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Reflections on being a parapsychologist
Journal of Parapsychology, The, Fall, 2003 by Carlos S. Alvarado
While we may be poor in numbers and in resources, we are not poor in talent, creativity or energy. It is possible that we look foolish in the eyes of some and heroic in the eyes of others. Regardless of how we are seen, we ourselves need to keep in mind our own goals and our own sense of the function we play in society. While our problems as a profession may not be solved in our lifetime, we need to go forward with our work. Our efforts are an important attempt to expand human knowledge and to understand human potential by considering phenomena and concepts that go unnoticed by other sciences. In time, as we can draw from the expanding knowledge of other fields, we will make further advances that will lead to the improvement of our profession and the expansion of our currently limited knowledge.
This is an expanded version of the Presidential Address delivered at the 46th Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association held at Vancouver, August 2-4, 2003. I wish to thank Nancy L. Zingrone for useful editorial suggestions that improved this paper.
(1) For some exceptions see McClenon (1982), McConnell and Clark (1980), Milton (1995), J. B. Rhine (1944), Schmeidler (1971), and Smith (1999).
(2) In my experience this lack of involvement sometimes is accompanied by a tendency to offer liberal advice and criticism in private.
(3) There is, of course, another group of individuals that have mixed identities. Hall of their time they are psychologists, psychiatrists, physicists, or other professions, and the other half they are parapsychologists.
(4) Of course, the lack of educational programs depends to a great extent on the lack of a numerous and well organized parapsychological profession.
(5) On the wider issue of the language barrier in parapsychology see Alvaro (1989b).
(6) I am aware that the members of the other communities also claim similar problems and disadvantages (Hess, 1993).
(7) This may include controversial and dramatic phenomena such as auras, materializations and religious miracles.
(8) See also Hastings's (2001) and White's (1964) analyses.
(9)This is further complicated by the practice of only using first-time participants. While it may be argued that this comes from the belief that first-timers are more spontaneous and that this may produce better results, such practice does not allow us to study possible recurrent patterns in our participant's mentations, such as symbols and distortions.
REFERENCES
ALCOCK, J. E. (1987). Parapsychology: Science of the anomalous or search for the soul? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 10, 553-565.
ALVARADO, C. S. (1982). Historical perspective in parapsychology: Some practical considerations. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 51, 265-271.
ALVARADO, C. S. (1987). Observations of luminous phenomena around the human body: A review. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 54, 38-60.
ALVARADO, C. S. (1989a). ESP displacement effects: A review of pre-1940 concepts and qualitative observations. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 83, 227-239.
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