Search_for_Spock-libre.pdf

8/10/2019 Search_for_Spock-libre.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/searchforspock-librepdf 1/84

YGGDRASIL: The Journal of Paraphysics, Volume 1, Issue 3, Spring 1998: 303-374

1

The Search for Spock!

Developing the Theoretical Basis of Psi

James E. Beichler

Physical theories and explanations of paranormal phenomena predate the more formal attempts

to render the study of such phenomena a legitimate subject for science. The first formal attempt to

study paranormal (psi) phenomena within a scientific framework came in the late nineteenth century

as a response to the popular movement in ‘modern spiritualism.’ After 1930, the remnants of this

Spartan scientific movement developed into the science of parapsychology, largely through the

experimental efforts of J.B. Rhine and his associates. The word ‘psi’ is also of a more recent vintage. Before the 1930s, the common phrase used to

describe what are now called ‘psi phenomena’ was ‘psychic phenomena,’ the supernatural or the

occult. Robert Thouless and W.P. Weisner first used the word ‘psi’ in 1946. They came to the

conclusion that ESP and PK phenomena seemed to have many common properties so they assumed

the existence of a single underlying principle or active agent at work and they dubbed it psi. Of the

various similar terms, the term psychic is the closest to psi, since supernatural refers to anything out-

of-the-ordinary and occult includes some of the more superstitious practices that have nothing to do

with psi. The phrase ‘paranormal phenomena’ has also been used as synonymous with psi, but the

paranormal includes a much larger group of events than just psi related phenomena. All psi events

are paranormal, but not all paranormal events are psi related. Rhine ’s research in the 1930s andthereafter was substantially different from earlier research, so the word ‘psychic’ no longer fit the

subject being researched. Rhine brought the study of paranormal phenomena into the laboratory

and used the generic terms ESP and PK to describe the quantities that he measured experimentally

even though psi had been studied under different names for a century or more.

This evolution of the terms by which the phenomena have been known suggests that psi

research can be divided into three different historical periods. The first period, from prehistory up to

about 1850 can be called the pre-scientific era of psi. The early scientific era lasted from about 1850

to 1930 and was dominated by the modern spiritualism movement. From about 1930 to the present

psi research has been dominated by more scientific inquiries including lab experimentation and

theoretical development, so these dates mark the scientific period of research. However, withrespect to the role of physics in such research, the scientific era can be further divided into two

distinct periods. In the first, the mental or psychological aspects of psi dominated research and just

theoretical work. This period lasted until about 1970. After that date, physics became more than the

lesser partner of parapsychology in psi research that it had been in the past.




2

A. The pre-scientific period: Psi prior to 1850

By the mid-eighteenth century, Newtonian mechanics was making deep inroads into

superstitious beliefs and a great schism was developing between religion and science as each staked

out its own domain of influence. A mechanistic worldview had emerged that took the everyday

workings of the world out of God’s hands. It was difficult for many to believe that the universe and

everything in it were no more than mechanisms described by the Newtonian laws of motion, but

Newton’s science had been so successful that this conclusion seemed self evident. Many believed,

rightly or wrongly (this question has still not been answered to anyone ’s satisfaction), that life was

more than a mechanism, so a ‘life force’ that was not subject to Newton’s laws was invented to

explain living mechanisms. In many respects, this ‘life force,’ studied under many different names,

was a precursor to psi.

It would be premature to state that there have been physical theories of psi as long as physics

has existed and psychic phenomena have been known, since no complete physical theory of psi has

ever been proposed. However, physical principles have either been associated with ‘psychicphenomena’ (to a greater or lesser degree) or used to explain psychic phenomena for as long as these

phenomena have been thought to exist. The association of physics and concepts physical to psychic

phenomena does not necessarily constitute the development of physical theories of psi. Physics has

managed to stay at the forefront of science as a whole and, whether it is advantageous or not, other

sciences have followed the lead of physics.

After the success of Newtonian physics and the mechanical worldview, other sciences emulated

physics and modeled themselves after physics. So any early attempts to ‘physicalize’ psychic

phenomena would necessarily be influenced by the physics of that particular period of history. But

physics is dynamic and progressive. It is constantly moving into new areas and expanding both its

scope and the range of phenomena that it explains. This movement of physics into new areas ofapplication has always been preceded by the speculative applications of physical principles to both

newly discovered phenomena and previously known phenomena which had as yet been thought

outside the scope of physics. In the case of physical explanations of psychic phenomena, the

speculations at the advanced edges of physics have more often been used to explain the paranormal

than has the normal physics of the period.

Physical explanations of paranormal phenomena date at least to an earlier era when John

Webster first associated ‘corporeal beams’ with the influencing of objects external to the organism.

(Roll, p.38) Henry More theorized that spirits existed within a fourth spatial dimension of our

physical world and still later Franz Anton Mesmer dealt with a magnetic medium that he called

‘animal magnetism’ pervading the universe. More, who was a Neoplatonist philosopher atCambridge University in England, published his book Enchiridion Metaphysicum in 1671. In this book,

he proclaimed that our three-dimensional bodies extend into a fourth dimension, beyond our

normal senses. This extension gives material bodies a quantity called ‘spissitude.’




3

Although the idea of spirits as 4-D beings had its greatest popularity in the nineteenth

century, it had been hinted at some two hundred years before, by the Cambridge Platonist

Henry More (1614-1687). Like the scientific spiritualists, More was opposed to the idea thatspirits, angels, and Platonic forms could exist as insubstantial abstractions. He felt that if

spirits really exist, then they must actually take up space. Yet, if a person’s soul takes up space,

we have the question of how it can fit into the person’s solid physical body. In 1671, More

came up with the suggestion that spirits should be four-dimensional. He phrased this in

terms of an occult quality he called spissitude, meaning something like “denseness of

substance.” His idea seems to have been that the differences between the physically identical

bodies of a dead person and a living person would be that the living body has more

spissitude, and that spissitude is physically unobservable because it corresponds to a certain

hyperthickness in the direction of the fourth dimension. (Rucker, pp.53-54)

This scheme of More’s is all the more interesting because it came a decade before Newton published

his Principia (1687), the foundation upon which Newtonian mechanics arose, and more than a

century before multidimensional geometries began their own long road of development.

About a century later, when the Newtonian worldview held sway over all of European science

and culture, Mesmer traveled to Paris where he proclaimed his discovery of a superfine fluid that

could penetrate all material bodies and filled all of space. This idea was not new to science, since

many scientists and scholars had hypothesized such ‘aetheric’ fluids to explain various physical

phenomena. Such a fluid was thought to carry gravity through the vast emptiness of space between

planets because the Newtonians could not accept the action-at-a-distance explanation of universal

gravitation. Similar fluids were associated with the mechanical explanations of everything from

electricity to heat where the fluid was known as ‘caloric.’ ‘Caloric’ was even listed on Antoine

Lavoisier’s charts as a primary element during the last years of the eighteenth century. Mesmer raised

the possibility that an imbalance of his hypothetical fluid in the human body caused illnesses. He

further speculated that his fluid was magnetic in nature so manipulations of the fluid in a sickened

body, either through massage or by waving magnets over the body, could heal a person’s ills and

illnesses.

... and he especially extolled its application to medicine. Sickness, he maintained, resulted

from an “obstacle” to the flow of the fluid through the body, which was analogous to a

magnet. Individuals could control and reinforce the fluid’s action by “mesmerizing ” or

massaging the body ’s “poles” and thereby overcoming the obstacle, inducing a “crisis,” often in the form of convulsions, and restoring health or the “harmony ” of man with

nature. (Darnton, pp.3-4)

There were also allusions to other psychic phenomena, such as telepathy, within the Mesmerist

message. Mesmerism eventually dissociated itself with the use of magnets and developed into a




4

purely mental discipline.

Mesmerism is now associated with an early form of hypnotism in spite of its early marriage with

magnetism and physics. The cult that Mesmer founded in prerevolutionary Paris later evolved and

did away with the magnets, the concept of animal magnetism, other physical paraphernalia and

physical explanations upon which it had originally been based. This evolutionary track corresponded

quite well with scientific advances in electrical and magnetic theory and the eventual unification of

electricity and magnetism into a single branch of science. As science learned more about electricity

and magnetism and better explained these and their associated phenomena, there were fewer

unknowns for the Mesmerists to utilize for their own ends. So Mesmerism was forced to shed its

physical baggage and evolve into a new mental discipline, thus emphasizing other facets of its

doctrine such as telepathy and strictly psychic phenomena.

In each of these cases, either the characteristics of known physical phenomena or suspected

phenomena were similar to the characteristics of paranormal phenomena. So analogies were drawnbetween the physical concepts and the paranormal. Such analogies are a powerful tool in theoretical

physics, but they must lead to explanatory hypotheses that are testable before they can be elevated to

the status of theories. Analogies are only a first step toward theorization and the analogies in

themselves do not constitute scientific theories. In many such instances, a public that is interested in

science, but has no formal training or education in science, will misinterpret science and its

application toward nonscientific ends. This was the case in the original concepts of the Mesmerist

movement.

When this occurs, any possibility of obtaining good science from phenomena that are not

recognized or accepted as real by the majority of the scientific community, such as psi phenomena,

becomes all the more difficult. This was the case at the end of the eighteenth century withMesmerism. Scientists were only beginning to seriously investigate and understand the nature of

electricity and magnetism, but Mesmer and his followers misappropriated the science of magnetism

for their own ends, through no fault of their own. Mesmer’s magnetic fluid was just a convenient

scientific-sounding explanation.

It seems safe, therefore, to draw one conclusion from the pulp literature of the 1780’s: the

reading public of that era was intoxicated with the power of science, and it was bewildered

by the real and imaginary forces with which scientists peopled the universe. Because the

public could not distinguish the real from the imaginary, it seized on any invisible fluid, any

scientific-sounding hypothesis, that promised to explain the wonders of nature. (Darnton,

p.23)

This statement is essentially true, but must be qualified due to the implication that fluid theories

were a product of an unknowing public rather than scientists. Even scientists resorted to fluid

theories in their earlier attempts to develop physical theories for electricity, magnetism heat and the




5

transport of light. So the ‘public’ cannot be so hastily judged for accepting Mesmer’s semi-scientific

explanation. In such cases, the popularity of the subject of psi within the general populace and the

non-scientific section of culture can be very harmful to the scientific pursuit of the subject by

unnecessarily muddying scientific waters and prejudicing scientists.

The physical explanations offered in these examples reflect both the styles and norms of science

or legitimate scientific speculations of that particular era. No more or less could be expected for any

phenomenon, whether normal or paranormal. But paranormal phenomena, being that they are

beyond the normal, have always been open to the more speculative and imaginative ideas of science

during any given period. This is both a strength and a weakness in the search for a physical theory of

psi. Joseph Rush has acknowledged this fact of history in his own discussion of the physical theories

of psi.

Theories tend to follow fashions and a theory that works well in one field often is

invoked to explain puzzling effects in another. Mesmer and other healers attributed theireffects to ‘animal magnetism,’ trading on the concurrent physical discoveries in magnetism.

Relativity theory was mimicked by ‘fourth-dimension’ hypotheses of psi, and the advent of

radio broadcasting evoked an appealing concept of telepathy as ‘mental radio.’ A few

theorists have tried to explain psi effects in terms of gravitation, and plasma physics has

found its counterpart in theories of ‘bioplasma.’ Quantum mechanics has, with more

justification, stimulated several quantum-theoretical approaches to paranormal phenomena.

(Rush, p.282)

Notwithstanding Rush’s error of associating the ‘fourth dimension’ with the advent of relativity

theory, a popular misconception of history, his basic premise still rings true. Attempts to

theoretically explain psi phenomena (and their precursors) reflect the theoretical concepts of their

day. This was true during the era of the Scientific Revolution, during the centuries that followed and

is still true today.

B. The early scientific period: 1850-1930

By the mid-nineteenth century, four new trends in science came to exert a great deal of

influence over society, culture and science as a whole, which includes the rise of ‘modern

spiritualism.’ The first trend was the development of non-Euclidean and hyperspace geometries by

mathematicians. Although purely mathematical, these theories immediately influenced physical

thought. Mathematics had always been bound to physics, it was regarded as the handmaiden ofscience and God had long been pictured as the Great Mathematician, a view that both

complemented and supplemented the mechanical worldview. As quickly as these mathematical

theories became known, scientists and scholars began to speculate on the possibility that physical

space either contained more than the normal three dimensions and/or it could be non-Euclidean.




6

The second trend was the successful development of a theory of evolution by Charles Darwin.

Darwin’s explanation of human evolution shook the foundations of society as nothing had before its

time, but evolution theory could not account for the development of the human mind. This result of

evolution theory or perhaps the lack of a result in this regard only added to the previous beliefs that

there was more to life than Newtonian mechanisms. Evolution theory thus scientifically reinforced

the view that some part of the human being must survive the death of the mechanistic body in the

minds of many people.

The last two developments came strictly within the realm of physics. The Newtonian concepts

of mechanical energy and heat energy came together in a glorious union called thermodynamics

during the 1840s. In similar fashion, the physics of electricity and magnetism came together in a

unification called electromagnetic theory between the 1820s and 1860s. One primary outcome of

electromagnetic theory was the explanation of light waves and whence the discovery of other types

of waves outside the visible spectrum of the rainbow. Even with the powerful new tools ofelectromagnetic theory, as provided by James Clerk Maxwell, science was still unable to cope with

the transmission of waves across the vast distances of empty space, so the concept of an

all-pervading non-detectable ‘luminiferous aether’ was invented as a medium to carry the

electromagnetic waves.

At the very least, these theories demonstrated that there was far more to our world and nature

in general than humans could normally sense. Since science had demonstrated that there were vast

worlds of phenomena to be found beyond the normal human senses, it was implied that there was

still more out there to be discovered. These new theories all seemed to reinforce the idea that there

could be more to life and living bodies than just the shell of a Newtonian mechanism. The whole

being of the human entity was greater than the sum of its parts. Although this relationship betweenthe hard sciences and modern spiritualism is somewhat vague in most cases, a few scientists more

directly applied these four theories to the explanation of psychic phenomena.

In the early 1870s, a German astrophysicist by the name of J.K.F. Zöllner visited England

where he met the physicist William Crookes and was influenced by Crooke’s work on psychic

phenomena. Zöllner had previously applied a four-dimensional geometry to an explanation of

comets. He then found parallels between his four-dimensional physics and various psychic

phenomena. This led him to propose that psychic phenomena could be explained by the existence

of a fourth-dimensional component of our normal space.

Zöllner associated the fourth dimension with the Kantian concept of an ‘absolute area.’ He

further equated Kant’s “thing-in-itself ” with a four-dimensional material object whereby the three-dimensional part of the object exists in our three-dimensional space as a projection of the complete

four-dimensional object. Zöllner clearly considered the spiritualist phenomena as legitimate scientific

subjects. (Herrmann, p.82) He felt that his theory was founded upon solid philosophical grounds,

and it may have been better if he had left it so, but he extended his work to the experimental arena




7

by studying and interpreting the tricks of the American magician Henry Slade within his theoretical

framework. Zöllner saw in Slade’s tricks, the untying of complicated knots without apparent human

contact or intervention and the appearance of writing on encased and thus inaccessible chalk slates,

as evidence of the existence of beings in the fourth dimension and manipulation of three-

dimensional objects via the fourth dimension.

In these phenomena, or some of them, Zöllner found experimental confirmation of

his hypothesis of a fourth dimension of space, - a dimension which should stand to the

known dimensions of cubic space, height, length, and breadth, in the same relation which

height now bears to the two dimensions of plane space. Given the fourth dimension, the

existence of which is mathematically foreshadowed, Zöllner pointed out that, to a man or a

spirit endowed with the capacity of dealing with it, the abstraction of objects from a closed

box, the knotting of an endless cord, or the removal into invisibility of a solid object would

be tasks of no special difficulty. (Podmore, pp.15-16)

Mathematicians had previously demonstrated that motion into and out of a three-dimensional

enclosure could be completed without going through the walls of the enclosure if one traveled

through a fourth dimension. Furthermore, three-dimensional knots, no matter how complicated,

were not knots when investigated using four-dimensional geometries. These mathematical findings

seemed to support the fact that four-dimensional beings could accomplish the tricks that Slade

demonstrated before assembled groups of scientists.

Unfortunately for Zöllner, Slade was eventually exposed as a charlatan and fake, thereby

discrediting Zöllner within the scientific community. Evidence of the scientific backlash to Zöllner’s

research along these lines can be found in Ernst Mach’s book, The Science of Mechanics . Mach

castigated anyone who would believe that the tricks of ‘prestidigitateurs’ and magicians could

represent real scientific phenomena. (Mach, pp.589-591) He stated that religionists would mistakenly

find in the fourth dimension a convenient place to put hell while mediums could locate their spirits

there. He could not accept the four-dimensional hypothesis himself until objects began to appear

out of nowhere, literally pop into and out of space, a possibility that he did not believe would ever

occur. But he did not blame the mathematicians who had developed the non-Euclidean geometries

and whose work had been usurped by the spiritualists for these purposes. For his own part, Mach

refused to believe in the physical reality of non-Euclidean geometry as well as anything else that

could not be normally perceived.

The breadth of Mach’s statements would seem to indicate that there was far more to the use ofhyperspaces to explain spiritualistic phenomena than was evident in Zöllner’s work alone. His

statements on these relationships further raised questions pertinent to the present use of

hyperspaces with psi. Should hyperspaces be considered as real or should they only be considered as

mathematical constructs of consciousness? In this manner, Mach clearly defined the viewpoint that






9

that the existence of a real four-dimensional space was fictional, the stuff of dreams and fantasies,

but Newcomb actually believed that our physical space was non-Euclidean with real curvature in a

higher dimension. The word ‘fairyland’ only referred to the ephemeral nature of physical space itself.

It had nothing to do with a connection to psychic studies, but some people may have thought it

implied spirits or ghosts. The hypothesis that a fourth dimension could be used to explain psychic

phenomena also appeared in several short stories and books published by H.G. Wells during this

same period, thus demonstrating the lasting popularity of such hypotheses.

The idea that another world existed parallel to our own, but beyond normal human senses was

not limited to the hyperspace theories. In 1875, the book The Unseen Universe: or Physical Speculations on

a Future State appeared anonymously in England. The book was an immediate success, going into

four editions by 1876, forcing the disclosure of its authors Peter G. Tait and Balfour Stewart. The

book was not spiritualistic in content, but it did offer a scientific explanation of the continuation of

some part of the human entity after the death of the human body. Tait and Stewart utilized acombination of aether theory, thermodynamical concepts and the Principle of Continuity to argue

for the possibility of life after death in their ‘unseen universe.’ Or rather, they argued that the

continuation of something, perhaps a ‘soul,’ did not violate any scientific principles. Their purpose

was not to advance spiritualism, but to mend fences between science and Christianity. They

specifically dissociated their publication and the ideas they expressed from the modern spiritualist

movement. After their own manner, Tait and Stewart reacted to the same attitudes, opinions and

concerns that had influenced the rise of modern spiritualism, without committing themselves to

either spiritualist doctrine or psychic phenomena.

