Psi Development

The intent of this book is to create a framework for the legitimate academic evaluation, design, and practice of programs for the cultivation of "psi," the generic term for uncanny or ostensibly paranormal phenomena. In this introductory chapter, I first map out the basic conceptual territory and briefly discuss the interdisciplinary approach and the nature of paradigm shifts in scientific work. Next, I offer an overview of psi research in terms of the schism within parapsychology itself, as well as the controversy surrounding the field-and its effects, and present several models for psi research. After a discussion of the "systems" approach and how psi systems have developed through human history, the chapter concludes with an outline of the evaluation procedures necessary to determine the worth of the analysis in this book.

The field of parapsychology contains the following elements:

(1) The historical - including ancient mystical theory and practice, medieval astrology and magic, metaphysical philosophy and occultism, spiritualism, psychical research, and early experimental parapsychology.

(2) The experimentally known -- including physiological, physical, and psychological variables.

(3) The social-psychological -- including psychopathology, folklore and literature, biographies, institutional and political responses to ostensible psi, and psi-related phenomena.

(4) The developmental and applied -- including yoga, meditation, hypnosis, and other potentially psi-enhancing training systems, and their practical use in education, medicine, science, the arts, business, and the humanities.

(5) The philosophical -- integration of all the above topics into an all-encompassing theoretical framework.

I have set myself the task of defining parapsychology in new terms, as a discipline in and of itself. Building on a century of parapsychological inquiry, I owe a great deal to two major contributions of previous generations: the case history methodology of early psychical research, and the experimental methodology of J. B. Rhine, who is widely regarded as the "father of modem parapsychology."

It has been my intention since 1973 to help create a third synthesis with three characteristics: extending the self-conscious history of parapsychology further into its historical traditions, critically evaluating contemporary or popular programs, and establishing a new and more balanced disciplinary framework that will allow parapsychology to fulfill its dual potential as a discipline for both scientific progress and individual self-actualization.