The Encyclopedia Of Parapsychology And Psychical Research

A reference work on parapsychology, its critics, related topics, and definitions of terminology.

“Superbly organized and researched, this book by Block provides a comprehensive presentation about parapsychology." -Library Journal, Starred Review The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology covers the history of parapsychology, key international figures, and a decade-by-decade annotated bibliography of research. It includes find information on early psychical researchers from around the globe and how the work of those psychical researchers inspired the creation of the modern field of parapsychology. Alongside biographical entries about key figures are sketches of those at the center of psychical inquiry, like mediums and others who seemingly have the ability to manifest strange phenomena. The Encyclopedia covers the Spiritualism era which influenced early psychical inquiry and how it influenced psychical thought around the globe. More contemporary coverage includes biographical entries for current international researchers who continue to investigate the depths of psi phenomena. In order to provide comprehensive coverage of historical and modern research into psi phenomena, the Encyclopedia features a decade-by-decade bibliography of resources that highlight the shifting theories and experiments of the field, starting from the 1870s and going through the 2020s. This section includes a wide variety of research into topics such as psychokinesis, hauntings, poltergeists (also known as recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis), near-death experiences, extrasensory perception, remote viewing, and much more. Appendices provide information on international parapsychological research organizations and a quick start research guide. With information on key figures and research on an international scale, The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology provides an approachable yet comprehensive compendium of information.

The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal contains over 90 articles by more than 50 experts on topics including the strictly paranormal (psychokinesis, channeling, levitation, astrology, phrenology, palmistry); the historical (mediums, psychic research, alchemy, Houdini); the philosophical (miracles, survival of death, reincarnation); and work on investigatory photography, statistics, the media and the Bermuda Triangle. In his foreword, Carl Sagan says, "I wish [this book] were on the shelves of every newspaper editorial desk and every television newsroom, to encourage more skeptical backbone in reporting . . . . [I]n school libraries so that children would have some counterbalance to the many paranormal and mystical claims in our society."

This is a work of "systematic parapsychology." The book aims to construct a framework and system of parapsychology, taking a comprehensive approach to the field. The Outline of Parapsychology states that parapsychology has a different philosophical background from the existing science and religions, and posits that pantheism could be the theoretical basis of parapsychology. The book also integrates parapsychology with oriental philosophies and New Age movement thought.

Grounded in both scientific acumen and constructive inquiry, this anthology shines a rare, clarifying light on the controversial realms of psychical and paranormal research, surveying reports, essays, and arguments from more than a century of investigation into matters such as clairvoyance, telepathy, and past-life regression. In the past one hundred and twenty-five years-despite a relative paucity of funding and the troubling persistence of fraud-serious inquiry into the paranormal, particularly as it relates to clairvoyance and psychical perception, has successfully entered the scientific age. Studies in the modern laboratory, employing rigorous methodology and peer-reviewed oversight, have conclusively detected statistical anomalies that suggest the presence of some not yet understood faculty of the human mind. In The Parapsychology Revolution, Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D.-a scholar widely known for his geological theories that question the conventional dating of the Great Sphinx-and researcher Logan Yonavjak introduce and anthologize core writings that underscore the range and continuing challenges of psychical research. The book's extensive introduction and the editors' commentary on individual essays and sections highlight milestones, feuds, and key players that mark the nascent history of this fascinating and important field of research. Finally, The Parapsychology Revolution addresses and clarifies the all-important question: Is there legitimate evidence for a world beyond the ordinary?

List of members in v.1-19, 21, 24-

This book contains a fair sample of the kind of material which will be encountered by a student who decides to enter on the quest of studying psychic science. A very complete encyclopedia on the issues of psychical research and spiritualism. The inquirer needs no initiation, no preparation, no mystic disposition and no special faculties to learn from this text.