Rather coincidentally, Tait was a severe critic of Zöllner’s work as presented in the first volume

of Zöllner’s Abhandunglung (his Transcendental Physik came in the second volume) as well as an expertin the mathematical theory of knots. A ‘Gordian’ knot even appeared as a symbol of the mystery

surrounding their subject on the cover of the Unseen Universe , marking a very strange connection to

Zöllner’s work. Stewart, although not a dedicated spiritualist, did have formal relations with the SPR,

eventually rising to its presidency. While he did not believe in spirits, Stewart did find the evidence

for telepathy “increasingly persuasive.” (Oppenheim, p.337)

The SPR was founded in 1882. In part, it was formed to act as a counterpoint to the

misinterpretation of science that had been an endemic part of the spiritualism movement, in part to

investigate the reported phenomena within a purely scientific context, and finally to offer a scientific

forum for the publication of scientific papers on spiritualistic and psychic phenomena during a time

when other avenues of publishing scientific papers on the subject were closed. Several physicistsbecame members of the new society. Some were confirmed skeptics who were still willing to

consider the possibility of psychic phenomena, such as J.J. Thomson and Lord Rayleigh, while some

supported the spiritualist cause, the related psychic phenomena or both. Of these members, William

Crookes, William Barrett and Sir Oliver Lodge were all well known and highly respected physicists.




10

As early as 1871, Crookes informed William Barrett of his belief that these “obscure

phenomena” demonstrated by the spiritualists were “objectively true,” while later that same year he

informed another scientist that “ There is a new force, or a new form of a known force” in order to

explain the phenomena. (Quoted in Oppenheim, p.348) So, well before the SPR was formed,

Crookes had come to the conclusion that ‘normal physics’ could not account for the observed

“obscure” phenomena associated with spiritualism. More than two decades later, he still held this

opinion, but he had become even more resolute that the force could not be accounted for within the

framework of physics, as he understood the subject. This situation did not come from a lack of

trying to explain the phenomena in terms of the known concepts of physics, since he had earlier

turned spiritualistic phenomena into a branch of experimental physics. He had used the famous

medium D.D. Home as a subject of scientific investigation.

He never ceased believing that psychical research was revealing the operations of a new

force, but he was no longer certain that scientists could assign it a place on the map ofmodern physics. He had attempted to locate psychic force on that map during his tests

with Home: He had placed the medium ‘in a helix of insulated wire through which electric

currents of different intensities were passed”; he had brought strong magnets near to

Home and to the objects that moved in Home’s presence; he had illuminated the

experiments with different colored lights - all to see what effect the known agencies of

physics might have on the medium’s manifestations. Crookes had noticed no effect

whatsoever. (Oppenheim, p.349)

Later in his career he turned to the purely mental (psychic) phenomenon of telepathy. Assured of

the existence of telepathy, he even called on the newly discovered x-rays as a possible conveyance of

telepathy in his 1897 presidential address to the SPR.

That in these rays we may have a possible mode of transmitting intelligence, which

with a few reasonable postulates, may supply a key to much that is obscure in psychical

research. Let it be assumed that these rays, or rays even of higher frequency, can pass into

the brain and act on some nervous centre there. Let it be conceived that the brain contains

a centre which uses these rays as the vocal chords use sound vibrations (both being under

the command of intelligence), and sends them out, with the velocity of light, to impinge on

the receiving ganglion of another brain. In this way some, at least, of the phenomena of

telepathy, and the transmission of intelligence from one sensitive to another through long

distances, seem to come into the domain of law, and can be grasped. (Quoted inOppenheim, pp.349-350)

But he still came no closer to a theory than these simple analogies. Still later, in a 1909 letter to

Lodge, he wondered if spiritual beings might not reside in a four-dimensional space. (Quoted in

Oppenheim, p.351).




11

William F. Barrett’s approach to the “obscure” phenomena of modern spiritualism was

somewhat different. From the very beginning, he was more interested in the phenomena of

clairvoyance and thought transference displayed by some mediums while in a state of trance. By

1876, he worked on developing a theory of thought transference.

Barrett was working toward a theory of thought transference, “the action of one mind

upon another, across space, without the intervention of the senses.” He was certain that

much more was involved than the normal processes of suggestion between two people -

more even than heightened sensitivity and abnormally acute perceptive powers on the part

of his subjects. What was involved he did not pretend to know, but he proposed a tentative

hypothesis based on the model of electrical induction, or influence, across space. Defining

thought as a form of nervous action, Barrett inquired at Glasgow: “May not nerve energy,

whatever be its nature, also act by influence as well as conduction?” If the nerve force were

a radiant energy of some kind, “might it not be capable of throwing the nerve tissue ofpassive, receptive individuals into states of activity corresponding to the states existing in

an active adjoining mind?” (Oppenheim, p.357)

Several years later, he still spoke of “nervous induction” and made analogies between electrical and

magnetic induction and telepathy, but he only suggested a connection without deriving any specific

explanatory hypotheses. Like Crookes, Barrett would never go beyond analogies and suggested

courses of action, but fully believed in the reality of the mental psychic phenomena while hoping

that they would eventually be explained within the context of physics.

While Crookes was by far the better known of these two physicists, the same cannot be said of

Sir Oliver Lodge who was very well known and respected within the scientific community. Lodge

was an early experimenter with radio waves, their transmission and reception. He is credited with the

development of the basic tuning circuit for sending and receiving specific frequencies of radio

waves. His philosophical disposition made Lodge a lifelong believer in the existence of a

‘luminiferous aether’ as the medium of propagation for electromagnetic waves. Even after the

development of the theories of special and general relativity, which rendered the aether superfluous,

Lodge held that the aether was still necessary for electromagnetic propagation across the vastness of

space.

The other pillar upon which his philosophical attitudes toward the study of nature rested was

the principle of continuity. Continuity was essential for his concept of the aether, since the aether

was continuous across space contrary to the discrete particles of matter from which material bodies were composed, a fact necessary for the transmission of electromagnetic waves. But continuity also

had spiritual connotations for Lodge, who, unlike other physicists, fully accepted the possibility of

the existence of spirits. Lodge reasoned that the essence of an individual human did not exist wholly

in the physical body, but formed an “aetheric body,” through which psychic powers acted. He




12

explained that

What we have learnt physically is that the ether can act on matter through electric and

magnetic properties: we also know that mind can somehow act on matter, though probablyindirectly. Our assumption is that we possess an ether body or animated structure of

modified ether here and now, that life or mind is closely in touch with the ether body, and

that through its action on this at present imperceptible body it is able to exert an action on

the familiar material body. To assume that mind acts on ether and that ether acts on matter

is I hope an assumption in the direction of truth: and it appears to be justified by psychical

facts, which show that the action of mind can be independent of matter. (Lodge quoted in

Oppenheim, pp.384-385)

The ‘aetheric body ’ was the intermediary between spirit and the physical body. Lodge held this view

and fully supported his theory of the ‘aetheric body ’ as late as 1930, in spite of the new advances in

physics of the twentieth century.

The investigation of these phenomena by physicists and physical scientists was not limited to

Britain alone, nor was it limited to Britain and Germany. The French astronomer Camille

Flammarion investigated similar phenomena and tried to place psychic research on a scientific basis

while the astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli carried out observations on the medium Eusapia

Palladino in the company of Giuseppe Geroso, a professor of physics, and other scientists in Milan,

Italy. In his 1907 book Mysterious Psychic Forces , Flammarion argued for the existence of a “magic

substance” which could explain the phenomena that he had witnessed. This “magic substance” was

… unknowable in its essence. We see and touch only its condensations, its aggregations, its

arrangements; that is to say, forms produced by movement. Matter, force, life, thought areall one. In reality, there is only one principle in the universe and it is at once intelligence,

force and matter, embracing all that is and all that possibly can be. That which we call

matter is only a form of motion. At the basis of all is force, dynamism, and universal mind,

or spirit. (Flammarion quoted in Inglis, p.440)

Flammarion’s conclusion was similar to that of other scientists in that he could not explain the

phenomena in terms of the physics of his era, so he resorted to some imaginary medium or

substance. In the meantime, physics itself had run into serious problems and was facing drastic

changes. Flammarion’s explanation coincided with the opening phase of the new revolution in

science.

Although there was no ‘shot heard round the world’ to precisely date its birth, the Second

Scientific Revolution is generally agreed to have begun in the year 1900. As far as physics is

concerned, the revolutionary period lasted until 1927 and during that period a number of

fundamental concepts were developed. To name the most important, we have the first paper on

quantum theory (1900), special relativity (1905), experimental verification of the atom (1909),




13

Rutherford’s planetary model of the atom (1912), the Bohr model of the atom (1913), general

relativity (1915), deBroglie’s wave theory of matter (1922), quantum mechanics (1922-1923), other

advances in quantum theory coming together in the Solvay Conference of 1927, and numerous

advances in the theory of radiation and radioactivity. However, the revolution went far beyond just

changes in physics with seminal advances in psychology, genetics, psychiatry and many other

sciences. Society and culture also reacted to these changes while the political landscape changed

drastically, especially during and after World War I.

World War I also brought technological advances to society, especially in radio

communications, which would later affect the attitudes of common society toward psychic

phenomena. But more importantly, the war hastened the end to the scientific investigation of

medium phenomena. According to Brian Inglis,

The first world war did not entirely disrupt psychical research; one of the most

carefully organised and illuminating of all the investigations into the physical phenomena was to be carried out during it by a lecturer in engineering in Belfast, W. J. Crawford. But

in Britain, and on the Continent, little could be done; and the massive upsurge of demand

for mediums who could console the bereaved by bringing them in contact again with

loved ones killed in the trenches tended to concentrate attention on this aspect of the

phenomena - and all too often on the frauds, or alleged frauds, associated with it. By the

time peace returned, all prospect of psychical research establishing itself as an academic

discipline had vanished. (Inglis, p.450)

But scientific research into psychic phenomena did continue after the war, although in an altered

form, when science again had time to return to such frivolous pursuits. Before the war began, the

emphasis had already passed from the study of mediums and the associated spirit phenomena to the

purely mental varieties of psychic phenomena and this trend continued after the war.

With respect to physics, the years 1900 to 1927 marked the period of revolution, the effects of

which did not to come to bear on psychic research until after 1927. And this, coupled with the trend

toward the study of purely mental psychic phenomena rather than spirit phenomena marked the

emergence of a new age in scientific paranormal research. Until the new ideas in physics had trickled

down to the study of psychic phenomena, the older ‘ Victorian’ views dominated the study. In other

words, the scientific revolution in parapsychology did not come until 1930. This revolution is

generally attributed to the work of Rhine, but the date also fits the influence of physics and basic

changes in overall scientific attitudes resulting from the revolution in physics. Since the study ofpsychic phenomena remained fairly constant until the late 1920’s when the new concepts of physics

began to trickle down and affect other areas of academic study and culture in general. Frank

Podmore’s 1897 assessment of the state of psychic research remains valid for all of the work

between 1850 and 1929.




14

Podmore was neither a physicist nor a scientist by training, but rather an astute and scholarly

investigator of psychic phenomena as well as an official of the SPR. He came to the conclusion that

various spiritualistic phenomena had no scientific foundation, but he could find no fault in the

various forms of telepathic communication, which were purely psychic phenomena and had nothing

to do with spirits.

From this brief review of the evidence - experimental and spontaneous - for telepathic

communication, many topics of interest have necessarily been excluded. In the present

chapter the examples have been selected mainly from the class of visual hallucinations,

because these phenomena are in themselves more impressive, and explanation by chance

coincidence is more obviously precluded. But the narratives here quoted, though they

represent the evidence, either as regards its amount or its variety, very imperfectly, are

sufficient to afford some idea of the character and importance of the problems to be

solved. First amongst these problems is the nature of the agency by which the re-suits arebrought about. On this question there has been speculation enough, from the first crude

analogy of two tuning-forks sounding in unison, to elaborate theories, with experimental

demonstration, of radiant neuric force, or a comfortable belief in the omnipotence of the

ether. But in truth we know neither the medium by which the telepathic impulse is

conveyed, nor the organ by which the impulse is originated or received. By some, indeed, it

is held that telepathy is but one of a group of transcendent faculties, which point to a world

beyond the world of sight and touch: the germ of powers which cannot reach their full

growth until man has ceased to be man. Such a view is perhaps little more than the

expression of the difficulties involved in any physical explanation. That mind should reach

to mind over miles of intervening space without discoverable apparatus may, indeed,appear to call for supernatural means. But so to the peasant might appear the discovery of

rayless stars, the analysis of the sun’s photosphere, or the familiar miracles of the electric

current. The properties of the ether and the mechanism and functions of the nervous

system, it may be suggested, are still imperfectly explored; and it would be rash to assert

that the nerve-changes which are the presumed accompaniment of thought could not be

conveyed by ethereal undulations to a kindred brain over distances at least as great as those

which are indicated by some of our thought-transference experiments. Even the greatest

distance vouched for in the spontaneous cases of death-apparitions - even the whole

diameter of the earth - would be an insignificant fraction of the distance traversed by the

waves of ether which strike upon our retina the image of a star. (Podmore, pp.266-267)

Podmore’s summary offers a fair look at the attitudes held by scientists of the era who had fifty

years of spiritual and psychic phenomena on which to draw conclusions. The attitudes of those

open-minded scientists who accepted at least the possibility of paranormal abilities tended to dismiss




15

the spiritualistic phenomena to center on the related psychic phenomena after most of the mediums

were exposed as fakes. The rest of the mediums were assumed to be fakes. But spontaneous

telepathy and other psychic phenomena could not be so easily discredited or discounted. So, this

assessment of the phenomena essentially formed the basis upon which scientific investigation of the

paranormal was to continue during the next period of scientific development.

C. The scientific era and the rise of Parapsychology: 1930 - 1969

After 1930, scientists who were concerned with investigating paranormal phenomena dedicated

their efforts to proving the existence of psi through lab experimentation and thus they began a

program to define psi so that it could be measured. This became an era of definition and distinction

between those phenomena that were occult and those that truly exhibited psi. Extra Sensory

Perception (ESP) and Psychokinesis (PK) became the two major categories of psi manifestation.

Defining the quantities to be measured is an extremely important part of the scientific method.Quantities cannot be measured until they are precisely defined and hypotheses to explain

relationships between these quantities cannot be made until measurements are taken. When Rhine

first defined psi and brought psi research into the laboratory he was beginning a long process of

defining the limits of psi and the conditions under which it could be scientifically investigated.

The number of physicists during this period who were active in parapsychological research on a

regular and professional basis is extremely small. Joseph Rush seems to be the only physicist ho has

consistently maintained a presence within the parapsychological community. A few other physicists

entered and departed the field for short periods of time, but only Rush remained active in the area,

concentrating his research on investigating psi and its physical characteristics. Therefore, the different

physical theories of psi developed during this period came primarily from non-physicists and sufferedthereby. The theories of this period also tended to explain one or two of the many facets of psi, with

no one theory covering the whole gamut of known ESP and PK phenomena. These theories

reflected work done in the main areas of physics research, including electromagnetic theory, quantum

theory and relativity (field) theory. Since there is a lag time between the development of new theories

in physics and their application in other areas, the theories of psi developed during this period reflect

more the physics of the period 1900 to 1930 than they do the fundamental questions and paradoxes

that arose in physics during this period. The ground never gets wet until well after the storm clouds

begin to form and the growth of plants from the nurturing rain takes still longer. The year 1930 is a

convenient choice for the opening of this period, although some of the work considered as part of

this period may have begun a few years earlier.In 1928, Hans Berger succeeded in recording electrical “rhythms,” our modern alpha waves, in

the human brain for the first time and so invented the electroencephalograph. Earlier research by F.

Cazzamali had clearly demonstrated the existence of electrical impulses in the human brain, but

Berger’s findings were the first to demonstrate a pattern to the electromagnetic impulses in the brain.




16

Cazzamali claimed to have detected brain waves about one centimeter in length after he developed an

ultrahigh-frequency apparatus for testing human telepathy. (Beal, p.429) Based on these

observations, he speculated that electromagnetic waves might provide the physical method for the

transition of extra-sensorial information such as occurs with telepathy. (Chari, 1977, p.810)

However, Cazzamali’s claims have been neither substantiated nor confirmed by later observation,

including that of both Berger and L.L. Vasiliev.

It would seem that Berger’s discovery might imply that the brain could act as a transmitter and

receiver of electromagnetic waves of the same frequency as the alpha waves. Indeed, telepathy had

been associated by analogy with telegraphic signals since the heyday of modern spiritualism. As radio

technology advanced and the use of radios became more commonplace, the concept of a “Mental

Radio” also became quite popular, especially when the novelist Upton Sinclair published a book with

that title in 1930. In light of the new technologies, such a proposition was “highly plausible to the

popular mind.” (Burt, p.88) His experimental discoveries, however, did not lead Berger to a wavetheory of psi. Instead, he suggested a psychic medium that interacts with physical processes in the

brain. Berger noted that electrical changes within the brain were far too weak to explain telepathy as

an electromagnetic phenomenon. This led him to postulate a new, as yet unknown energy which is

“psychical” in nature yet had the ability to span the greatest distances without attenuation or

obstruction by physical objects. The electrical potential in the brain is large enough to allow a

transformation to this “psychic energy ” which then travels wavelike trough space to the subject’s

brain where it is transformed back to electrical potential, producing neural patterns to complete the

telepathic message. It should be noted that Berger considered this energy completely physical and

interchangeable with other physical energies. He closely associated this energy with the propagation

of electromagnetic waves in his 1940 book Psyche . After all, electromagnetic waves are non-material(they have no mass) although they do carry or transmit energy. Berger’s theory runs into several

problems, the least of which is the fact that there is no evidence of such an energy. Nor is there any

way yet known of detecting it.

Physical tests seem to indicate that psi phenomena do not diminish with distance according to

the inverse square law, as do electromagnetic waves and gravitational phenomena Signal strength

does not fall off with increasing distance. Nor are they blocked or impeded in any manner by physical

objects, as are electromagnetic waves. The Russian scientist Vasiliev between 1927 and 1963

conducted the better known of the experiments testing these characteristics of psi. Vasiliev ’s research

was influenced by the work of V.M. Bechterev earlier in the 1920s. Bechterev believed that “the

emanation of electromagnetic waves would provide the best working hypothesis to account fortelepathic phenomena.” (Quoted in Burt, p.89) Bechterev ’s conjectural hypothesis formed the basis

of Vasiliev ’s early research on the subject, although Vasiliev also attempted, but failed, to detect

Cazzamali’s one-centimeter waves during the 1930’s. Vasiliev later conducted ESP tests covering

great distances as well as tests with subjects in Faraday cages, which effectively block the transmission




17

of electromagnetic waves. In neither case was ESP affected by the adverse conditions of the

experiments. Critics have since cited these experiments to prove that ESP cannot be explained by an

electromagnetic hypothesis. Vasiliev further pointed out “the brains and nerves are surrounded by

fibers and liquids which possess greater electromagnetic conductivity than the nerve tissues

themselves. This makes any meaningful transmission of electrical potentials from brain to brain

rather far-fetched.” (Rao, p.142) However, the work of John Eccles on “subtle influences” in the

brain might eventually render Berger’s or similar theories more acceptable and his theory cannot be

ruled out completely.

