The Limits of Influence: Psychokinesis and the Philosophy of Science - Couverture souple

Braude, S.E.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0415062039 ISBN 13 : 9780415062039

Editeur : Routledge, 1991

Synopsis

Levitations, materializations, healings, earthquake-like rocking. The evidence of large scale spontaneous psychokinesis through history is a neglected and unjustly maligned aspect of the science of parapsychology. In "The Limits of Influence" Stephen E. Braude argues that the familiar card-guessing experiments and statistical proofs' of PSI will never elicit important or revealing facts about the phenomena. Instead he turns our attention to the substantial (if sometimes bizarre) qualitative evidence. Not only does this pose no threat to the fabric of science, but it holds out hope for substantial progress in psychology, as well as in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of mind which have so far have failed to solve fundamental problems of consciousness and intentionality. This book should be of interest to students and teachers of philosophy and psychology.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

The Limits of Influence is a detailed examination and defense of the evidence for largescale-psychokinesis (P.K.). It examines the reasons why experimental evidence has not, and perhaps cannot, convince most skeptics that P.K. is genuine, and it considers why traditional experimental procedures are important to reveal interesting facts about the phenomena. It then examines why P.K. does not pose a clear threat to the very fabric of science, as many have proposed. The major skeptical challenges to taking large-scale P.K. seriously and the reason why those challenges are all unsatisfactory are considered. The evidence examined most closely is the turn-of-the-century evidence for physical mediumship, with special attention given to the cases of D.D. Home and Eusapio Palladino. The author compares and evaluates the leading theories of apparitions and considers the extent to which the evidence for collective apparitions can be interpreted as a further type of psychokinetic phenomenon. Finally, the claim that P.K. (and psychic functioning generally) might occur in refined and extensive forms is considered. It argues that this claim is not as outlandish as many have maintained and that we might have to accept something like the 'magical' world view associated with so-called 'primitive' societies.

Biographie de l'auteur

Stephen E. Braude is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. He is also the author of First Person Plural: Multiple Personality and the Philosophy of Mind, Revised Edition (Rowman & Littlefield, 1995).

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Routledge
• Date d'édition: 1991
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0415062039
• ISBN 13: 9780415062039
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 326
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible