|
Anomalistic Psychology
In psychology, anomalistic psychology is the study of human behaviour and experience connected with what is often called the paranormal, with few assumptions made about the validity of the reported phenomena. Early history According to anomalistic psychology, paranormal phenomena have naturalistic explanations resulting from psychological and physical factors which have given the false impression of paranormal activity to some people. There were many early publications that gave rational explanations for alleged paranormal experiences. The physician John Ferriar wrote ''An Essay Towards a Theory of Apparitions'' in 1813 in which he argued that sightings of ghosts were the result of optical illusions. Later, the French physician Alexandre Jacques François Brière de Boismont published ''On Hallucinations: Or, the Rational History of Apparitions, Dreams, Ecstasy, Magnetism, and Somnambulism'' in 1845 in which he claimed sightings of ghosts were the result of hallucinations. Wil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feelings, and motivation, motives. Psychology is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between the Natural science, natural and social sciences. Biological psychologists seek an understanding of the Emergence, emergent properties of brains, linking the discipline to neuroscience. As social scientists, psychologists aim to understand the behavior of individuals and groups.Hockenbury & Hockenbury. Psychology. Worth Publishers, 2010. A professional practitioner or researcher involved in the discipline is called a psychologist. Some psychologists can also be classified as Behavioural sciences, behavioral or Cognitive science, cognitive scientists. Some psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanings since the ancient world, the term "supernatural" emerged in the Middle Ages and did not exist in the ancient world. The supernatural is featured in folklore and religious contexts, but can also feature as an explanation in more secular contexts, as in the cases of superstitions or belief in the paranormal. The term is attributed to non-physical entity, non-physical entities, such as angels, demons, gods and ghost, spirits. It also includes claimed abilities embodied in or provided by such beings, including Magic (supernatural), magic, telekinesis, levitation (paranormal), levitation, precognition and extrasensory perception. The supernatural is hypernymic to religion. Religions are standardized supernaturalist worldviews, or at least m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Millais Culpin
Millais Culpin FRCS (6 January 1874 in Ware, Hertfordshire – 14 September 1952 in St Albans, Hertfordshire) was an English physician and psychotherapist. He appears as a character in the '' Casualty 1907'' and ''Casualty 1909'' television series, where he was played by Will Houston. Culpin lived at Meads, Loughton, where he is commemorated by a blue plaque. Publications *''Mental Abnormality: Facts and Theories'' (1948) *''Psychology in Medicine'' (1945) *''Recent Advances in the Study of Psychoneuroses'' (1931) *''Spiritualism and the New Psychology: An Explanation of Spiritualist Phenomena and Beliefs in Terms of Modern Knowledge'' (1920) References Sources * Frances Millais MacKeith, ‘Culpin, Millais (1874–1952)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2006 http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/51592 accessed Millais Culpin (1874–1952): * CULPIN, Millais’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Baerwald
Richard Baerwald (1867–1929) was a German academic psychologist, in Berlin. Towards the end of his life he became interested in parapsychology and occultism The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mystic ... (as it was interpreted at the period). He edited the ''Zeitschrift für Kritischen Okkultismus'' from 1926 to 1928.Kurtz, Paul. (1985). ''A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology''. Prometheus Books. p. 487. Works *''Theorie der Begabung'' (1896) *''Der Mensch ist grösser als das Schicksal'' (1922) *''Die intellektuellen Phänomene'' (1925) *''Okkultismus und Spiritismus und ihre weltanschaulichen Folgerungen'' (1926) *''Psychologie der Selbstverteidigung in Kampf-, Not- und Krankheitszeiten'' (1927) References Further reading * Perovsky-Petrovo-Solovovo. (1928)''Okk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Kurtz
Paul Kurtz (December 21, 1925 – October 20, 2012) was an American scientific skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism". He was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for Social Research. Kurtz founded the publishing house Prometheus Books in 1969. He was also the founder and past chairman of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI, formerly the ''Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal'', CSICOP), the Council for Secular Humanism, and the Center for Inquiry. He was editor in chief of ''Free Inquiry'' magazine, a publication of the Council for Secular Humanism. He was co-chair of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) from 1986 to 1994. He was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Humanist Laureate, president of the International A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Jaspers
Karl Theodor Jaspers (; ; 23 February 1883 – 26 February 1969) was a German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry, and philosophy. His 1913 work ''General Psychopathology'' influenced many later diagnostic criteria, and argued for a distinction between "primary" and "secondary" delusions. After being trained in and practising psychiatry, Jaspers turned to philosophical inquiry and attempted to develop an innovative philosophical system. He was often viewed as a major exponent of existentialism in Germany, though he did not accept the label. Life Jaspers was born in Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg in 1883 to a mother from a local farming community, and a jurist father. He showed an early interest in philosophy, but his father's experience with the legal system influenced his decision to study law at Heidelberg University. Jaspers first studied law in Heidelberg and later in University of Munich, Munich for three semesters. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religious Experience