In 1953, Eccles proposed a theory to explain how an individual’s “ will” could affect a single

neuron in the cerebral cortex to trigger far more changes in brain activity than could normally be

triggered. If a group of neurons are critically poised in a state of unstable equilibrium, even a single

neuron can initiate or trigger their response. That single neuron need not have had enough energy to

trigger a nerve impulse under normal conditions, but the firing of one neuron just below thedischarge threshold could trigger a larger number of firings. While this theory did not refer to any psi

phenomena, or explain any psi action, as it was first proposed in Eccles’ book Psyche , he did relate the

theory to ESP and PK in the concluding sections of the book. Since a “subtle influence” of some

type is needed to initiate this cascading process, even weak electromagnetic waves might trigger a

spontaneous psi event in the human mind. Eccles’ theory says nothing of either the mode of

information transfer or the medium of transmission of psi, only how the signal can affect the human

brain to come into conscious thought. Eccles’ theory is physiological rather than physical, but the

energies involved can easily be accounted for using a quantum model. Eccles’ concepts are

susceptible to quantum analysis.

It is interesting to note that the electromagnetic theories of psi are also field theories. Up until1930, quantum theory was fairly incomplete and wide open to changes. So it could contribute little

to a theory of psi. Relativity theory was a theory of extremes, extremely dense masses in the case of

general relativity and extremely high speeds in the case of special relativity, so psi theories were

seldom based on either relativity or the quantum theory early in this era. They were instead based on

Newtonian and classical principles. Technically speaking, any theory associated with electromagnetic

waves should be considered a field theory. Electromagnetic waves are actually high frequency

variations in electromagnetic fields spreading out from a source. But these electromagnetic theories

of psi utilized a more classical description of waves and are thus distinct from field theories of psi, as

they are grouped by Rush (Rush, p.285). On the other hand, C.W.K. Mundle has termed Berger ’s

hypothesis an “unorthodox physicalist theory ” (Mundle, p.201) since it was based on the concept ofa “psychic energy.” However, there are other problems inherent in Berger’s theory no matter how it

is classified. First of all, Berger’s theory is only a theory of telepathy. His hypothesis cannot account

for either precognition or PK. Since this “psychic energy ” is converted by a brain’s electrical

potential and passes through physical objects unobstructed, it could not interact energetically with






19

more a fact of nature like Pauli’s Exclusion Principle or the General Theory of Relativity (which are

formal principles as Margenau describes them). Other problems arise because his theory is only

qualitative (Marshall claims the mathematical machinery needed does not yet exist) and it also fails to

adequately explain psi phenomena other than telepathy such as clairvoyance and PK. “ As is easily

seen Marshall’s theory explains practically nothing about telepathy nor takes into account the

interrelation of telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition.” (Rogo, p.289) In other words, it does not

address the question of how signals travel between two minds in the case of telepathy or between

mind and objects to produce psychokinesis. Rush considers Marshall ’s “resonance” theory a “quasi-

physical” theory while he considers Berger’s a field theory. He further categorizes all field theories as

“quasi-physical.” The theories of H.A.C. Dobbs, G.D. Wasserman and William G. Roll also fall

within these categories according to Rush.

The 1965 theory of Dobbs is based upon quantum mechanical lines. He suggested that Eccles’

“subtle influences,” as perceived in the brain, could have the form of mathematically “imaginary ” energies. These, he argues, are not without precedent since physicists use the concept of virtual

particles, which carry mathematically imaginary energy and moments, to describe the fields around

real particles. These virtual particles are only inferred from experimental results and not observable

in their own right. Dobbs hypothesizes a two-dimensional theory of time. The first is the normal

time dimension of physics and psychology and is represented as the real axis in a complex number

system while the second time dimension, “in which the objective probabilities of different possible

outcomes of events are ordered,” (Dobbs, p.250) is represented by the imaginary axis. Different

probabilities in this second virtual time dimension can be co-present and may be interpreted as Karl

Popper’s objective dispositions or “propensities.” These are related to “precasts” of events that are

highly probable but not certain to happen in the future and are spread out in a quasi-temporalorder around actual events. When the mind perceives these “precasts,” precognition takes place.

The “precasts” are analogous to the virtual particles of quantum theory. Dobbs then postulates the

existence of particles called psi-trons, which are the carriers of psi information. Psi-trons “register

the probabilities in the second time dimension and contribute to the EEG alpha rhythms of the

brain.” (Chari, 1977, p.814)

A precedent for Dobbs’ second time dimension can be found in the Fundamental Theory of Sir

Arthur Eddington. Edmund Whittaker published Eddington ’s theory in 1946, after Eddington’s

death. Eddington’s theory was a type of unified field theory, based on a space of three dimensions

with two time dimensions from which a five-dimensional continuum was constructed. Since his

five-dimensional model was an extension of Einstein’s four-dimensional space-time continuum aspostulated in general relativity, all physical aspects of general relativity were automatically

incorporated into the theory while the extra dimension of time allowed the incorporation of

quantum theory. (Dobbs, p.251) Eddington’s theory more-or-less provided the physical model for

Dobbs’ theory of psi and may or may not lend some credence to Dobbs ’ theory. So, Dobbs’ theory




20

is doomed to suffer the same criticisms as Eddington ’s fundamental theory as well as its criticisms

based upon its own merits. The same arguments made against the physical theories of virtual

particles, two-dimensional time and “propensities,” can be made against Dobbs’ theory also occur.

Although an important part of quantum theory, virtual particles are completely undetectable.

Dobbs’ psi-trons are also undetectable, as would be expected, since they have only mathematical

and not physical significance. They are imaginary in the mathematical sense of the term. Perhaps

this is why Chari claims “ The ‘psi-tron’ theory of the late H.A.C. Dobbs can claim no unequivocal

support from the logic of quantum mechanics or from the mathematics of EEG rhythms.” (Chari,

1974, p.3)

Dobb’s quantum mechanical theory of complex time and energy can also be used to explain

general ESP. The theory allows physically real events that are caused by particles of mathematically

imaginary mass to be cognized without friction or energy loss across space. The physical basis for

ESP then becomes a matter of interaction between particles of real mass and particles of imaginarymass. Dobbs’ theory is thus extended to a more general case, so it cannot be argued that his theory

is unable to explain all the different aspects of psi. By assuming that psi-trons are a general

characteristic of the universe, Dobbs’ theory does open itself to the challenge that “the mind could

not possibly have the ability to identify and isolate which one psi-tron or mass of psi-trons it needed

for a particular bit of information, or how it could decode it. (Rogo, p.289) Unfortunately, Dobbs ’

theory suffers from the fact that it “offers no good experiments, nor does it provide for clairvoyance

or psychokinesis.” (Rush, p.284)

Wasserman (1956) has gone a good deal further and postulated four different fields; the M-

fields, B-fields, P-fields and psi-fields. P-fields are associated with matter alone. The M-fields, or

morphogenetic fields, are physical fields of the same class as other energy fields. They conform toLagrangians and are Lorentz invariant, thus they have the same properties as other physical fields.

“ An M-field may act as a slight perturbation field which changes the transition probabilities of the

molecular fields and also changes their energies slightly through active transitions.” (Wasserman,

p.57) Like electromagnetic fields, M-Fields can only be observed through the changes they cause in

matter fields. Matter fields of an organism co-exist in mutually bound states with molecules and M-

fields can only go into bound states when a certain specific molecular complexity has arisen. M-

fields can also exist in states whereby they cannot exchange energy with matter fields. These states

are analogous to electronic transition states that are not allowed according to the quantum theory.

On a biological level these M-fields seem to correspond to the functions of an organism such as

fertilization, before which an egg ’s molecular system will not allow energy transitions with the M-field but after which the sperm triggers fertilization.

The M-fields act to “steer” the organism’s development. Similarly, there are fields of the M-

field type, which “steer” the organism on the molecular level after the embryonic stage. These fields

give rise to animal behavior and are called B-fields. The B-fields are the structural “steering ” fields




21

of the nervous system and interact with neural matter the same as M-fields interact with molecular

matter. Behavior is a consequence of mutual interaction between B-fields and mental matter.

Learning happens when new B-fields become bound to already existing B-fields and memory

results from the formation of systems of mutually bound B-fields, which can exist in stable bound

stationary states. Since B-fields are specialized M-fields, they must obey quantum mechanical

transition laws and quantum field theory can then be used to produce the selectivity and

permanence of memory and learning. Psi is related to the interaction of these fields with psi-fields.

The psi-fields can interact only with neighboring fields and then only within a very narrow band

of energy levels. Thus, psi-fields could radiate their energy over long distances without absorption by

matter fields and attenuation. In telepathy, a B-field selects a specific psi-field, which excites a

corresponding B-field of the receiving recipient. The psi-field can only make transitions with a

percipient’s B-field depending on the overall state of the B-fields or the attitude of the percipient.

Clairvoyance depends on a one-to-one correspondence between an object’s associated P-fields andthe percipient’s B-fields via intermediate psi-fields. The P-fields are inherent in all matter while B-

fields and M-fields are special cases of P-fields. Finally, precognition occurs when fields of other

kinds are duplicated, the copies make faster transitions than the originals, and thus there exists a

potential for the reception of advanced information when the appropriate psi-fields meet the

conditions for appropriate interactions with B-fields.

Wasserman has been very careful to show the analogies between his postulated fields and

quantum mechanical transitions, giving his theory what he feels is a sound physical base. However,

this proliferation of fields is purely ‘ad hoc’ (Chari, 1977, p.816) and Wasserman “ignores the almost

intractable difficulties which arise in relativistic quantum mechanics from the interaction of fields,

...” These fields are gratuitous when regarded as explanatory devices and fail to have any analytic orpredictive value. Nor can the existence of these fields be proven without deducing testable

implications, so Wasserman’s theory remains an interesting speculation and no more. (Rao, p.169)

Yet the utilization of the field concept occurs elsewhere. Before embarking on his own theory

of the psi-field in 1966, Roll wisely stated that he was “not a physicist either by education or

aptitude. As (he) looked through some of the older material in parapsychology, however, several

hypotheses suggested themselves ....” (Roll, 1966, pp.46-47) There is ample evidence indicating that

a field effect best describes psi phenomena. Acting on this evidence, Roll admittedly borrowed freely

from both Gardner Murphy ’s and Wasserman’s field theories (among others) to develop his own

field theory and claims that his psi-field occupies a theoretical position between Wasserman ’s P-field

and psi-field. Roll’s psi-field is defined as “ The region in space in which psi phenomena aredetectable.” (Roll, 1966, p.47) Assuming that all objects or systems, animate or inanimate, have their

own psi-fields, Roll was able to break down ESP, PK, precognition and clairvoyance into a single

communication system between two or more psi-fields through a channel. Any contact between two

individuals’ psi-fields, or a physical field and a psi-field, will leave an impression or copy called a




22

“psi-trace” which is communicated via some channel to the percipient. The following ‘ad hoc’

postulates have been set down to describe Roll’s psi-fields:

Psi-fields exist in bound states with physical fields or objects or in free states.Physical and mental events produce isomorphic representations of themselves in the

psi-fields of the animate or inanimate objects in which the events occur. The isomorphic

representations persist after the events that formed them have terminated.

Psi-fields produce isomorphic representations of themselves in other psi-fields.

Psi-fields produce isomorphic representations of themselves in physical fields.

The transition probability between psi-fields is higher than the transition probability

from psi-fields to physical fields. (Roll, 1966, p.50)

The value of these postulates depends upon the empirical deductions that can be inferred from themand to this end Roll lists four general interaction hypotheses and five more conditions dealing with

the channels between psi-fields. Experiments can be designed to test these hypotheses, lending more

weight to Roll’s work.

Other important consequences can be deduced from this theory. A psi-field is able to store

information and thus it acts like a memory record. This has an immediate impact on telepathy and

ESP since a person must be able to “express” the telepathic message or must have a previous

memory of the information relative to the message (memory traces) to draw on. The more memory

traces that are available, the better the chances of telepathic success. This also relates the ‘laws of

learning ’ (dealing with recency, frequency and vividness) to the reception and transmission of ESP.

Roll also questions the hypothesis of attenuation at a distance, but doesn’t draw any substantialconclusions there from. Roll further postulates the permanence of the psi-fields and deduces that a

“person” is not limited by his physical body but encompasses the objects in his psi-field. This

conjecture leaves the door open to further speculation regarding the different phenomena associated

with survival after death, but makes no statement regarding the extent to which consciousness is

associated with the psi-field.

These theories do not exhaust the attempts to derive a theory of psi based upon a field model.

There have been several other attempts to explain psi in terms of its own generalized psi fields.

Along with Wasserman’s theory there are also the theories of Gardner Murphy, Cyril Burt, W.G.

Rolland and Campbell Garnett. Burt’s theory (1961) utilizes “informational fields” that deal with

clairvoyant or precognitive ESP (Whiteman, 1977, p.748), or rather psychical fields (Roll, 1966,p.41). In these fields, specific mental properties assume the places of physical “forces” and

“potentials.” Just as an electrostatic field exists in the space surrounding a point charge, “mind” is a

field existing about the human brain. These mental fields can interact with and/or copy one another.

They can also interact with the existing physical fields. The probability of interaction between these




23

various fields then becomes dependent on the particular conditions that determine the “transition

probabilities.” (Roll, 1966, p.41) Telepathy occurs when two or more mental fields copy one another

and clairvoyance is a result of a physical field being copied by a mental one. Burt accounts for the

purported non-attenuation of psi by supposing that ESP is concentrated in a beam directed toward

the receiver’s brain and not spread out as an electromagnetic wave is, rather like a laser beam. (Roll,

1966, p.44) There is no need to postulate a “particle” which influences the field just as there is no

need to have a graviton for a gravitational field. (Roll, 1966, pp.47-48) Burt’s theory has the

advantage that it explains psi without going beyond present knowledge even though he postulates

fields that have not yet been detected.

Although it is not strictly a physical theory, Murphy ’s “paranormal metric” does deserve some

small mention in that it is related to Roll’s psi-field. Murphy noticed that psi phenomena seem

interpersonal rather than completely isolated and individual. They also seem to be blocked by one ’s

personal psychological isolation. To account for these facts, he developed a theory of aninterpersonal entity or field of psychic forces, which is devoid of any material existence. This field or

entity is purely mental. “Every psychological activity which takes place in a world where time and

space are real takes place leaves a ‘trace’ in the world to which psi belongs - a world to which time-

space concepts are not applicable. When the present psychological activity makes a contact with the

reality directly, we have telepathic or clairvoyant experiences.” (Rao, p.147) The universe thus

coexists with a “cosmic system of psychic laws and psychical entities” making up a “paranormal

matrix” with ordinary psychological activity. Since the theory deals with purely mental concepts it is

psychological rather than physical. But by Roll’s own admission, his psi-field, which is physical,

draws on both this non-physical “paranormal matrix” and Wasserman’s P-fields.

It should be noted that these field theories were developed at a much later date in the history ofparapsychology. They all came in the late 1950s through the decade of the 1960s. There may well be

some fundamental and underlying reason for this shift in attitude. Einstein’s general theory of

relativity, the ultimate example of a field theory in physics, was accepted rather rapidly by the

scientific community, given Eddington’s 1919 verification of the bending of starlight as predicted by

Einstein. But there were very few applications of general relativity in the ensuing years, so it was

overshadowed by the quantum theory, which seemed to explain a great deal about the atom and its

nucleus. Political and cultural forces pushed the development of nuclear theory at a much greater

pace than might otherwise have been the case while there was no such incentive for the

development of the relativity theories. This turn of events emphasized the development of quantum

theory at the expense of the relativity theories. So physics simply turned away from relativity andfield theories toward quantum theory. In other words, the vast majority of physicists concentrated

their efforts on developing quantum theory during the four decades after Einstein first developed

general relativity.

On the other hand, Einstein spent the last three decades of his life searching for a unified field




24

theory and thus ostracized himself from most of a scientific community that considered his search

both futile and eccentric. It was not until after technological advances allowing better measurements

and observations were made as well as the beginning of the space age, within a few years after

Einstein’s death in 1955, that general relativity and thus the field approach to physics again became

popular. This popularity undoubtedly influenced the development of field theories of psi in the late

1950s and thereafter. While these historical influences are merely conjectural in that they cannot be

easily proven, it should be quite evident that far more advances were made in the application of

general relativity in the three decades following Einstein’s death than the three decades before his

death. Another of the many factors that could have influenced this shift in strategy was the failure of

the quantum theorists to incorporate gravitational theory, and thus general relativity, within their

own worldview. There were certainly some successes in developing a quantum field theory, but an

explanation of gravitation within the quantum perspective was not among the successes. Einstein

took the opposite point of view and thought that his unified field theory approach would eventuallylead to an explanation of the quantum. This trend began to slowly change with field theory reversing

its stature within the scientific community and vindicating Einstein’s point of view. More scientists

began to study field theory in the 1950s and thereafter.

There is yet another classification of psi theories which is related to the field theories. These are

the hyperspatial theories. Rush classifies them as fully “physical theories.” (Rush) However,

technically speaking the hyperspatial theories are field theories since they are modeled upon relativity

theory. Instead of emphasizing the field aspects of relativity, these theories make use of the extra-

dimensional features of relativity. While the different field theories of psi discussed so far are

physical to one degree or another, depending on the extent to which specialized fields were invented

to explain psi, these hyperspatial theories of psi adhere more closely to the tenets of contemporaryphysics. J.W. Dunne’s theory of 1927 is based on the conception of a fourth-dimensional time. Our

consciousness travels in a temporal dimension in such a manner that we seem to experience a

motion in time in our three-dimensional world. “Real” time is then the fifth dimension in which

second consciousness moves and this process continues in still higher dimensions. While Dunne’s

theory provides a two-dimensional time, his theory is not specifically related to Dobbs ’ theory.

Precognition becomes possible when the second consciousness moves about in our waking

conscious time of four dimensions. (Rao, pp.166-167)

C.D. Broad proposed a similar theory in 1967. It is also based on a second dimension of time,

but lacks Dunne’s infinite regress of higher time dimensions. In Broad’s theory, precognition is

explained in approximately the same manner as Dunne’s explanation with a secondaryconsciousness associated with a second time dimension. Precognition in our awareness occurs in the

past of the second time dimension since the second time dimension precedes normal time. (Rao,

pp.167-168) Both of these ideas seem quite fantastic, indeed “ A topological generalization of these

theories seems to be possible, but no coherent interpretation of the amended theory can be




25

provided without the most sweeping changes in all our causal conceptions of the passage of events.”

(Chari, 1977, p.816) Both these theories are based upon the relativistic view of a four-dimensional

space-time continuum. While they are decidedly five-dimensional, incorporating a second time

dimension, they are loosely based upon the five-dimensional theory of Theodor Kaluza.

In 1921, Kaluza developed a unified field theory in which a fifth spatial dimension was used to

account for electromagnetic phenomena. The fifth dimension, or rather the fifth component in the

metrical field, had no physical significance in that Kaluza merely used it as a mathematical artifice.

A few years later, Oskar Klein extended Kaluza’s theory to include quantum effects, while Einstein

and other scientists continued to develop variations of the theory throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

Einstein gave up the pursuit of a five-dimensional theory in 1943 declaring that the five-

dimensional approach could not be considered valid until a proper explanation of why the extra

dimension could not be sensed was given. Since Kaluza attached no special physical significance to

his fifth coordinate or dimension, it could be considered legitimate to use it as an extra timedimension. At the very least, Kaluza’s theory set a precedent for developing a five-dimensional

theory of psi.

