Skeptical/Critical Approaches Record Type: Review   ID: 1150
Parapsychology and Self-Deception in Science McConnell, R.A. (Ed.)
The editor observes that parapsychological phenomena have been seriously and competently investigated for four generations (100 years), yet they are still ignored by scientists. He suggests that the answer as to why this is so lies not in parapsychology but in science as a whole. The chapters in this book are offered as a contribution to the study of truth avoidance in science as well as a contribution to the experimental parapsychology literature. Three chapters are included as examples of self-deception among parapsychologists, because they consist of papers rejected for publication in parapsychological journals. One is physicist C.K. Jen's account of current parapsychological investigations in China, one is an historical review and re-analysis of the editor's 1948-1950 PK experiment reported under the title "Wishing With Dice," and the third presents a further analysis of the earlier paper and a theory to explain the scoring patterns revealed. Another chapter discusses the rejection of these papers and what it might reveal about parapsychological journal editors (he suggests they are modeling themselves after psychology journal editors). There is a chapter by McConnell describing the unusual difficulties his assistant, T.K. Clark, experienced during 12 years of graduate study working on a topic that was not parapsychological. It is implied that the resistance she encountered was due to her association with him. In the last paper, McConnell discusses what is likely to happen on planet Earth before the year 2000. He is of the opinion that if parapsychology has not become dominant by then, it will disappear. What occurs in those two decades will have momentous consequences for humankind. The planet's physical and biological resources are rapidly being used up. From the viewpoint of human resources he thinks the prospect for the year 2000 is also dim. He holds that, as a species, Homo sapiens is doomed unless we experience a moral rebirth. Parapsychology could provide the solution to our problems, because it can change our philosophic outlook and with it, our ethical standards.
Publisher Information:	Pittsburgh: Author, 1983. 150p. Bibliographic notes by chapter. 12 figures. Index: 147-150. 7 tables

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