Parapsychology

Abstract

Parapsychology, a term coined by Max Dessoir (1889), refers to the study of a range of unexplained phenomena that are considered paranormal or ostensibly paranormal. These phenomena include 'extra-sensory perception', 'psychokinesis', and 'life after death' (also known as 'survival of consciousness' - these three phenomena are each defined in subsequent sections below). In the 1930s, J. B. Rhine adopted the term parapsychology, and it has been used ever since. The term parapsychology has come to supersede the term psychical research, although some parapsychologists often think of psychical research as specifically referring to afterlife research, which is also a parapsychological topic. A phenomenon is classified as paranormal if it cannot be understood in the context of conventional scientific standards, on the assumption that no scientific rule, or law, or sufficiently proven theory, exists to explain the nature of the phenomenon.