Carroll B. Nash makes use of the four-dimensional space of Hermann Minkowski and Einstein

in yet another way. When a particle is represented as a point in three dimensions, it prescribes a

‘ world-line’ in the four-dimensional space-time continuum, a line that stretches from past to future.

Nash has given Minkowski’s world-line a physical reality which it does not have within ordinary

relativity theory. In physics, the world-line has no more physical presence than a dotted line

representing the parabolic trajectory of a thrown ball on a student’s homework paper. But according

to Nash, these world-lines act connections between our brains and remote events in time and space.

The world-lines themselves react with our brains within the limits of the uncertainty principle. Thisinteraction gives rise to ESP, precognition and PK. (Roll, 1966, p.39) While science recognizes the

concept of world-lines in Minkowskian space-time diagrams, they are not physically real strands

which stretch through space and time. Nash’s ideas may be mentally appealing, but too much is left

to the imagination for his theory to hold any merit. At the very least, a more precise mechanism is

needed to explain how his version of the world-lines can interact with the human brain, if not a

better explanation of how these world-lines can have a real physical existence..

Still other multi-dimensional theories of psi have been proposed. In 1965 H.N. Hart postulated

a theory similar to Nash’s. In his theory, our material universe is only a four-dimensional cross

section of a five-dimensional manifold. (Hart, pp.16-22) Events take place by moving along a four-

dimensional time-line with each observer “reading his past, but sometimes looking ahead non-inferentially into the future.” (Chari, 1977, p.815) Precognition thus becomes a valid consequence of

the space-time geometry. In 1967, J.R. Smythies’ thoughts ranged toward a three-dimensional

physical space and a three-dimensional psychic space in which ESP and PK are exchanges between

the two spaces. His theory was based upon the concept of a non-Cartesian dualism. In other words




26

“Non-Cartesian dualism suggests that the world consists of the physical universe extended in

physical space and a number of substantive minds extended each in a space of its own.” (Smythies,

p.6)

In the case of Smythies theory, there is a constant flow of information between the individuals

mind in its own space and the individual’s brain in physical space. This interaction can be envisioned

if “the total human organism is extended in an n -dimensional space.” (Smythies, p.7) This model

allows the mind-brain interaction to be treated as a part of normal science and offers “possibilities

for deductive development by topologists, geometers and physicists.” (Smythies, p.9) Some

unspecified type of signal coming from another individual’s mind-space can interrupt the normal

connection between one individual’s mind and brain. This interruption explains ESP. Since the

signal is outside of the normal physical space-time continuum of the brain, the normal laws of

physics, such as the attenuation of waves with distance, do not apply.

The consciousness of an individual is located in the individual’s private mind-space. Theconsciousness is combined of the individual’s ego and a sense-field. The consciousness is projected

onto the brain to yield conscious thought. This projection may include a ‘penumbra,’ or shadow

extending beyond the spatial limits of the brain, allowing an individual to be influenced indirectly by

a pack of Zener cards, explaining clairvoyance. The ‘penumbra’ of the mind’s focus on the brain

could also extend beyond the brain in the temporal direction of physical space-time and thus

precognition could be explained. Smythies also claims that his theory is simple, extensible and

testable, in that deductions from the theory could lead to experimental verification. This flexibility of

his theory would go some distance to allay the criticisms against all such theories, but the theory still

has a serious drawback. There is no explanation of signal that can pass between two or more

individual’s mind-spaces and that signal or transmission would be the part of the theory that wouldbe of interest to physicists. Physicists have not taken Smythies theory, like all of these other theories,

seriously.

The non-Euclidean geometries upon which all of these theories are ultimately based were first

developed in the 1820s. But the most damaging refutation to Euclidean (three-dimensional) physical

space came as a result of Bernhard Riemann’s geometry of a generalized n-dimensional manifold in

the 1850s. After he developed his general theory of relativity, Einstein credited Riemann’s original

mathematical concept of non-Euclidean geometry as a precursor to his own work. But Einstein did

not refer to the research of other scientists and mathematicians regarding their own prior use of

non-Euclidean geometries and hyperspaces in physics. There was no need for Einstein to cite

previous physical theories of hyperspace since the mathematics used by Einstein had evolved along adifferent path than the form of non-Euclidean geometry used by Zöllner and the English

mathematicians.

In the 1860s, Hermann Helmholtz independently developed a more generalized hyperspatial

geometry similar to Riemann’s, but founded upon the concepts of congruence and invariance upon




27

motion to another location in the physical space represented by the geometry. After Helmholtz

learned of Riemann’s previous geometrical theory of space, his ideas were grafted to Riemann ’s

geometry to further its applicability. In 1882, E.B. Christoffel gave the algebraic forms of these

invariants and thus developed the concept of curvature tensors while Tulio Levi-Civita and G. Ricci

developed a full tensor calculus upon this basis in 1901. Einstein used this tensor calculus in his

analysis of space curvature in the general theory of relativity. On the other hand, Zöllner and the

other nineteenth century scientists and scholars who tried to apply non-Euclidean geometries and

hyperspaces to physical space used a topological variety of the Riemannian geometries. This

analytical model of space curvature had not yet been developed when Zöllner and others first

applied a four-dimensional space to psychic and spiritual phenomena.

Helmholtz had been a contemporary as well as a critic of Zöllner’s work while Zöllner was well

aware of Helmholtz’ work on non-Euclidean geometries. But Zöllner never applied Helmholtz ’

concepts to his theoretical work. Fifty years later, Einstein must have had some idea of thecontroversy regarding the use of hyperspaces to explain spiritualistic and other phenomena since he

had read Mach’s Science of Mechanics early in his career and often referred to Mach. But this

knowledge would not have affected Einstein’s development of relativity. The other ideas and

concepts expressed in Mach’s book were a primary inspiration for Einstein’s own theoretical

research, not Mach’s comments on non-Euclidean geometries.

So both modern field theories and hyper-dimensional theories of psi have been dissociated

from Zöllner’s and similar concepts in their past by Einstein’s omission. We could say that the

scientific revolution wiped the slate clean and left the field unbiased toward non-Euclidean

applications in physics. Although Einstein used Riemannian geometry to explain gravitation, it has

never been decided whether a fifth dimension was needed to explain gravitational forces. Inmathematical language, general relativity utilizes ‘intrinsic’ space-time curvature so a higher

dimensional embedding space is not necessary. Use of the analytical methods of Riemannian

geometry renders this intrinsic model plausible without the need to embed the four-dimensional

space-time continuum in a fifth dimension. On the other hand, ‘extrinsic’ geometry whereby a fifth

dimension is needed for curvature has never been ruled out. This fact allowed Kaluza to develop his

five-dimensional unification of gravity and electromagnetism.

In applications to psi, any theory of hyperspace would assume the higher dimensions to be real.

This idea makes any theory of psi based on hyperspaces untenable with normal perception, a fact

that also forms the main argument against unified field theories based on a five-dimensional

hypothesis. Before Einstein’s development of relativity theory, mathematicians and scholarsdiscussed the possibility of four-dimensional physical spaces with a separate time, but after Einstein

these concepts evolved into a four-dimensional space-time continuum embedded or curved in an

external fifth dimension. After development of special relativity in 1905, the background for nature

became a four-dimensional space-time continuum and the previous work on four-dimensional




28

spaces was either forgotten or purged from science.

In 1922, Robert Browne published the book The Mystery of Space . The book is relatively

unknown, but still expresses the sentiments regarding higher-dimensioned space-times that are

evident in the hyperspatial theories of psi. Browne considered mathematics to be a true “biometer of

intellectual evolution.” He contended that human awareness of a higher dimension is a further step

in mental evolution and this view might someday prove true. There is some evidence that psychics

actually perceive the other dimensions of a hyperspace. For example, the mathematician H.S.M.

Coxeter “has documented several cases of persons possessing the ability to express lucidly and

mathematically the experience of hyperspace. Fuller appears to operate quite freely quite freely in

this domain.” (O’Regan, p.463) The mathematician Musès also hints at a possible structure for a

consciousness-matter continuum.

These experiences would tend to support the field concepts of psi rather than a quantum

mechanical approach. However, even if they eventually shed some light on the question of thereality of hyperspaces, they do not prove the reality of a fifth dimension. The existence of a fifth or

higher dimensions must be proven through physics if the concept is to have any scientific validity.

Despite Browne’s attempt to define dimension in a way different from length, width, and height, the

term dimension still remains an unsophisticated concept when spoken of in terms of mathematics

and physics as opposed to psi. There is also a possibility that “unorthodox exchanges in

multidimensional space may well disrupt the physical continuity of ordinary space, and they may

even prevent the extinction of an ordinary candle in our familiar three-space. No cogent definition

of causality in the many-space universe has been offered.” (Chari, 1977, p.816)

The hyperspatial theories of psi suffer from many problems, the least of which is the inability to

consciously sense the extra dimension or dimensions. Among these problems can be included theconcepts of free will and consciousness traveling in other time dimensions. If world-lines and time

dimensions are accepted as pre-existent, such that human consciousness travels along a trajectory in

the time dimension, then the concept of free will fails. The psychological sense of time would be

reduced to the consciousness moving along a pre-existent world-line and the idea that individuals

choose their own future from moment to moment would disappear. So the possibility exists that

acceptance of a hyperspace theory of psi might result in the abandonment of our present concept of

free will. This possibility seems to be the only way that precognition can be explained using an extra

dimension of time. However, this problem is a general problem of physics, not just parapsychology.

From the first moment that philosophers began discussing the consequences of the physics of a

four-dimensional space-time continuum, they have been discussed its affect on the concept of ‘free will,’ and in most cases this discussion has had nothing to do with ESP, precognition or psi

phenomena.

One other theory, which is rather unique as well as complete in its outlay, was outlined by

Andrija Puharich in his book Beyond Telepathy , published in 1962. He proposed both a biological and




29

a physical connection to the psi plasma that he has postulated. (Only the physical aspects are herein

discussed) The main physical property of the psi plasma is that it has form and form “is perhaps the

only level at which we have any idea as to the nature of the psi plasma.” (Puharich, p.72) In normal

physics, plasma is the fourth state of matter. The three normal states of matter are solid, liquid and

gas. They are defined by their properties. However, several decades ago superheated gases were

found to have specific properties that marked them as different from normal gases. So plasma

physics, the study of matter under these special characteristics, was born. Different gases reach their

plasma states at different temperatures. By analogy, a psi plasma would be a special state of matter

which is characterized by the ability to interact psychically with other bodies of matter.

The psi plasma is characterized by a pilot wave and must therefore always have a velocity

greater than that of light. Here, Puharich recognizes the problem of an interaction between things

happening on opposite sides of the light barrier. To solve this he postulates four domains: (1) The

positive energy state of the material world; (2) The negative energy state according to Dirac’sequation; (3) The vortex motion of the plasma state; and, (4) A cosmic fluid or aether that is the

plasma. From these four domains there comes a complicated structure of pseudospheres of plasma,

with parallel pseudospheres spinning in opposite directions. As these pseudospheres spin in vortical

motion they will draw the other pseudospheres into them, creating spherical bubbles, which will spin

at right angles to the axis of the pseudospheres.

The four upper spheres are the electron, proton, neutron and neutrino. Opposite spheres spin

in opposite directions, thus giving rise to positive and negative electrical charges. There are also four

spheres on the underside of the rim of the pseudosphere. These are the positron, anti-proton, anti-

neutron and anti-neutrino. The upper four spheres or particles represent the first domain or positive

energy and the lower ones represent the negative energy of the second domain. The pseudosphereitself is made up of the psi-plasma, the fourth domain. From the interactions within this structure

which depend on spin energy being given up or absorbed as quanta by the various particles,

Puharich shows that “all exchanges of energy in the physical world are governed by the psi plasma

properties ... and ... the psi-plasma records and in a sense remembers every such transaction. ”

(Puharich, p.179) He also derives other physical effects (i.e. gamma radiation) and further theorizes

that both the psi-plasma and physical fields are coupled by a gravitational force.

The task then remains to relate this structure to ESP. Any event, physical or mental, causes a

perturbation in the psi-plasma field due to changes of state in the particles involved. This

perturbation travels as a pilot wave, at a velocity greater than light, to the observer’s brain where a

similar particle is set in motion by the wave. Thus a standing wave is set up which can act as achannel for ESP while the observer’s brain is stimulated and the ESP message is cognized.

In order to present this theory, Puharich has not only had to introduce a new entity, the psi-

plasma, as other psi theorists have had to do, but he has also introduced a very complicated

structure of space and matter which may be quite untenable with modern physics. He also leaves




30

too many questions unanswered. For example, is this structure universal such that even the region

of empty space between galaxies also consists of the same structure? A theory such as the one

Puharich puts forward seems to call for a complete new worldview on almost no evidence. Perhaps

that is why there seems to be no mention of his theory in any works rather than his own. Such a re-

ordering of the universe cannot be made and accepted without reason and either observational or

experimental evidence. The scope of Puharich’s theory just goes too far beyond that of explaining

psi. It would be too far-fetched to think that all of physics should be rewritten to accommodate a

theory of psi. However, the opposite is highly possible. If physicists were to develop new physical

theories, in essence rewrite physics, to incorporate new advances in science, then it might be

possible to incorporate psi into the overall structure of nature.

One other mode of presenting an acceptable theory of psi is through biophysical speculation.

Newton once suggested that one form of the all-pervading ‘aether,’ of the same form as involved in

gravitation, “also pervades ‘animal juices’ and controls the movement and even procreation of livingthings.” (Roll, 1966, p.37) Such speculation as this has led to other theories concerning

biogravitation, bioplasmas, various other biophysical fields and entities. Mead made early attempts

with ‘animal gravitation’ and Mesmer with ‘animal magnetism.’ Biological organisms do, of course,

exhibit electrical and magnetic properties, and this has led field theories into the realm of biology.

This movement has been enhanced when the patterns that guide biological functions such as

organization, growth and development were not found to be part of any single part of an organism.

In 1935, Burt and Northrop proposed that bioelectric fields could influence the pattern and

development of organisms; however no proof has come forward to substantiate such claims despite

the known presence of electrical fields within organisms. W. Elsasser has postulated ‘biotonic laws’

inherent in living beings “and drawing upon accumulated quantum-mechanical and information-theoretic uncertainties.” (Chari, 1972, p.203) As recently as 1968, Inyushin and his colleagues have

worked with a ‘bioplasmic interaction’ to explain psi. They consider the ‘bioplasm’ to be a ‘fourth

state of matter’ and claim it to be the phenomena responsible for Kirlian photography. Their basic

claim is that “ All living things - plants, animals and human - not only have a physical body made of

atoms and molecules, but also a counterpart body of energy.” (Schroeder and Ostrander, p.217)

Chari criticizes such speculation and states, “ A ‘bioplasm’ or ‘psychoplasm’ with totally unknown

properties cannot claim to be a rightful link between physics and psi phenomena.” (Chari, 1977,

p.812) Yet the issue of a link between physics, biology and psi is of growing concern and, as many

scientists believe, it may be an inevitable outcome of future research.

In contrast, Haakon Forwald has proposed a theory of psi that shares neither of thesecharacteristics with the other theories. Forwald’s theory hypothesizes no new structures nor does it

tend to be anything but physical. Forwald’s theory is derived directly from the experimental results

of mental influence on rolling cubes. His experimental findings seem to indicate that the PK results

observed are of a gravitational kind resulting from a mental influence on the atomic nuclei of the




31

material making up the cubes. The energy which causes the displacement seems to come from the

transformation of some of the cube’s mass to energy according to the formula E=mc2. The energy is

derived from the nucleus in the form of gravitational potential differences by an as yet unknown

process. Assuming that a physical force acts on the cubes, Forwald used instruments to test for all

types of forces (electrostatic, magnetic, nuclear, and etc) but could find no forces acting on the

rolling cubes. Thus by a process of elimination he arrived at a gravitational theory of PK. He justifies

the choice of gravitation in various ways including “ what seems a highly dubious argument from his

position effect, the parabolic U-curve.” (Rush, p.225) The position effect is a graphical

representation of the probability and change of position, which assumes a figure that closely

approximates a parabola. Taking into account that other psi phenomena also seem to tend to

parabolic functions, he compares this to the fact that an object thrown in a gravitational field travels

along a parabolic curve. This argument is tenuous at most, the analogy is not completely valid and

“correspondence between the position effect in those experiments and the gravitational trajectory ofa moving mass seems purely formal.” (Rush, p.22)

There are, however, other arguments that could be made to support a gravitational theory.

Forwald points out that “it would be more correct to use the expression ‘psi is non-energetic’ instead

of ‘psi is non-physical’,” (Forwald, p.66) and the psyche also seems to be structural (non-energetic)

rather than energetic, giving a correlation between mind and gravity on a formal level. Psi phenomena

have been shown to be unshieldable and they seem to present no measurable energy loss

(attenuation). Gravity also meets the same requirements whereas other physical forces do not.

Gravitational effects are transferred non-energetically and gravity cannot be shielded. Forwald’s

hypothesis can also be proven. “ The loss in mass is far too small to be measured as the difference in

the weight of a cube before and after an experimental series. But it should in principle be possible todetermine by mass-spectrometry whether the isotope composition of the cube material changed

during the experiment. A possible result in such an investigation might give a direct proof of the

existence of psychokinesis.” (Forwald, p.6)

As in other attempts to derive a physical theory of psi, Forwald’s hypothesis only covers one

type of phenomena from among the many different kinds that seem to be exhibited by psi. He does

make an attempt, albeit indirectly, to apply his theory to other psi phenomena when he says that

“the gravitational field ... should have had a guiding influence on the psyche. This would mean that

the field should to a certain extent have limited the freedom of the psyche to act deliberately.”

(Forwald, p.19) To assert that gravity affects the psyche and ‘thinking ’ is a bold assumption and will

be tested when space research reaches a higher level. Of course, if this would be proven true, then itmust also have a real affect for all psi processes.

The year of 1969 was propitious for the science of parapsychology. A new air of respectability

dawned when the Parapsychological Association joined the American Association for the

Advancement of Science, but parapsychology was still a long way from being accepted by a large




32

number of scientists and scholars. The existence of psi was nearly as far from acceptance by the

scientific community as a whole as it had been a few decades earlier. The admission of the

Parapsychological Association was more a sign of the recognition of the work that researchers had

completed over the last four decades than an admission of a belief in psi. If anything, the critics of

parapsychology were becoming more vocal and organized. The acceptance of the Parapsychological

Association only marked a modicum of completion for the growing community of

parapsychologists, but many other historical factors, which would soon affect research on the

paranormal, were being played out at the time.

A small cultural revolution, which would indirectly affect the overall perception of society on

paranormal phenomena, was taking place in the 1960s. The changes in attitude were the strongest

in America, but it was far more wide spread than just this one country. One consequence of this

mini-revolution was a greater tolerance toward other cultural ideas as well as a deep-rooted interest

in Eastern philosophy, mysticism and religion. This trend manifested itself in everything from anupsurge in Buddhism, to the use of acupuncture and the study of martial arts. Another factor was

an increasing awareness that the Soviet Union had long been conducting basic research into the

paranormal. This revelation was already beginning to become evident through scientific contacts

when the book Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain , by Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder,

was first published in 1970. It had long been believed that the communist governments of the

Soviet Union and the other Eastern Block nations were vehemently against parapsychological

research, but the release of this book offered proof that the Soviet government not only supported

psychic research but might even be attempting to harness psychic powers for their own use. And

finally, many people were beginning to look outward from this tiny planet with a more cosmic

attitude, putting astronauts in space and on the moon. Both the direct and indirect influences of the space program cannot be underestimated.

