ESP and Psychokinesis

Abstract

This work was the first sustained philosophical study of psychic phenomena to follow C.D. Broad's LECTURES ON PSYCHICAL RESEARCH, written nearly twenty years earlier. The author clearly defines the categories of psychic phenomena, surveys the most compelling experimental data, and traces their implications for the philosophy of science and the philosophy of mind. He considers carefully the abstract presuppositions underlying leading theories of psychic phenomena, and he offers bold criticisms of both mechanistic analyses of communication and psychophysical identity theories. In addition, he challenges the received view that experimental repeatability is the paramount criterion for evaluating parapsychological research, and he exposes the deep confusions underlying Jung's concept of synchronicity.

About the Author

Stephen E. Braude is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. For more than 25 years he has studied the evidence of parapsychology, in the hope that it will provide new insights into old problems in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of mind. He is past President of the Parapsychological Association and the recipient of several grants and fellowships, including a Research Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. In addition to more than 40 philosophical essays in books and journals, he has written three other books: THE LIMITS OF INFLUENCE: PSYCHOKINESIS AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE; FIRST PERSON PLURAL: MULTIPLE PERSONALITY AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF MIND; IMMORTAL REMAINS: THE EVIDENCE FOR LIFE AFTER DEATH; and THE GOLD LEAF LADY AND OTHER PARAPSYCHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS. He is also a professional pianist and composer.