to one set method of
reasoning. One of these psychologists,
K. Ramakrishna Rao has fought back
against the negative remarks made by
psychologists who do not accept the
existence of ESP. Rao argues that
indifferently to what other scientists
believe, that experimental design of
successful experiments in parapsychology
are just as good as any in the
behavioral sciences.(Rubnstein, 58)
Parapsychologists, even tried to convince
conventional scientists that ESP is
in fact a sixth sense with support from
quantum physics.(Encarta) Why should
the same experimental methods be used to
test two completely different areas
of study? It doesn’t make sense. This was
Rao’s point exactly, that it
was unjust to compare two uncommon things and
judge between the two on which
is correct. The main complaint of the
conventional scientists, was that the
parapsychology experiments lacked a key
factor in scientific discovery
methods. This factor being repetition. Rao also
argued that experiments
involving extrasensory perception were indeed repeated
to a certain
extent.(Rubnstein, 58) However, the scientists based their argument
over
parapsychology on inadequate testing procedures alone. The rebuttal to
that
argument was exactly what Rao had believed in all along. Simply
that
"...the scientific method, as currently understood, is too restrictive
a
formulation for exploring the unknown."(Encarta) Since the early,
ground
breaking experiments of Joseph Banks Rhine, the parapsychology world
has come a
long way. Announcing his retirement in 1965, Joseph Banks Rhine
transferred all
of research to an organization called the Foundation for
Research on the Nature
of Man. (Encarta) Since that, parapsychology has
become better established in
universities across the nation. Educational
institutes are beginning to offer
more credit courses based upon the field of
parapsychology. (Encarta)
Encouraging the further exploration of the
field involving extrasensory
perception, grants are presented to various
organizations such as the
Parapsychological Association and the American
Association for the Advancement
of Science. Though most conventional
scientists continue to discredit
extrasensory perception, there is some
evidence that almost everyone has at
least some faint ESP ability. How else
could something as seemingly coincidental
as "mother’s intuition" be
explained? History tells us stories of
ESP as well. For example, what
about the enlightenment of a 12 year old girl,
Jean D’Arc, who saved the
nation of France because of her foretelling visions?
The fact is that,
there is evidence out there. Getting individuals to believe in
its
substantiality is another battle. Despite this, soon enough,
through
continuous research and testing of parapsychology, the evidence that
currently
exists will be proven valid and these inquiries and many others
concerning the
unknown will be answered. The real question is, can anyone
predict when?
Bibliography
Microsoft Encarta 1997 Encyclopedia.
"Physical Research". ?1993-1996
Microsoft Corporation. Rubnstein, Joseph
and Slife, Brent D. "Has Science
Discredited ESP?". Taking Sides:
Clashing Views on Controversial
Psychological Issues. 3rd edition. The
Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc. Sluice
Dock, Guilford, CT. 1984. pp.46-59
Schmeidler, Gertrude. "Extrasensory
Perception". The Encyclopedia
Americana. International Edition. Grolier
Incorporated. Danbury, CT.
1997. Vol.10. pp.805 & 806
http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~spr/
www.paranormalatoz.com/esp.html