Rosalind Heywood noted their direct affect in an article on the “changing mental climate” toward

psi research during the mid 1960s.

In the 1950’s then, the situation looked like a stalemate. ESP still could not be harnessed to

order, and merely to demonstrate its overwhelming probability did not satisfy critics who

hated and subconsciously feared its heretical implications and past association with the

supernatural. But now, in the sixties, a softer wind is beginning to blow. One reason for

this is practical: the idea that telepathy might be a means of communication in space flight.

(Heywood, p.57)

While she directly attributed the space program as an influence on the changes in attitude, the

indirect influences could not have been known until after the decade was completed. In her article,

Heywood also confirmed the influence of iron curtain scientists on psi research a few years before

Ostrander and Schroeder’s book was published. From these and other factors a more generally




33

accepted attitude of holism with a more global view emerged. This new attitude was far more

tolerant of the view that there was more to life than had been apparent in science at any previous

time in history and this translated to an increased interest in the scientific pursuit of psi.

IV. The emergence of Paraphysics during the scientific era:

1970 to present

During the 1960s, while general relativity was becoming more popular among scientists and

parapsychology more respectable, other changes in attitude within the physics community were also

affecting research and theoretical work on psi. Quantum theory and quantum mechanics had always

been plagued by seemingly unfathomable paradoxes such as the wave/particle duality, but the

mathematical model presented by quantum mechanics gave the correct answers for phenomena that

presented themselves in nature as well as those which scientists presented as experiments. So the

prevailing philosophical interpretations of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and other quantummechanical concepts were very near to being universally accepted even though they were clearly

problematic in the view of some scientists. In the 1930s, Einstein began a campaign to discredit the

Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics, which was the prevalent viewpoint. The

campaign resulted in the 1935 publication of a paper authored by Einstein, Boris Podolski and

Nathan Rosen (the famous EPR paper) expressing Einstein’s and other scientist’s concerns with that

particular interpretation of the quantum theory. In essence, they felt that quantum mechanics was

‘incomplete’ since it limited our view and knowledge of the physical world of nature. Their view

implied that there existed underlying factors regarding physical reality that quantum mechanics did

not address.

Although the ensuing debate was well known, the defeat of Fascism and the shackling ofscience by politicians and the military establishment for that purpose drew away the energies of

science and the debate was left unsettled for many years. In 1951, David Bohm reopened the debate

with a philosophical argument leading to the concept of ‘hidden variables.’ He reasoned that there

could be unknown physical quantities, ‘hidden variables,’ which when discovered and taken into

account would render quantum mechanics ‘complete’ in Einstein’s sense of the term. The debate

went even further in 1964, when John S. Bell offered a possible solution to the debate that is known

today as Bell’s theorem. Bell distinguished between the ‘local’ and ‘non-local’ properties of physical

interactions. Since these philosophical arguments were made, a great deal of literature on these and

similar subjects has appeared and affected experimental physics.

The EPR argument and its consequences were debated either by philosophers or by scientists in

philosophical terms thereafter since the outcome of the debate would not affect the experimental

results which were the primary interest of physicists. Yet the philosophical arguments themselves

resulted in new experiments that the physicists had not considered. This trend reintroduced

philosophy into physics in a very concrete manner. While the ultimate relationship between these




34

advances in science and the overall attitudes of physicists toward both their science and their

priorities of research are beyond the scope of this study, the influence of this trend in physics on

psi research cannot be ignored. Although she was only speaking of changes in the field of

parapsychology itself, Heywood noted the change in 1967.

One key to this beginning of a change in the mental climate in relation to ESP may perhaps

lie in the astonishing revolution in physics which is now going on, and which has already

shown that the classical notions about the nature of time, space, and matter are not all-

embracing when it comes to the realms of the very large and the very small. And now new

research is revealing that in the realm of the very small the brain functions as a chemico-

electrical instrument of surpassing delicacy and in a manner unsuspected in the days when

it was ruled out as being in any way concerned with ESP. (Heywood, p.60)

The revolution of which she spoke was that of the original quantum theory between 1900 and 1927

as well as relativity theory, a fact which she readily acknowledged.

The revolution in physics, of course, has been going on for over half a century, but

new ideas need a lot of time to seep through and modify the general outlook, and the most

fundamental change of all - to a concept of ‘solid’ matter as being convertible into elusive

‘intangible’ energy - is only now beginning to exert its influence in the outside world. In the

early days of psychical research men could say that no mystery remained in the universe

and that the subject of physics was exhausted. Now a pioneer of the new physics can write

that ‘the physics of the future a few centuries hence could well be as different from the

physics of today as the latter is from the physics of Aristotle’, and, again, that we must

never forget how limited our knowledge must always be’. (The quote is from Louis deBroglie, Nouvelles Littéraires, 2 March 1950)

In such a mental climate ESP is coming to seem less of an ‘egregious logical sin’, and

psychical researchers are more able to continue their empirical observations undeterred by

the dictum that what they observe has no business to be there. (Heywood, p.60)

Heywood was correct in the idea that the new concepts take a long time to “seep” into the

mainstream of science, but wrong in limiting the more recent changes in attitude in psi research to

the original events of the Second Scientific Revolution alone. Heywood missed the point that radical

changes in attitude toward both quantum theory and general relativity had occurred in the ensuing

years and that these changes greatly affected psi research as well as the growing relationship betweenphysics and psi. The state of physics was not static and unchanging during the decades after 1927,

but it continued to evolve and progress. Debates on the philosophical interpretations of quantum

mechanics were new to science, but they still reflected the same concerns as the age-old debates of

‘continuous’ versus ‘discrete’ in nature. The intimate interplay and cross-fertilization between the






36

1970, the word began appearing on a more regular basis. To offer a few examples, John White’s 1974

book Frontiers of Consciousness included a section on paraphysics and Edgar Mitchell’s 1974 book Psychic

Explorations contained two articles on the “Emergence of Paraphysics as a Natural Science” as well as

numerous articles that documented purely physical studies in psi without mentioning paraphysics.

White and Stanley Krippner published Future Science: Life Energies and the Physics of Paranormal Phenomena

in 1977. This book was filled with articles on the physics of psi, rather than just the mental or

parapsychological aspects of psi. The sudden and often appearance of the word can be used as a

barometer of the changing attitudes toward physical research on psi. Other books, such as Andrija

Puharich’s The Iceland Papers , were purely physical in their dealings with psi, but did not use the word

paraphysics.

However, there was some backlash from parapsychologists on this new development. In his

review of Mitchell’s book, J.G. Pratt wrote that

The claim that paraphysics is a new field of science seems to be based upon the existenceof unsolved mysteries about the living organism and the hope that modern electronic

technology will allow science to move more rapidly in directions in which progress until

now has been very slow. (Pratt, p.69)

As one of the foremost parapsychologists, Pratt might have felt a bit threatened by the thought that

physics could take over his science. Yet it seems more likely that he was neither completely aware of

the trends in physics which had been slowly seeping into psi research nor their consequences.

Physics had always maintained an important, if not unrecognized, place in the study of psi, but the

relevance of physics to psi research had also been increasing at a steady pace. Pratt even admitted

this fact a few years later in an article on “the future Einstein for parapsychology.” Einstein was the

paramount icon of a physicist and the use of his name implied an intimate connection between psi

and physics. Yet Pratt still qualified his opinion on any use of physics to explain psi.

I am among those who are skeptical that the solution to our most basic problems will be

found in terms of quantum physics or field theory (in any sense that physicists would

recognize today as relevant to their own scientific thinking). Parapsychology is not

identifiably on the frontier of physics. And psi phenomena are not, in any useful sense of

the word, “physical.” (Pratt, p.142)

Although it may sound as if Pratt did not think that physics was of any use in developing a theory of

psi, Pratt was not denying the connection between physics and psi. Instead, he was giving a tacit

recognition of the fact that physics, at least that portion of physics of which he had knowledge, was

not up to the task of explaining psi.

It is questionable whether Pratt was even aware of all the most recent advances in physics when

he made this statement in 1974. He went on further to state that




37

In this search (for explanatory principles) we are no more compelled to equate psi

processes with known physical operations of either the classical or nuclear vintage than

atomic physicists are compelled to explain their findings in terms of Newtonian principles.

(Pratt, p.143)

Perhaps this statement would be more valuable and accurate had a physicist made it, but Pratt was no

physicist and he seems not to have known what physics was all about. The Newtonian principles of

which he spoke are still perfectly valid and no physicist could accurately claim that they are not. Every

physicist knows that it is necessary to show that any new theory of physics is compatible with

Newtonian theory, at least as a limiting case, because Newtonian theory still works for much of

physics. Besides, physics had changed in the twenty years preceding Pratt’s conclusions along lines

that were already becoming evident to others if not to Pratt. So his statements must be taken with a

grain of salt.

John Beloff, another parapsychologist, who considered the possibility of a physical theory ofpsi, but then rejected that possibility, supports Pratt’s view. He noted that two questions often arise

in parapsychology:

A question that constantly arises is where parapsychology rightly belongs in the array f the

sciences. More particularly, could parapsychology be subsumed under physics, either as it

exists or as it may yet become? (Beloff, p.2 of 9)

In answer to these questions he considered the merits and otherwise of several of the physical

theories that had been presented to that date, 1979.

What, then, are we to say about the so-called paranormal phenomena which are our

special concern on this occasion? Are they the exception to the rule? Or are they

anomalous in a provisional sense only, so that, after another revolution or so in science,

they will cease to quality as paranormal and instead will take their rightful place in the

natural order? Until recently I would have said that a case could be made for either point of

view. However, I have come increasingly to the conclusion that the possibility of a physical

explanation of psi phenomena is not just doubtful, in the sense that all the existing

candidates look so unpromising, but is, from the very nature of the case, an absurdity that

can be ruled out on a priori considerations. I am not alone, of course, in holding this view;

for one thing most scientists who reject the parapsychological evidence do so primarily

because they see no way of reconciling it with physical theory. However, my position is, in

a sense, the reverse of theirs: they assume that what cannot be explained in physical terms

does not exist; I believe that since psi phenomena do exist, not everything in nature can be

explained in physical terms. (Beloff, p.2 of 9)

Beloff has not only rejected the pursuit of physical theories, but has emphatically rejected the




38

possibility, a priori, that psi is physical in any sense. The very possibility that psi could ever be

considered a physical quantity, even given advances in physics, has been reduced to an “absurdity.”

Seldom, in the history of science, has one individual been so grossly biased as to cut off any area of

research for all of time.

In spite of these opinions, there is now ample evidence to demonstrate that a new era of psi

research has evolved since 1970, that this new era is oriented toward physics as much as it is toward

parapsychology and that the field of paraphysics is alive and under constant, if not slow,

development. Simple evidence of this change of attitude in psi research can be found in a statement

by Roll, also a parapsychologist albeit one who had developed his own physical theory of psi. In the

1975 introduction to his thesis Theory and Experiment in Psychical Research , originally written in 1959, he

stated that he sometimes thought that it would have been better had he been trained in physics.

Such training would have undoubtedly been helpful in developing his own physical theory of psi. He

was convinced that “psi phenomena are field phenomena in the physical sense of the word” andthey only seemed to be paranormal because they are “the effects of causes which cannot be

experienced in normal or ordinary states of consciousness.” (Roll in Foreword to the Arno Edition).

Roll’s conviction that psi is basically a physical phenomenon is further supported by Brian D.

Josephson, a Nobel Laureate physicist, who so ably assessed the situation more than a decade later.

In rebuttal to a critic of Robert Jahn’s published claim that psychokinesis does exist, Josephson

stated that “psychic phenomena may be both consistent with physics, and conceivable in rational

terms” and, as a corollary, “that many of the experiments on the paranormal may be measuring

genuine phenomena, which it would be the goal of science to try and understand.” (Josephson,

1992, p.15) These statements were published in Physics Today , a mainstream scientific journal. Several

years later, he and Jessica Utts spoke more to the point of what psi may be. What are the implications for science of the fact that psychic functioning appears to be

a real effect? These phenomena seem mysterious, but no more mysterious perhaps than

strange phenomena of the past which science has now happily incorporated within its

scope. What ideas might be relevant in the context of suitably extending science to take

these phenomena into account? Two such concepts are those of the observer, and non-

locality. The observer forces his way into modern science because the equations of

quantum physics, if taken literally, imply a universe that is constantly splitting into separate

branches, only one of which corresponds to our perceived reality. A process of

“decoherence” has been invoked to stop two branches interfering with each other, but this

still does not answer the question of why our experience is of one particular branch and

not any other. Perhaps, despite the unpopularity of the idea, the experiencers of the reality

are also the selectors.

This idea perhaps makes sense in the light of theories that presuppose that quantum




39

theory is not the ultimate theory of nature, but involves (in ways that in some versions of

the idea can be made mathematically precise) the manifestations of a deeper “subquantum

domain”. In just the same way that a surf rider can make use of random waves to travel

effortlessly along, a psychic may be able to direct random energy at the subquantum level

for her own purposes. Some accounts of the subquantum level involve action at a distance,

which fits in well with some purported psychic abilities. (Josephson and Utts, 1996, p.2 of

3)

From these statements, it should be quite clear that physics and psi are intimately related, and it is

the belief of these scientists that a final explanation of psi will come through physics. A new period

of scientific inquiry would thus seem to have dawned.

This new era is characterized by more intensive physical studies of psi, more physicists

conducting basic research to find the physical properties of psi, new organizations dedicated to the

physical study of psi phenomena and the development of physical theories by physicists rather thanparapsychologists. Within the community of parapsychologists, the changes in attitude tend toward

more theoretical work and a decline in experiments whose sole purpose lay in proof of the existence

of psi. In either case, or discipline, the study of psi has evolved to the point where discovering the

properties of psi and the physical and mental conditions by which it manifests now take precedence

over experiments of proof.

The physicist Gerald Feinberg has suggested that two questions can be asked concerning any

relationship between physics and consciousness. “ What is the range of consciousness in the

universe?” and “How is consciousness related to other aspects of the world?” (Feinberg, p.22)

Although he is neither a parapsychologist nor actively conducted psi research, at the time Feinberg

was at least open-minded enough to accept the possibility of psi. He assumed a link betweenconsciousness and psi in considering these two questions and then reasoned that if psi phenomena

are real, they may help in understanding the relationship between consciousness and the material

part of the universe, which is the primary concern in physics. These considerations brought him to a

conclusion regarding the direction the psi research should take.

I believe it would be appropriate for researchers to emphasize detailed studies of

psychic phenomena rather than to concentrate on further efforts whose primary purpose is

to convince others that the phenomena exist. I have two reasons for believing this. One is

that a bare statement of the existence of a phenomenon is much less useful than statements

about its detailed properties and its relations to other phenomena. Also, my impression isthat scientists are much more likely to believe that something is real after its properties

have been studied and delimited in this way, so that the strategy I am suggesting might

even be a good way of convincing others. My other reason for proposing this strategy is

that only by obtaining detailed information can we hope to answer questions of the sort




40

that I raised earlier. (Feinberg, p.24)

Feinberg proposes no less than a conditional acceptance of psi so that the time and efforts of

scientists will not be wasted on a continuing to search for ‘proof ’ of psi. Science could thenconcentrate on determining the physical properties of psi. Although he has not so stated, this course

of action implies that a physical theory of psi is the next logical step in the process of psi research.

Finding the physical properties exhibited during psi events will automatically lead to hypothesis

making to explain the properties. The theory building that follows is a necessary step for physicists

to accept psi. The very fact that Feinberg is willing to make such statements is a testament to the

changing attitude of science toward psi. His statement also contains the implication that science will

not totally accept psi in the absence of clear-cut proof that it exists until its theoretical basis is

established. Like Feinberg, there are other physicists who are willing to accept the possibility of psi

under these or similar conditions, but will go no further at this time. Within the framework of this

new open attitude, several classes of theories have emerged. Electromagnetic theories of psi are still valid as are hyperdimensional, field and plasma theories, but new theories utilizing the existence of

esoteric particles and/or quantum mechanical principles have also evolved. Other theories based on

branching universes and alternate universes have also been proposed. Except for the branching

universe hypothesis, which is an extrapolation from the quantum theory, all of these theories are

either based on, or in some manner related to, field theory or quantum field theory.

A. Modern electromagnetic theories of psi

Electromagnetic theories may be the most contentious as well as the oldest class of psi theories,

since they have been so effectively criticized from a scientific point of view. Yet, despite all of the

difficulties and criticisms that they have faced in the past, attempts to explain psi using an

electromagnetic framework are still being made at a higher level of sophistication which is harder to

refute. Using the formulas of a standard communication theory, which entails a coupling of modern

electromagnetic theory and modern information theory, I.M. Kogan has suggested “ with a suitably

devised formula we can posit a hypothetical wave yielding a ‘telepathemic bit’ (i.e. a binary psi unit)

of information of specified duration at a specified temperature.” (Chari, 1977, p.811) His theory not

only reflects advances in electromagnetic theory, but it also reflects more recent advances in

computer technology, terminology and attitudes toward the process of thought itself. This idea is

intriguing since there is a definite transfer of information during ESP events, but it sheds no light on

PK phenomena. Signal strength may decrease as the square of the distance from the source of an

electromagnetic wave, but information loss does not depend on signal strength. This notion helps to

support Kogan’s theory as well as all electromagnetic theories of psi since it negates the emphasis

that has been placed on the criticism that signal strength decreases too rapidly to support psi action.

Kogan admits that his theory holds only over short distances, but there may be options or

conditions under which it could be extended to longer distances.




41

Kogan’s was not the only recent theory to make use of ELF (extremely low frequency)

electromagnetic waves. There is a rule of thumb in physics that the most effectively absorbed

waves have nearly the same wavelength as the size of the absorber. The waves produced by the

human brain are about ten centimeters long and the brain has a cross-sectional diameter of roughly

the same measurement. This would correspond to electromagnetic waves of extremely low

frequency. So ELF waves seem to represent the ideal measurable physical quantity for interacting

with the human brain producing psi. However, another factor has been completely missed by both

the theorists and their critics. While the maximum amount of energy is absorbed from waves of

this wavelength, small amounts of energy can be absorbed from waves of all wavelengths, with the

amount of energy physically absorbed falling very rapidly the further the wavelength is from that of

the ideal. ELFs already carry very little energy since energy is dependent upon frequency. Higher

energy waves may not be as well absorbed, but since they have higher energy to begin with there

may be an optimum value of energy that can be absorbed from waves of not quite so ideal wavelength. With the common radio, you can use an antenna of any size and still pick up all

frequencies, even those that do not correspond to the antennas length, if you have a proper tuning

circuit. So perhaps the brain contains a special tuning circuit, or acts as a tuning circuit itself, which

can detect and interpret all electromagnetic waves. This idea is merely speculative, but it

demonstrates that there is more to the electromagnetic theories of psi than most would care to

admit.

In 1979, Michael Persinger added a new element to the ELF argument. He noted that ELF

radiation is also emitted during geomagnetic disturbances, lightning and other natural processes.