A religious experience (sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, mystical experience) is a subjectivity, subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defense against the growing rationalism of Western world, Western society. William James popularised the concept. In some religions, this is said to sometimes result in unverified personal gnosis. Many religious and mystical traditions see religious experiences (particularly the knowledge which comes with them) as revelations caused by divine agency rather than ordinary natural processes. They are considered real encounters with God or gods, or real contact with higher-order realities of which humans are not ordinarily aware. Skeptics may hold that religious experience is an evolved feature of the human brain amenable to normal scientific study. The commonalities and differences between religious experiences across different cultures ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apparitional Experience
In parapsychology, an apparitional experience is an anomalous experience characterized by the apparent perception of either a living being or an inanimate object without there being any material stimulus for such a perception. In academic discussion, the term "apparitional experience" is preferred to the term "ghost" because: # The term ghost implies that some element of the human being survives death and, at least under certain circumstances, can make itself perceptible to living human beings. There are other competing explanations of apparitional experiences. # Firsthand accounts of apparitional experiences differ in many respects from their fictional counterparts in literary or traditional Ghost story, ghost stories and List of ghost films, films (see below). # The content of apparitional experiences includes living beings, both human and animal, and even inanimate objects. History Attempts to apply modern scientific or investigative standards to the study of apparitional e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Nevil Maskelyne
John Nevil Maskelyne (22 December 1839 – 18 May 1917) was an English stage magician and inventor of the pay toilet, along with other Victorian-era devices. He worked with magicians George Alfred Cooke and David Devant, and many of his illusions are still performed today. His book ''Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at Games of Chance and Skill'' is considered a classic overview of card sharp practices. In 1914 he founded the Occult Committee, a group to "investigate claims to supernatural power and to expose fraud". Early life Maskelyne was born on 22 December 1839 at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England to John Nevil Maskelyne (1800–1875), a saddler, and his wife Harriet (1812-1871), née Brunsdon. He was baptized at St Lawrence, Swindon, near, Cheltenham, on 26 January 1840. He trained as a watchmaker. Maskelyne claimed to be a descendant of Nevil Maskelyne (1732–1811), the Astronomer Royal; although some sources repeat this, other rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal Magnetism
Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, is a theory invented by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century. It posits the existence of an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all living things, including humans, animals, and vegetables. He claimed that the force could have physical effects, including healing.Wolfart, Karl Christian; Friedrich Anton Mesmer. ''Mesmerismus: Oder, System der Wechselwirkungen, Theorie und Anwendung des thierischen Magnetismus als die allgemeine Heilkunde zur Erhaltung des Menschen'' (in German, facsimile of the 1811 edition). Cambridge University Press, 2011. . Foreword. The vitalist theory attracted numerous followers in Europe and the United States and was popular into the 19th century. Practitioners were often known as magnetizers rather than mesmerists. It had an important influence in medicine for about 75 years from its beginnings in 1779, and continued to have some influence for another 50 years. Hundreds of b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Occultism
The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysticism. It can also refer to paranormal ideas such as extra-sensory perception and parapsychology. The term occult sciences was used in 16th-century Europe to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic. The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, among figures such as Antoine Court de Gébelin. It came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky. Throughout the 20th century, the term 'occult' was used idiosyncratically by a range of different authors. By the 21st century the term 'occultism' was commonly employed –including by academic scholars in the field of Western esotericism studi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Science
Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally known as the Christian Science church. It was founded in 1879 in New England by Mary Baker Eddy, who wrote the 1875 book '' Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures'', which outlined the theology of Christian Science. The book was originally called ''Science and Health''; the subtitle ''with a Key to the Scriptures'' was added in 1883 and later amended to ''with Key to the Scriptures''. The book became Christian Science's central text, along with the Bible, and by 2001 had sold over nine million copies. Eddy and 26 followers were granted a charter by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1879 to found the "Church of Christ (Scientist)"; the church would be reorganized under the name "Church of Christ, Scientist" in 1892. '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
