Skeptical/Critical Approaches Record Type: Review   ID: 1132
Science Confronts the Paranormal Frazier, Kendrick (Ed.).
A continuation of Paranormal Borderlands of Science, also edited by Frazier, this work consists of articles published in the Skeptical Inquirer from 1981-1985. It is separated into two parts: "Assessing Claims of Paranormal Phenomena," and "Evaluating Fringe Science." The first is almost entirely devoted to parapsychology, whereas the second covers astrology, UFOs, fringe archaeology, creationism and shroud science, and cryptozoology. Thus, in Part II, parapsychology only figures peripherally in some articles that debunk psychic archaeology, a subject that is not part of hard-core parapsychology. There are six sections in Part I. The first, "Parapsychology and Belief," has four chapters on the demarcation problem, the philosophy of science and parapsychology, and skepticism regarding psi. Section 2, "Expectation and Misperception," has five articles which demonstrate how people can be duped by claims concerning psi. Section 3, "Claims of Mind and Distance," consists of four articles criticizing The Mind Race by Targ and Harary, remote-viewing experiments, and the Dutch psychic Gerard Croiset and his chief proponent, W.H.C. Tenhaeff. Section 4, "Claims of Mind and Matter," contains five articles on Randi's Project Alpha, in which he planted two young magicians in the guise of psychics at the McDonnell Laboratory for Psychic Research; the Columbus poltergeist; and Targ and Puthoff's research with Uri Geller. There are two papers in Section 5, "Claims of Mind and Body," one on iridology and one on palmistry—neither of them being parapsychological. The last section contains one article on "Psychic Flim-Flam," about the Tamara Rand hoax.
Publisher Information:	Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1986. 367p. Chapter references; 7 figures; 2 graphs; 17 illustrations; Suggested reading list: 359-360; 5 tables

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