Since these ELF waves are natural, various forms of information could be imprinted on the

common ELF background by the brain. Those who are especially sensitive such as telepathic agentscould read this impression. Like other electromagnetic theories of psi, this particular theory suffers

from clear-cut problems. For example, it “lacks plausible mechanisms and does not seriously address

real psi expressions.” (Rush, p.380) However, it does have predictive power and some predictions

made by Persinger seem to have been validated. (Mishlove, p.309)

The physicists J.A. Wheeler and Richard Feynman have advanced a more sophisticated

“absorber” theory of electromagnetic radiation. In this model a mixing of both ‘advanced’ (future)

and ‘retarded’ (past) potentials was introduced. Feinberg and I.J. Good (Good, p.152) have

hypothesized that the ‘advanced’ absorbers dealing with the future are not all canceled, thereby

establishing a physical framework in which precognition is possible. Such a hypothesis has some

experimental as well as cosmological support. However, the absorber theory is not a theory of psi,but of pure physics, and none of these physicists has conducted research on psi. It is not a theory of

precognition nor does it say anything about other ESP or PK phenomena. So this idea can only

account for a ‘possibility ’ or ‘framework ’ in which precognition may exist. The “absorber” theory

represents one of the new discoveries in quantum field theory which readily lends itself to a




42

hypothesis on the workings of psi. The origin of a psi hypothesis based on this “absorber” theory is

unknown, but is seems to have been first mentioned by Chari in 1974. There are similar analogies

and speculations based on recent advances in physics that have not been developed as theories, but

remain as mere suggestions how a theory might proceed. The practice of stating such analogies

denotes a cautionary approach by physicists and other scientists to psi who are still skeptical about

psi.

Several decades earlier, Dobbs postulated a second time dimension to show the possibility of

precognition, but Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ, in a similar theory, explain precognition with a

single time dimension. They propose that “significant events create a perturbation in the space-time

in which they occur, and this disturbance propagates forward and, to some small degree, backward

in time.” (Puthoff and Targ, p.526) Since the wave propagates both forward and backward in time,

the theory is similar to Feynman’s “absorber” theory as well as Good’s theory of precognition.

However, Puthoff and Targ ’s model is relativistic within a space-time framework rather thanquantum mechanical. An event will not be a completely instantaneous occurrence in time but will

extend backward and forward from the moment of occurrence in the direction of both negative and

positive time. If an observer is close enough in time to the event, approaching the event as in his or

her future, than that observer can become aware of the negative time extension of the event and

thus precognize the event. This time extension of the event will be larger the larger the “magnitude”

of the event for the observer, and fall off as the temporal distance from the event increases.

This theory should be open to many criticisms, but only a few will be sufficient here. To begin

with, what determines the “magnitude” of the event to the observer? In order for the “magnitude”

to be determined by the observer, the observer must cognize the event before he precognizes the

event, since the precognition must depend upon the “magnitude” of the event for the observer. What is the “magnitude” of the event? If the “magnitude” of the event means the meaning or

consequences of the event for the observer, then the observer will not only have to precognize the

event to evaluate its “magnitude,’ but will also have to precognize the effects and consequences for

which the event ‘ was’ the cause. Also, how can the “magnitude” fall off the greater the temporal

distance from event? This could possibly mean that there is a time rate of change in the temporal

direction. This would be either nonsensical or suggest a higher dimension of relative time, a super-

time, also be postulated. These considerations, among others, seem to make this theory untenable.

Yet the fact that this theory raises questions is not grounds to reject it. The theory is still valid as a

simple model and the fact that it closely resembles other models lends it some small amount of

credibility.M. Ruderfer handles precognition in a different manner. In 1973, he further elaborated upon

the electromagnetic theory by the addition of neutrino and tachyon interactions with

electromagnetic waves. Igor Shishkin, a physicist in the Soviet Union, advanced similar ideas in the

late 1960s. In what Ruderfer terms a “phasor-neutrino derivation,” neutrino interactions are used to




43

explain ESP and PK, while tachyonneutrino-tardyon interactions explain precognition. Neutrinos

are particles with proper (or rest) mass of zero, which very nearly defy detection and travel at or near

the speed of light, while tachyons are purely hypothetical particles with imaginary masses traveling

beyond the limiting speed of light. On the other hand, tardyons are normal particles which travel

below the speed of light as described in special relativity. There are so many neutrinos in the

universe that they are quite common, a fact which would seem to make them ideal for psi

transmission. However, they don’t normally interact with matter. They seem to have no mass and

are uncharged, so they seldom interact with ordinary matter. For example, the vast majority of free

neutrinos would travel completely through a planet without interacting with the planet’s constituent

particles.

Neutrinos are so difficult to detect that their properties have not been completely determined

and a debate concerning the possibility that they might actually have some small mass is currently

being waged. Their elusiveness makes it highly unlikely that neutrinos could interact in any mannerthat would allow them to pass information to the brain for psi stimulation. Chari also argues against

this theory of precognition by questioning if neutrinos can ever cross the ‘barrier of the future’

(travel faster than light) and noting that tachyons exist only on a speculative basis. Tachyon

interaction with our tardyon universe has never been detected. (Chari, 1974, pp.1-2) Since the

existence of tachyons is merely speculative, this and similar theories may eventually prove useful if

the existence of the hypothetical particles is ever confirmed, but at present they raise more questions

than answers. The same can be said of neutrino theories of psi, but for different reasons, even

though the existence of neutrinos is well established. “ While a neutrino theory of ESP cannot be

positively falsified or verified at present, we must entertain many misgivings about it.” (Chari, 1977,

p.811)B. Field theories of psi

Like the electromagnetic theories, hyperspace theories of psi have also weathered the changes in

physics. In fact, they are more popular with scientists than ever before. The first such theory during

this new era was offered by Gertrude Schmeidler in 1972. She used a model of “topological folding ”

in which she contended that our four-dimensional space-time continuum was somehow folded on

itself. Distant points or events in space-time are actually quite near for any signals that could travel

out of our physical space-time envelope, from one fold to another. If psi could travel unhindered

between folds, then ESP and other such phenomena could be easily explained. Several basic and

unstated assumptions are hidden in this theory, the first being that our four-dimensional space-timemust be embedded in a fifth dimension for such folding to occur. This assumption may not be so far-

fetched as one might imagine in light of the latest theoretical advances in physics. Einstein abandoned

physical theories utilizing this concept during the 1940s, but other scientists continued to develop the

notion. In the late 1970s, the Kaluza-Klein five-dimensional theory again gained popularity and now




44

many physicists theorize that as many as ten dimensions are needed to explain the various

phenomena that are evident on the quantum scale. Within this context, Schmeidler’s notions are not

so radical as they might seem at first glance. However, she provided no explanations, in the form of

mechanisms, of how signals could travel between different points in space-time beyond exiting and

reentering different folds.

The primary difficulty with any hyperspace theory, whether of pure physics or psi, is our

inability to sense or otherwise detect the extra dimension or dimensions. Current theories postulate

that the fifth dimension is compactified or curled up in a cylinder of nearly infinitesimal width,

which circumvents any normal physical detection. The overall extension in the fifth and higher

dimensions shrunk to such small sizes during the “Big Bang,” giving our four-dimensional space-

time its present characteristics while guaranteeing that the higher dimensions can only be detected

at extremely high states of energy. The enormous amounts of energy needed to detect the higher

compacted dimensions are at present and for the foreseeable future unobtainable. In spite of suchdifficulties, the hyperspatial/hyperdimensional theories do have a potential for explaining psi. The

most obvious advantage comes by way of the fact that these theories utilize a space-time model in

which time acts as an extended dimension similar, after a fashion, to our normal spatial dimensions.

This model thus allows an easy explanation of precognition in that precognitive events reduce to

the same explanation as ESP phenomena. This particular advantage of the space-time model has

already been used by other theorists of psi such as Dunne, as well as physicists and philosophers

within a purely physical context.

Karl A. Brunstein has given the arguments supporting a hyperspatial theory of psi. In 1979 he

published Beyond the Four Dimensions: Reconciling Physics, Parapsychology and UFOs, which essentially

offered philosophical support for a five-dimensional explanation of psi and linked psi to theobservation of UFO’s. The debate over UFO’s is beyond the scope of this paper since they do not

represent a specific psi phenomenon. They are mentioned here solely because of Brunstein ’s theory.

Brunstein accepts the reality of both psi phenomena and UFO’s as a working hypothesis. By so

acknowledging them, he can use their known and suspected properties to theorize on their

explanation. In the case of psi, he states “ESP phenomena can today be viewed as quite firmly, if not

yet comfortably, scientifically established.” (Brunstein, p.150) He further believes that paranormal

phenomena are “indicative” of an “extradimensional force” which can “relativize and distort space

and time” in a manner that could be expected to account for psi phenomena. A physical force is

needed to bind our normal three-dimensional space with the time dimension. Brunstein identifies

this binding force as electromagnetism. By analogy then, a fifth dimension would necessitate anotherforce to bind it to our normal four-dimensional space-time continuum.

What is connoted is that if this fifth dimension is to be tacked onto the other four,

orthogonally or otherwise, it - like time - requires some kind of associated force, or effect,

to go along with it, for basic definitive, dimensional, and normalization purpose.




45

... For want of a better term for it, and for largely historical reasons, we dub this

unparalleled kind of force and its effects “extrasensory.” (Brunstein, p.150)

This new “force” is structural and it is first identified as “extrasensory.” We only sense physicalevents within our space-time continuum. Therefore, anything that exists outside of that continuum

is beyond our normal ability to sense it, and thus “extrasensory ” by definition.

Although he dubbed this new physical quantity a “force,” Brunstein qualifies his use of the

term, but not until he related his “force” to UFOs and other types of paranormal phenomena which

are not related to psi. Brunstein eventually identifies his new “force” with consciousness itself.

In man, we found ultimately the manifestation of another natural force, a new force - an

uncomformable kind of force. We call this new force finally “consciousness,” or

“intelligence.” Just as with the four physical forces, the new force springs directly from

matter. It springs from discrete lumps of it we call “human.” This new force, as the others,

manifests itself by effecting physical changes within reach of the material lumps that form

its seat. Sometimes these changes can be vast. Again, this is just as with the other forces.

We say the new force is “unconformable” because it does not fit the accepted

definition of a physical force; that is, it cannot be equated to a product of mass times

acceleration. In this sense, it is in the physicist’s neat world most definitely not a force.

(Maybe force is not the best word to describe it, but the parallel is otherwise good, so we

continue.) Yet its ability to accomplish purely physical change is, in certain cases, clearly an

important aspect of nature. Also, this ability to effect events physically clearly touches upon

the central feature of the concept of force.

It is in this one important respect, however, a force entirely transcendental to those of

the F=ma variety: Consciousness (in its ordinary, everyday function of which we here

speak) operates essentially through the agency of the other four forces. That is, through the

discrete lumps of matter we call “human,” consciousness operates by directing the roles

the other four forces play in the subsequent unfolding of natural events. (Brunstein,

pp.197-198)

This particular identification of consciousness with the fifth dimension is unique, but not

unprecedented. The derivation by Brunstein follows a pattern established many decades earlier by

Charles Hinton, Robert Browne, and several others who have associated consciousness with the

fifth dimension. Brunstein’s concept is unique and different from these others in that he quantifiesconsciousness as a binding “force” of sorts and thus relates it to physics. In other words, Brunstein

more ‘forcefully ’ binds (please forgive the obvious pun) the concept of consciousness and thus psi

to physics.

While Brunstein’s derivation is philosophical and qualitative, a problem facing nearly all of the




46

physical theories of psi, Saul Paul Sirag has proposed a more precise mathematical model relating

consciousness to hyperspace. Sirag proposes that our physical reality is only a “subrealm of a larger

reality ” in which all physical forces are unified within a hyperdimensional structure. Using Wigner ’s

interpretation of quantum mechanics whereby consciousness “projects the state vector onto the

eigenvector” during the act of measurement, the non-locality expressed in Bell’s theorem suggests

the existence of a “universal consciousness.” (Sirag in Mishlove, p.329) This consciousness can be

represented by a mathematical structure known as a “reflection space.” While mathematical

reasoning cannot choose between the number of reflection spaces that can be used to represent the

“universal consciousness,” physics can. The particular reflection space that Sirag envisages “exists in

the intersection of the McKay group algebra and the Lie algebra.” (Sirag in Mishlove, p.341) In fact,

it mediates between these two algebras and is therefore identified with the “universal

consciousness.”

The physical characteristics of our reality and the causal affect of consciousness on that realityindicate that an “E7 reflection space C7” offers the correct mathematical model of the universal

consciousness and physical space. This reflection space is subject to analysis by the McKay group to

yield physical reality and by the Lie group to yield mental reality. The “universal consciousness”

which evolves from the intersection of the two, an analysis by both algebras, is a superstructure of

which our individual consciousnesses are a small part. It is implied that psi events will eventually be

explained via the interaction of the individual consciousness with the “universal consciousness.”

There is certainly a potential for such a model of psi. Sirag ’s theory is quite complex and highly

technical, so any verdict on its validity is far from concluded.

Bob Toben and Alan Wolf have taken yet another path to relating hyperspace and

consciousness. If anything, their theory is disjointed as presented in the 1979 book of hand drawingsentitled Space-Time and Beyond . The theory is more a list of statements than a coherent and logical

explanation of either psi or consciousness. In their own manner and after their own style, they state

that consciousness is hyperspatial, beyond normal space-time, while normal space-time follows the

physical model presented in general relativity. The four-dimensional space-time continuum is itself

constructed of quantum foam, which is linked to consciousness via gravity (curvature in a higher

dimension), while gravity is the “master field.” “ Vibrations of thought patterns in specific harmonics

structure all ‘matter’ and light as we experience it” (Toben, p.61) and the human mind acts as a

“filter” which focuses our thoughts on specific physical events. (Toben, p.62) Psychokinesis is an

effect of consciousness influencing energy/matter fields (Toben, p.67) while ESP or telepathy

occurs when signals travel through “ wormholes” in “the sea of space.” (Toben, p.78) Living beingsgenerate “biogravitational” fields which allow them to manipulate space-time curvature to various

ends. It is through this manipulation, carried out by consciousness, that other paranormal and psi

phenomena are manifested. Therefore, the higher a being ’s consciousness, the better the being can

utilize consciousness to affect psi. Toben further postulates many higher levels of consciousness




47

than humans have yet imagined or detected.

Toben came to these conclusions in conversations with certain “ visionary physicists,” in

particular, Fred Wolf and Jack Sarfatti. Sarfatti authored the “Scientific Commentary ” portion of

Toben’s book, which is itself more informative and complete than Toben’s efforts. He relates

Toben’s ideas to the previous work of other philosophers and scientists and describes psi processes

more exactly, although they are still not rendered in a quantitative model. In the case of telepathy,

Sarfatti’s explanation is only slightly more forthcoming than Toben’s.

Telepathy can be understood as messages traveling through biogravitational wormholes of

space-time within a given universe. The wormhole connections constitute only one

possibility for a cosmic “telephone” network. In addition, the “feeling ” or tachyonic model

of gravitation that breaks through the wall of light also accounts for telepathic

communication. In either case, the strength of telepathic communication should not be

affected by distance. (Sarfatti in Toben, p.154)

Sarfatti has also suggested a second possible method of telepathic communication based on the

hypothetical existence of tachyons. Such an uncertainty of explanation further renders this ‘theory ’

as tentative. His explanation of other psi phenomena is no more enlightening.

I believe the gravitational distortion of space and time predicted in Einstein’s general

theory of relativity provides a possible scientific explanation of precognition,

retrocognition, clairvoyance, and astral projection, provided we accept the additional

postulates that individual consciousness can alter the biogravitational field of a living

organism and that the biogravitational field distorts the local subjective space-time of the

conscious observer. Thus, a participator in a high state of consciousness can artificiallycreate blackholes and whiteholes in his local biogravitational field. This would produce very

high curvatures leading to very large distortions in his local subjective space-time

environment. I conjecture that distortions can be manipulated in such a way that the rate of

time flow at the location of the participator does not match the corresponding rate of time

flow at the object being observed and influenced (either inside or outside the light cone).

The differential in the time flows of participator and object can in principle be so adjusted

that the participator working within his local light cone ‘sees” into the probable future or

past of the object (that is, he samples universe layers). This is the likely biogravitational

mechanism for precognition and retrocognition. The participator can also make use of the

tachyonic “feeling ” modes of the biogravitational field that act outside the light cone. Inthis way he can transmit at distance actions of the type reported in experiences of astral

projection and clairvoyance. Astral projection would be an active function and

clairvoyance a passive function of the tachyonic mode of the biogravitational field.

(Sarfatti in Toben, p.153)




48

The main problem with this speculation can be found in the fact that no real quantitative

information is given regarding either the biogravitational field or how it is capable of manipulating

space-time curvature. The same is true with Sarfatti’s explanation of psychokinesis.

The possibility of psychokinesis flows immediately from the postulate that

consciousness controls the biogravitational field, which in turn interacts with the ordinary

gravitational field of Einstein. It is related to the cosmic bootstrap picture in which the

biogravitational, atomic, and nuclear resonances (levels of organization) in the response of

the turbulent sea to gravitational waves codetermine each other. Specifically, I suspect that

the tachyonic action of the gravitational field (reviewed by Sciama, see note F) can be

connected with the quantum potential (discussed by de Broglie and Bohm). The quantum

potential exerts quantum forces that act in addition to the more familiar electromagnetic

forces. The stability and strength of matter depend on the interplay between the quantum

and electromagnetic forces. For example, quantum tunneling of a particle through anelectromagnetic energy barrier occurs because the quantum force momentarily cancels out

the electromagnetic barrier. If consciousness controls the biogravitational field and if there

is a significant coupling of biogravitation to ordinary gravitation, then there is a direct

contribution of consciousness to the quantum potential. (Sarfatti in Toben, p.151)

No real mechanisms or physical processes have been offered to support this theory.

The very concept of a biogravitational field is not new with the work Toben, Wolf and Sarfatti.

Alexander P. Dubrov first suggested biogravity in 1973 as a “field-energy system”. (Dubrov, p.231)

It could be transformed into any type of field or energy, a feature that he developed as the

cornerstone of unified field theory of the future. This field was thought to exist in all living beings,

but especially in humans. It was called biogravitational because its properties are akin to both living

organisms and gravitation. Dubrov suspected the field played a role in such biological processes as

cell mitosis as well as physical processes such gravitational waves. Between these two extremes

came biological effects of the whole organism such as “psi photography and levitation.” (Dubrov,

p.234)

Dubrov spelled out the properties of the biogravitational field rather explicitly. They

represented a combination of biological and gravitational properties.

(a) They must act at close or long range; (b) they can be directed and focused; (c) they can

be positive or negative (and cause attraction or repulsion, respectively); (d) they can carry

information; (e) they are able to convert the energy of the field into matter with weight; (f)a field of such forces can persist in the absence of the source which originally gave rise to

them; (g) they can undergo transition into any form of field and energy; and (h) they are

closely bound up with change of symmetry groups and with distortion of space at the

submolecular level of biological structures. (Dubrov, p. 234)




49

Biogravitation suffers from the same severe problems that plague other theories. In spite of this

detailed list of properties, the theory is admittedly qualitative and lacks mechanisms or processes to

accomplish the stated results. These properties simply beg for an explanation and further

clarification before any use can be made of this theory.

Like similarly invented entities, such as bioplasm and biomagnetism, biogravitation is a quantity

that was invented merely to describe psi and other paranormal phenomena. It is always dangerous to

invent hypothetical quantities to explain hypothetical circumstances. This theory is the product of

“representatives of the exact sciences - engineers, mathematicians and physicists” in the Eastern

bloc countries who entered the field of parapsychology during the late 1960s without any special

training in parapsychology. (Zinchenko, p.549) As a biophysicist, Dubrov had some qualifications to

develop such a theory, but claims such as levitation are quite beyond the norm in parapsychology.

According to Chari, such theories “seem to be cast in a holistic framework (the anomalous effect

shows not in the individual living cells, but in the organism as a whole) and remain obscure for eventhe limited purposes of experimental testing and replication.” (Chari, 1977, p.807) In other words, it

is quite unlikely that Dubrov ’s biogravitational theory can be confirmed. Whether Toben and Wolf

based their hyperspace theory on Dubrov ’s earlier work is unknown, but there are certainly

similarities between their concept of biogravitation and Dubrov ’s. However, the work of Toben,

Wolf and Sarfatti has still more problems than this dubious association.

Toben’s theory represents too many things to too many people. While the theory is all

encompassing and broad enough to cover all sorts of paranormal phenomena, it does more to fit all

types of claimed phenomena to speculations and theories in modern physics then to explain psi

works. It is too general and not specific enough. In one sense, it is necessary to relate Toben’s theory

to other purely physical theories since any theory of psi must ultimately prove compatible withaccepted laws of nature and the theories that express these laws, but in another sense it is bad. While

Toben and Wolf ’s theory seems to be a unified theory of the four fundamental forces (or

interactions) of physics, it also appears to be more of a philosophical argument derived from relating

seemingly unrelated worldviews and physical theories to each other. Sarfatti draws analogies to

everything from Eddington’s fundamental theory to Bohm’s holographic universe. These are vastly

different theories, which have never proven to be compatible. This in itself is not bad, but he draws

analogies to these other theories without specifically showing how they interact with each other or

relate to Toben’s model. The analogies to other physical theories of unification that are cited by

Sarfatti are purely intuitive or qualitative rather than quantitative. Toben’s ideas sound good but can

do no more to further science until formal quantitative relationships are derived. In other words, thistheory loses validity due to its own generality. The one element in this theory that seems to draw all

the concepts together is the biogravitational field, yet it has never been discovered let alone defined

and measured. The true significance of this model lies in the fact that it offers important hints and

clues for future theorists and demonstrates various ways in which psi could be explained using




50

existing physical theories.

Two other hyperdimensional theories are worthy of note. Elizabeth Rauscher in 1977 and

Puthoff, Targ and Edwin May proposed these in 1979. Rauscher’s theory is simple and elegant, as

well as mathematically supported. She contends that our four-dimensional space-time is only a

portion of a larger eight-dimensional space-time. Each of the four dimensions in normal space-

time can be represented by a complex number having a real and an imaginary part. Therefore, an

imaginary four-dimensional space-time exists alongside our normal four-dimensional space-time.

The imaginary space-time acts as a realm for transfers of signals during psi p rocesses and an

individual’s consciousness “is free to access information in the entire complex space.” (Rauscher,

p.69)

This model addresses an important problem that plagues many other theories. It has never been

adequately explained how energy transfer between remote positions in space-time occurs during the

psi process, but this is no problem for an imaginary space-time.Instead of hypothesizing a model which involves energy transmission, and associated

problems of energy conservation, we chose to develop a model in which remote

information is accessed in four space as though it was not remote in a higher dimensional

geometry. The relativity theory formally describes the relationship of macroscopic events in

space-time and, in particular, their causal connection is well specified. Higher dimensional

geometries appear to reconcile precognition and causality and define a formalism in which

the special and temporal separation of events (in four space) appear to be in juxtaposition

in the higher dimensional geometry. (Rauscher, p.56)

In this manner, Rauscher’s theory shares some of the same advantages as Bohm’s model. In a sense,

there is no distance between psi events, at least in so far as distance is measured between points in

normal space-time. So the normal laws of physics, such as the limit to velocities imposed by special

relativity, need be of no concern in this paraphysical model. Therefore, there is no energy transfer

between points in space-time during the psi process.

While a subject’s normal senses are limited by his or her location in normal space-time and the

normal laws of physics, some type of “least action principle” would still be necessary to govern

signal transfer through imaginary space-time. Therefore, it would be logical to conclude that there is

a special signal speed in the imaginary realm although that signal speed would not necessarily be the

same as signal speed in normal space-time.

It is possible that this connecting velocity will be something other than the velocity oflight. We might say that the subject’s consciousness has a “sphere of influence,” in which

remote information can be accessed which extends out from S (the subject’s position) into

the complex eight space. To carry out the function of remote perception involves accessing

information from an event, E, from the S’ frame of reference. It appears that the least-




51

action principle may apply. Certainly it does for physical systems, and perhaps also for

goal-oriented tasks, such as remote perception, which appear to be carried out in the most

efficient manner available. Let us assume that this is so and much more elaborate paths in

eight space are not utilized unless simpler ones are in some way prohibited. (Rauscher,

pp.69-70)

The application of a least-action principle allows a mathematical model to be developed. Rauscher’s

model thus offers a mathematical formalism that is missing from other theories. Also, other areas of

physics have successfully used complex numbers to explain physical phenomena, so Rauscher ’s

method is not without precedent. She has taken great pains to relate her theory to other purely

physical theories of space-time and thus demonstrate that “the main body of physics” can be used to

explain psi. Psi phenomena need not contradict the other results of modern physics as many

researchers, theoreticians and scholars contend. The care that Rauscher takes in relating psi theories

to the theories of normal physics seems to be unique from other approaches to psi. The short theory offered by Puthoff, Targ and May also utilized an eight-dimensional manifold

and is quite similar to Rauscher’s theory. The similarity should be expected since Rauscher acted as a

consultant at Stanford Research Institute where Puthoff, Targ and May developed their theory. They

also stated that their theory was developed “in conjunction with Gerald Feinberg.” (Targ, Puthoff

and May, p.100) Their theory is more a suggestion of how an eight-dimensional geometry can be

used to explain remote viewing than it is a complete theory of psi phenomena, but it does have the

potential to account for other phenomena.

They have made the same assumption as Rauscher regarding the possibility of modeling an

eight-dimensional space-time using complex numbers to represent our normal four-dimensional

space-time. In the normal Minkowski space-time, the distance between two points is represented bythe formula

s2 = x2 - c2t2 ,

but in the eight-dimensional manifold the distance between two points is more complicated,

s2 = ss0 = x2 + x’2 - c2t2- c2t’2 .

The primed terms represent measurements in the imaginary part of space-time. These new elements

add a special distance factor of so to the formulation. Remote viewing could occur when the element

t goes to zero and the other terms are fixed so that s also goes to zero. In this case, there would be

neither time nor spatial distance between remote physical events. This situation could be explainedsuch that the primed terms are accessible to consciousness only when the separation is not limited

by the properties of physical space-time. Using this model, the main task of scientists would become

a search for the physical conditions that would give rise to this situation.

The model provides “a geometrical interpretation of the quantum interconnectedness principle,




52

by which events remote in space-time are nonetheless connected by nonlocal correlations or, in this

interpretation, by the nature of the space-time fabric itself.” (Targ, Puthoff and May, pp.100-101)

While this theory of remote viewing has a lot to offer, it needs far more development than is evident

in the proposal made in the article by Puthoff, Targ and May. Taken with Rauscher’s own theory,

the potential of the eight-dimensional model seems a serious contender for a proper physical theory

of psi. However, given that these theories were presented nearly two decades ago, the lack of further

work to develop these ideas indicates the lack of success of these theories.

Both the hyperspace and electromagnetic theories are in essence field theories, although the

non-field aspects of electromagnetism seem to have been exploited to a far greater extent in the

electromagnetic theories of psi so far developed. Modern physics is dominated by either field or

quantum theories, which generally reflect different sides of the ancient debate of whether reality

(and/or matter) is continuous or discrete. In turn, this debate is intimately related to the mind-

matter question. Quantum theory has so successfully dominated physical and theoretical research inthe recent past that most attempts at unification were made by explaining fields in terms of the

quantum theory, yielding quantum field theories. But renewed interest in relativity theory, the icon

of field theories, has allowed attempts to base quantum theory on the field perspective. This was a

fortunate happenstance for psi research since many experimental results as well as spontaneous

events indicate that psi is a field phenomenon. This fact also bodes well for hyperspatial theories of

psi, which are ultimately founded upon one or another form of general relativity after its unification

with electromagnetism and the other fundamental forces in several recent theories. Some scientists

believe that new advances in physics, especially those dealing with these new unified field concepts,

will eventually precipitate a paradigm shift if not a new revolution in physics. Any such revolution in

thought would surely be significant for psi research since “consciousness” would have to play acentral role in any new theories of physics.

While the hyperspace theories seem to fit the emerging field theoretic worldview, the later

theoretical work of Bohm has developed into a “holographic” view of the world that also fits the

field view of psi. Bohm’s unique worldview evolved from his 1951 work on ‘hidden variables.’

Bohm came to the conclusion that a new kind of field must exist at the quantum level of reality to

completely explain quantum phenomena. This field, which he called the “quantum potential,”

pervades all of space, but its influence does not diminish with distant like other fields. By assuming

the existence of this field, Bohm was able to account for experimental quantum effects as well as

interpret quantum mechanics itself in a new manner. Within the quantum potential field, all material

particles are non-locally connected in a manner that seems to violate the normal laws of nature. About the same time that Bohm developed this new view of nature, the psychologist Karl Pribram

developed a “holographic” theory of the human mind. Bohm then came to the conclusion that his

field also had the same characteristics as a hologram. Thus arose the concept of a holographic

universe as mind and matter were unified in this newly evolved worldview.




53

The existence of the quantum potential implied an unsuspected “ wholeness” in the universe.

Classical physics had assumed that the whole could only be explained by the sum or interaction of

its parts, but Bohm concluded that the parts are organized by the whole as represented by the

quantum potential field. This idea solidified the non-local interconnectedness of individual material

particles in a manner that had not been predicted by either quantum mechanics or classical physics.

This view was akin to the simple relativistic view that the position of particles and thus the rate of

change of position of particles depended on the other bits of matter scattered throughout the

universe, except that space must have some potential of substantiality (or potential substantiality)

that it did not have in the relativity theory. The very concept of location in space disappeared at the

level of the quantum potential where all points of space became equal to all other points of space.

This interpretation presented yet another view of the concept of non-locality. Within this

framework, it was found that distant particles in normal space-time were connected in a manner

such that a change of state in one particle would immediately affect a change of state in anotherparticle without a signal passing between them. The immediacy of such twin or coupled changes of

state would occur in direct violation of special relativity ’s ban on communications traveling faster

than the speed of light. So, not only did this concept offer an alternative interpretation of quantum

theory, but also it resolved the EPR paradox and predicted new experimental results.

In 1982, Alain Aspect and his colleagues performed a series of experiments whose results

indicated that signals between separate photons either traveled faster than the speed of light, in

violation of special relativity, or were connected in some manner that is not limited by the tenets of

normal science. These and other experiments indicate that photons and other particles are non-

locally connected in some unspecified manner if not in the specific manner that is indicated in

Bohm’s theory. While these experiments do not prove Bohm’s theory, they at least render it farmore credible than otherwise. Aspect’s and similar experiments may also support theories where the

interconnectedness of particles is an element or aspect of hyperspace. As yet, Aspect’s results do not

provide a method of testing between the different theories that feature interconnectedness.

The holographic worldview adopted by Bohm at first offered a metaphor for understanding

the new level of order within the universe. According to Bohm, this order is not apparent at our

physical level of perceiving events and phenomena, but is “enfolded” in the field. So the order

behind the probabilistic chaos presented in quantum mechanics, a physical reality that Einstein had

suspected beyond the limits to knowledge set by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, were implied

by phenomena and events in our space-time. This is the “implicate” order of the universe. What

quantum theorists saw as a wave packet of probability collapsing when an event was consciouslyobserved to yield our physical reality is in Bohm ’s view an “enfolded” possibility in the “implicate”

order that has been “unfolded” and thus made “explicate.” Through “unfolding,” the “implicate”

order becomes part of the “explicate” order, our physically sensed portion of reality. These views

were presented in Bohm’s book Wholeness and the Implicate Order in 1980. The concept of a




54

holograph is static while Bohm’s model of reality is dynamic, so Bohm developed the concept of a

“holomovement” to describe the flux of “enfolding ” and “unfolding ” within the “implicate” and

“explicate” orders which gives rise to our physical reality.

Within the “holomovement” from which our physical reality arises, space is no longer empty.

Space is filled by the superposition of all types of waves and fields while position of material

particles in space (the “explicate” ) remains relative to the position of other particles of matter. Since

the observer is part of the system and interacts with all parts of that system at all times, there is no

need to speak of consciousness interacting with matter to ‘collapse the wave packet.’ The observer is

the observed, an integral part of the experiment. Since there is no need for consciousness as part of

the interaction of material bodies in the sense defined by quantum mechanics, consciousness is not a

necessary part of Bohm’s model. However, Bohm still believes that there is a necessity for

consciousness as an awareness of the holomovement. Consciousness is then rendered as a subtler

form of matter which interacts with normal matter deep within the “implicate” order, rather than when the “implicate” unfolds to create the “explicate,” as in the collapse of the wave packet in

quantum mechanics. Bohm further suggests that empty space is filled with infinite energy as the

result of the superposition of waves and fields, so space has a reality and richness beyond the relative

position of the bits of matter that fill it. Space is not an empty void, but a plenum of quantum

potential, ripe with energy. The physical universe is a ripple moving through this plenum, Bohm ’s

holomovement, and matter is itself constructed from space.

Bohm believes the same is true at our own level of existence. Space is not empty. It is

full, a plenum as opposed to a vacuum, and is the ground for the existence of everything,

including ourselves. The universe is not separate from this cosmic sea of energy, it is a

ripple on its surface, a comparatively small “pattern of excitation” in the midst of anunimaginably vast ocean. “ This excitation pattern is relatively autonomous and gives rise to

approximately recurrent, stable and separable, projections into a three-dimensional

explicate order of manifestation,” states Bohm. (In Wholeness , p.192) In other words,

despite its apparent materiality and enormous size, the universe does not exist in and of

itself, but is the stepchild of something far vaster and more ineffable. More than that, it is

not even a major production of this vaster something, but only a passing shadow, a mere

hiccup in the greater scheme of things. (Talbot, pp.51-52)

Bohm and Pribram’s theories lead to some very interesting and controversial conclusions. According

to Michael Talbot,Considered together, Bohm and Pribram’s theories provide a profound new way of looking

at the world: Our brains mathematically construct objective reality by interpreting frequencies that are

ultimately projections from another dimension, a deeper order of existence that is beyond both space and

time: The brain is a hologram enfolded in a holographic universe. (Talbot, p.54)




55

It has long been argued in the philosophy of science that our brains construct our reality. At the very

least, science accepts the view that reality could ultimately prove to be something different from our

present perception of it, since the physical nature of our brains limits how we perceive physical

reality. Even if our reality is not a construction of our brains, the physical limits of our brains at least

bias our perception of reality. Through their development of a holographic worldview, Pribram and

Bohm have shed new light on this aspect of the mind-matter controversy. And even this view pales

beside Bohm’s independent conclusion that “ we even construct space and time.” (Bohm quoted in

Weber, p.73)

This holistic and holographic view of reality offers innumerable avenues for the explanation of

psi phenomena. Since consciousness interacts with matter within the wholeness of the “implicate”

order, both prior to and after the moment of physical materialization of the present moment

inherent in the “explicate” order, every point in space-time is in contact with every other point in

space-time. Everything exists within the “implicate” order, so psi phenomena such as ESP, PK,clairvoyance, precognition, remote viewing are reduced to conscious human interaction with

consciousness in the “implicate” order. Consciousness and matter are in direct contact in the

“implicate” order and humans need only find how to be aware of that contact to utilize psi. Bohm’s

theory is purely physical, such that it is not a theory of psi per se , but the potential it offers for an

application of psi is quite obvious. The application of Bohm’s theory to psi phenomena has been

documented in Talbot’s book The Holographic Universe among other publications. Some physicists,

such as Russell Targ, who are interested in a physical theory of psi, believe that Bohm ’s theory of the

“implicate” order offers the best chance for science to explain psi.

Bohm’s theoretical work evolved from quantum theory, but it was based upon a field

interpretation of the experimental evidence. In quantum theory, consciousness creates the discretenature of reality according to the limitations placed on our knowledge of reality by the Heisenberg

uncertainty principle, so the background of reality is either directly or indirectly related to, if not a

function of, consciousness. Bohm’s theory is therefore a hybrid theory which allows a continuous

field of a certain type, the quantum potential, as the reality underlying the discrete nature of reality as

described by quantum mechanics. Continuity in the hologram supersedes the normal present

scientific view that matter is discrete. While matter is discrete in the “explicate” order, it is

continuous in the “implicate” order. This view of reality would seem to have important

consequences for the physical concept of wave-particle duality, a feature that has been addressed in

the scientific literature. The holographic component of reality is completely inanimate in Bohm ’s

view, yet he could not deny the importance of the role of consciousness. So, in the end, hedesignated a role for consciousness in his purely physical theory. It is through this consciousness

that psi enters the theory.




56

C. Quantum theories of psi

In the meantime, theories based wholly on quantum theory have also been developed; Rush and

others have classified these theories as “observational” theories. They are so designated because therole of the observer is crucially necessary to bring about the physical reality described by quantum

mechanics. These theories are also intimately related to the concept of consciousness, whether

human or otherwise. Within this category, several independent theories have been developed such as

those by Evan Harris Walker in 1974, Helmut Schmidt in 1974 and Richard Mattuck in 1977. Robert

G. Jahn and Brenda J. Dunne offered further insights along this line during the 1980s. The relative

importance of these theories can be discerned in the fact that they are based directly on psi

experiments and have themselves led to the development of new experiments. Therefore, unlike

other theories, these theories have proven quite popular. There is a good deal of literature on both

the experimental and theoretical development associated with these ‘observational theories.’

Walker has undertaken the introduction of consciousness into physics in a completely different

manner. Consciousness enters physics directly, assuming the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum

theory, when measurement causes the ‘collapse’ of the wave packet. The act of measurement

therefore forms a link between the consciousness and the physical world. Walker postulates that

“consciousness is a nonphysical, but real, entity ... Physical reality is connected to the consciousness

by means of a single physically fundamental quantity ” (Walker, p.547) and notes that “there exists at

least one physical quantity that connects the consciousness to the physically real world.” This

connecting physical quantity cannot be gravitational fields, nuclear forces nor weak interactions

because their magnitudes in the brain are too small thus leaving only electromagnetic forces. The

electric currents in the brain are extremely localizable and brain waves fail because of superposition

so electromagnetic waves are likewise ruled out as connectors. This leaves only the single possibility

of association by Schrödinger’s wave equation. Here it is found that “consciousness is a nonphysical

entity connected to the physical world by means of the state vector for a quantum mechanical

process linking the synapses of the brain.” (Walker, p.549)

A new variable is introduced that tends to make the system causal thereby representing the

consciousness of the observer in the Copenhagen Interpretation. This variable is actually the ‘hidden

variable’ which was introduced by Bohm in quantum mechanics to make the ‘collapse of the wave

packet’ both continuous and determinate. While Bohm passed beyond the concept of a ‘hidden

variable,’ the notion of a ‘hidden variable’ has still remained popular with some scientists who are

not willing to accept Bohm’s whole theory. Walker’s theory need only make use of the ‘hidden variable’ without invoking Bohm’s greater theory. It has two properties. First, the ‘hidden variable’

must interact physically only be means of the measurement process, and secondly, Bell has shown

that it must be nonlocal in quantum mechanics. Non-locality means that the ‘hidden variable’ is

independent of time and space and is thus not dependent on physical processes while still affecting

3




57

the ‘collapse of the wave packet.’ Even though Bohm moved beyond the concept of the ‘hidden

variable’ to his quantum potential, others have not been willing to go so far and still utilize the

‘hidden variable’ in their own theoretical work. Walker’s theory makes use of just this aspect of

Bohm’s original hypothesis.

The properties of the ‘hidden variable’ have far reaching consequences because they

immediately bring about an explanation of psi due merely to this physical concept of consciousness.

Telepathy can be explained as an intersubjective agreement in consciousness or rather a mental act

by both the “sender” and “receiver” who constrain the wave packet to collapse into a single state.

Therefore, a message is no longer sent telepathically and information is no longer conveyed between

two or more people. A “sender” and “receiver” are no longer needed since nothing is “sent” nor

“received.” Only two or more conscious beings are needed. Since no message is sent, but a future

state is being agreed upon at a mental level, no sender is needed and clairvoyance becomes the same

process as telepathy and precognition. PK involves the same basic process as clairvoyance, only theselection no longer occurs as a quantum mechanical brain process. Instead, it is an accompanying

divergent effect of the relevant physical or energetic system. All the aspects of psi are due to the

properties of the ‘hidden variable’ that was introduced into physics to explain consciousness.

There are several problems with this theory. The existence of ‘hidden variables’ is speculative

and not universally accepted by the scientific community. Their existence was based upon a need to

render quantum theory deterministic and continuous. Many scientists argue that they cannot be

“ validly and consistently introduced into the postulates of quantum mechanics.” (Chari, 1977, p.813)

Using them to explain psi therefore becomes tantamount to introducing an unknown physical

quantity, which has been a problem for other physical theories of psi. Since psi becomes a side effect

of consciousness, questions can be raised whether organisms lacking a central nervous system canexhibit any type of psi and which living organisms are capable of having a ‘consciousness.’ Although

this system seems convenient, in order to test the hypothesis, it becomes necessary to know under

which conditions, both physical and mental, this simultaneous collapse takes place. How do two or

more people come to an agreement to simultaneously ‘collapse the wave packet’ and why do only

certain characteristic events (traumatic crises) seem to invoke spontaneous ESP? So, despite its

simple derivation and explanation, this theory, like others, is also open to many criticisms. On the

other hand, it explains a variety of different aspects of psi.

There is another aspect of the ‘hidden variable’ theories that has not been fully explored. Since

the ‘hidden variable’ theory was first developed by Bohm and later extended, there is a real

possibility that Bohm’s complete theory is still compatible with Walker ’s and the other theoriesbased on ‘hidden variables.’ The criticisms against Walker’s theory pertaining to questions of two

people acting to collapse a single wave packet would certainly disappear in Bohm ’s more complete

theory. The ‘hidden variable’ theories may present no more than a limited quantum mechanical

interpretation of Bohm’s “explicate order.” Furthermore, there is also a possibility that Bohm ’s




58

theory corresponds to a hyperspatial theory as well as Walker ’s ‘hidden variable’ theory. The

‘hidden variable’ theory may be no more than an explanation of a hyperspatial phenomenon in

quantum mechanical terms. In other words, a higher dimension or dimensions might provide the

‘hidden variables’ upon which such theories are constructed.

A novel attempt to develop a mathematical model of psi “ which permits a logically consistent

discussion of a world with psi” (Schmidt, p.302) rather than establishing a physical theory into the

nature of psi was made by Schmidt. His basic concept utilizes a break between psi and physics due

to the goal-oriented character of psi in PK tests. Random number generators and computers replace

the experimenter and psi sources. The computers are programmed to mimic the properties specified

by the ‘psi axiom,’ allowing Schmidt to electronically duplicate some aspects of PK and ESP. “Psi

sources are, generally, devices with a signal input through which the source can be stimulated.” The

psi-axiom is an equation, p’/q ’ = (p/q), which states the source at time t. (Schmidt, pp.306-307) It is

the key to understanding psi.In other words, the ratio of probabilities of a ‘hit,’ on electronically successful telepathic

message, p’/q ’, is the same as the ratio of the probabilities of the message being sent by the psi

source, p/q, and their strength, . The ‘psi-source,’ an electronic random number generator, is set up

to act in a way similar to a PK subject while the ‘psi-axiom’ defines how the experiment can

simulate space-time independence. The different forms of psi appear as logical consequences of

this single psi axiom within this experiment. The strength of Schmidt ’s model is derived from the

fact that it has “a large number of testable implications and may serve as a useful basis for future

theoretical and experimental studies.” (Schmidt, p.301) His electronic systems don’t actually send or

receive ESP messages, just as they don’t move objects by PK, but they simulate psi events in a

manner that leads to the construction of a mathematical language to describe psi. In other words,by mimicking psi events with a computer, a standard by which real psi phenomena can be judged is

established. A major problem with any psi experiment is the corruption of the results by the

subjectivity of the experiment and the subjectivity cannot be precluded since the experiment

depends on the human mind. By contrast, ‘scientific’ experiments must be made as ‘objective’ as

possible. If psi experiments could be developed in such a manner that the subjectivity could be

accounted for, then the objective quantity psi could more accurately measured. The subjectivity, a

major problem for most other psi experiments, is thus removed from the psi experiment while the

experiment becomes wholly objective.

Mattuck, a Danish physicist, developed his own theory by freely borrowing ideas from Walker.

In the 1976 exposition of his theory, Mattuck stated that

Since PK phenomena generally resemble those produced by ordinary forces, most of the

attempts to explain them have postulated some new type of force coming from the mind.

This paper presents a different approach, based on a proposal by E.H. Walker. In this

proposal, mind makes use of the energy which is already present in matter in the form of




59

random fluctuations or “noise,” reorganizing this energy in such a way as to achieve the

desired PK effect. In this work I will not only discuss thermal noises, but the general ideas

apply to any kind of random fluctuations. (Mattuck, p.191)

His theory is based on the notion that “consciousness (or “mind” ) can influence a physical system

directly by utilizing the quantum mechanical fluctuations in the system properties.” (Mattuck and

Walker, p.112) Consciousness actually selects how the wave packet collapses during any PK event,

so that the event takes place as determined by consciousness. Energy to sustain the PK event is

taken directly from “quantum fluctuations arising from thermal motions of (local) molecules.”

(Mattuck and Walker, p.112) The amount of this energy can be calculated and compared to the

amount of energy necessary to move or even levitate an object. Mattuck ’s calculations indicate that

enough ‘local’ energy is available to accomplish PK phenomena on the macroscopic scale, (Mattuck,

p.194) not just the sub-microscopic level as in Walker’s theory. Since the energy in quantum

fluctuations is “uncertain” before the wave packet is collapsed, all mind or consciousness must do is“select” or “reorganize” the “fluctuations in a nonrandom way so as to produce the PK effect.”

(Mattuck and Walker, p.114) By utilizing the energy that is available locally, there is no need for an

extraneous “force” to transmit energy from the subject initiating the PK event to the object acted

upon under the influence of psi, thus circumventing one of the major arguments against the

existence of PK as well as preserving the conservation of energy.

Mattuck ’s theory offers an improvement on Walker’s theory. In the newer theory, Mattuck

proposes a “ pulsed information processing rate” (Mattuck and Walker, p.114), which can affect large

scale PK power rather than a constant information process rate as did Walker’s theory. Walker

considers unconsciousness a real but non-physical entity; acting through ‘hidden variables,’ while

Mattuck ’s concept of consciousness is capable of acting non-locally as a direct part of reality itself.His model therefore goes beyond quantum mechanics in that consciousness has a new and elevated

position as an active component in the construction of physical reality. Yet, he is still able to use

quantum mechanical principles to build a mathematical model of his theory. Mattuck has also

pointed out that his theory has not been finalized, but is merely the first step toward a more

complete theory.

W. Von Lucadou and K. Kornwachs of Germany have also suggested a quantum model that

has not yet been finalized. Their model was suggested in the same issue of the same journal as

Mattuck ’s theory. They have taken the normal function of quantum mechanics that “describes the

condition and the development of a quantum mechanical process” (Lucadou and Kornwachs, p.187)

and added a new probabilistic function, which describes complex quantum systems. The quantity

|φ|2 represents the probability of the appearance or transfer of information during a physical event.

φ itself would represent a complex material system such as the human brain and its value would

depend upon the complexity of the system it represents. Any physical event described by quantum

mechanics would therefore need to take into account both and could thus be represented




60

mathematically as Ψ = ψ + φ. Ψ is the state vector ψ and φ are constants. ψ and φ actually account

for the wave packet and the conscious act of collapsing the wave packet, respectively. They are

mutually dependent, making them difficult to specify.

In the case of psi, the quantum mechanical wave function would represent a psi event such as

PK. This model is quite simple, but not without basic problems. In particular, we “cannot expect a

direct derivation of the fundamental equation for the function.” (Lucadou and Kornwachs, p.191)

According to Gödel’s theorem, the validity of a mathematical system cannot be confirmed from

within that system so cannot be precisely defined by the brain (mind or consciousness) to which it

refers. Further experimental work is needed to establish the parameters, relationships and conditions

necessary to derive an equation to represent von Lucadou and Kornwachs’ function, so their model

is still quite tentative.

Robert G. Jahn and Brenda Dunne’s approach to explaining PK phenomena is also based on the

common viewpoint of quantum theory. In the 1987 book Margins of Reality , they announced that thehuman mind could psychokinetically affect the operation of machines. Jahn had come to this

conclusion after nearly a decade of research, most of which was conducted at the Princeton

Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) Laboratory, which he founded in 1979 to study these

phenomena. PEAR is one of several physical laboratories which were either established to study

paranormal phenomena or deemed it wise to add such phenomena to their research programs

during the 1970’s and thereafter. These also include the Stanford Research Institute, the Cognitive

Sciences Laboratory the Mind-Matter Unification Project at Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge

and the Paraphysical Laboratory in Downton, England. Various journals either dedicated to

paraphysical questions, such as the International Journal of Paraphysics and the Retro psychokinesis Project

Journal , or dedicated to a wider variety of new science questions, such as the Journal of Scientific Exploration , have been founded while more mainstream scientific journals, such as Foundations of

Physics , have published articles regarding the physics of psi. All of these trends are characteristic of

the early development of a science.

Jahn and Dunne do not believe that subatomic particles are real until consciousness interacts

with the “environment.” In this respect, they reflect a common viewpoint within the scientific

community of physicists that is a fundamental aspect of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum

mechanics. However, they part with the majority of scientists in their definition of consciousness.

They believe that consciousness is “anything capable of generating, receiving, or utilizing

information.” (Talbot, p.146) By defining consciousness so broadly, neither human consciousness

nor any intelligent consciousness is necessary to establish either our physical environment orphysical reality itself.

Jahn and Dunne’s views establish the possibility that human consciousness can create (or

distort) physical reality within certain limits, but their main focus is the application of this human

ability to either PK or remote viewing, or rather what they call “precognitive remote perception”




61

(PRP). They have focused on these two types of phenomena since there is an overwhelming block

of evidence to support their existence. (Jahn and Dunne, pp. x-xi, 90) Their own experiments in

these two areas have gone beyond the work of other researchers. They have even discovered PK

“signatures” for different test subjects. When combined with their own philosophical interpretation

of quantum mechanics, these results have led to an explanation of psi phenomena. Psi is explained

by assuming that consciousness, like matter, exhibits a wave-particle duality.

They reasoned that if consciousness “finds wave mechanics a useful complement to particulate

physics” then “consciousness may also find a wave-mechanical metaphor to be conceptually and

functionally useful for representing itself.” Since the quantum theoreticians, or rather the

“Copenhagenists,” make use of a “probability-of-observation” wave, Jahn and Dunne have

postulated a similar “probability-of-experience” wave to be associated with consciousness. (Jahn and

Dunne, p.219) Consciousness should then be represented quantitatively by “generalized

consciousness coordinates” just as normal physical quantities are represented in various coordinatesystems. The “consciousness waves” range freely over space and time, but “if a particular

consciousness wave is confined to some sort of “container” or “potential well,” representative of

the environment in which that consciousness is immersed, characteristic patterns of standing waves,

or eigenfunctions, will be established that represent the experiences of that consciousness in that

situation.” (Jahn and Dunne, p.242) These waves could then escape the potential well in which they

are bound, just as ordinary matter waves escape potential wells in quantum physics. In this manner,

“consciousness waves” would not be restricted to act only within the confines or physical limits of

the human brain and human consciousness could interact with matter as well as other

“consciousness waves” beyond the normal physical limits of the human body and its five senses,

extrasensorally.Explained in this manner, Jahn and Dunne seem to have built a physical model of psi that

corresponds to the present physical model of reality. Physical reality has itself been reduced to

“interference between the wavelike aspects of consciousness and the wave patterns of matter.”

(Talbot, p.125) The particle nature of consciousness would correspond to the physical seat of

consciousness, such as the human brain, and physical reality would not require the conscious

thought of human or other intelligent beings. When the “consciousness wave” interacts directly with

matter, PK is attained, and when it interacts with other “consciousness waves,” PRP or remote

viewing is accomplished.

PK and PRP could thus be considered resonances between the mental and physical natures of

consciousness and matter. There is absolutely no need to rely on an active “force” or a transfer ofenergy, both views of which lead to serious problems in physics. In this explanation, there is also a

great deal of potential for explaining other psi phenomena. Although their theory is independent of

other theories, there are a number of similarities or correspondences with other theories. In

particular, some of their ideas are similar to Bohm’s holographic model while the idea that




62

consciousness must be represented in a manner similar to matter within the quantum theory sounds

vaguely like von Lucadou and Kornwach’s quantum model. And, like these other theories, Jahn and

Dunne’s needs still more work and verification, especially a broadening of their theory to include

ESP and other psi phenomena.

Still other variations of the quantum theory lead to ever more unique hypotheses and models,

some even more astounding than the existence of psi itself. Whereas field theories may ultimately lead

to the reality of unsuspected and unsensed hyperspaces, the quantum theory may lead to an infinite

number of branches of this universe or perhaps an infinite number of universes branching from each

event in a single universe. The many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics was first proposed

in the late 1950s by Hugh Everett and followed by the hypotheses of N. Graham and B. DeWitt.

Together. They proposed the possibility that there is no single ‘collapse’ of the wave function in

quantum events. All of the infinite possibilities within the wave function are equally real. The

measurement, which is generally thought to cause the wave ‘collapse,’ might actually only choose which reality of all the possible realities will be observed and a branching of universes takes place.

Good has applied this view of quantum theory to psi by arguing that “ we may be dealing with various

superpositions of the observer and the observed systems” during various ESP events. (Chari, 1977,

p.814) A person sensitive to psi may gain knowledge from the infinite number of branched universes

which leads to ESP. Abner Shimony argues that all other branches are undetectable so there is no

difference between the philosophy of a ‘branching ’ universe and the ‘collapse’ of the wave function.

This theory also suffers from an extreme violation of Ockham’s principle because it adds unnecessary

complications to the quantum theory. (Chari, 1972, p.201) Within this last context, this theory is no

different from many other theories of psi that suffer from the fact that they add new hypothetical

entities to science even though psi needs simplifications rather than complications. Another possibility of applying new revelations from the physics of the quantum comes from a

suggestion made by Richard Feynman in 1949. He noticed that a positron was mathematically

equivalent to an electron traveling backwards in time, so he suggested that a positron was actually

just that, an electron moving back in time. There is no physical law or principle that would prohibit

this assumption on the sub-atomic level of reality. Just as Feynman’s positron hypothetically travels

backwards in time, its mathematical counterpart, as derived by P.A.M. Dirac, can be interpreted as

displaying a negative energy. Both of these ideas could, and have provided explanations for various

aspects of psi. From this basis, Pearson derived a hypothesis upon “ which energy densities of brain

chemicals are supposed to be high enough to permit some anomalous manifestations (telepathy,

clairvoyance, and precognition) of the ‘non-zero properties’ of the ‘perfect vacuum’.” (Chari, 1977,p.815) Others have also postulated negentropic explanations of psi events.

The French physicist O. Costa de Beauregard has come to a similar conclusion through an

entirely different evolution of thought. His own personal changes in attitude began as early as 1951,

but he felt it unwise to voice his “rational conversion” to a belief in psi until 1975. Once again, this




63

reflects the changing attitudes of the scientific community in general and the physics community in

particular prior to and during the decade of the 1970s. He contends that human “conscious

awareness” has “two faces” in that our conscious knowledge of reality springs from two procedures,

“decoding a message (that is, an ordered structure) and emitting a message (that is, producing order)

by means of one’s information ... .” These quantities (or qualities) are commonly known as cognition

and volition (or will), respectively. Consciousness, an “attention to life,” is comprised of both

cognition and volition, in a broad sense, which is “tightly bound to corresponding symmetries in the

real world.” (Costa de Beauregard, pp.177-178)

The two faces of human consciousness are cognition and will and it would be expected that

both should show up during the process of quantum measurement. The transfer of information,

which is the key to knowledge, is essential to quantum measurement. In these processes, the flow of

information is actually “negentropic.” In physics, entropy is commonly represented by quantified as

the logarithm of a probability and represents a measure of disorder of a system. Thethermodynamical fact that entropy always increases in a system marks what is called “time’s arrow.”

Alternately, negentropy could then be thought to represent an increase in order, which could or

could not be related to time reversal.

On the one hand, biological systems exhibit negentropy because they order matter, they give

bits of matter which are randomly positioned a complex structure. Since probability is the “hinge

about which mind and matter” interact, biological systems are probability-decreasing processes.

Advanced wave processes are also probability-decreasing processes. The mathematics of

electromagnetic theory allows solutions that propagate both forward and backward in time, but the

backward propagation portion of electromagnetic waves is normally discarded. This backward

propagation of waves is the advanced wave process. In Costa de Beauregard’s opinion, theseadvanced waves actually exist: “Of course , they do exist; they must be at work in the very heart of

biological phylogenesis and ontogenesis, not to speak of human activity.” (Costa de Beauregard,

pp.181-182) So, the advanced wave process can provide a physical model of the ordering process or

negentropic aspects of biological systems and the transfer of information from the future to the

present can account for psi phenomena. In fact, “under appropriate conditions, information as an

organizing power should act as a sink of advanced waves, just as information as a gain of knowledge

acts as a source of retarded waves.” (Costa de Beauregard, p.182) Thus, the whole process is quite

natural and a consequence of accepted physical theories and laws. Psi phenomena should therefore

be viewed as a “very rational ” consequence of relativistic quantum mechanics rather than an

“irrational” speculation. (Costa de Beauregard, p.186) Costa de Beauregard arguments and thephysical model or theory that they represent are philosophical in nature and offer no mechanism for

interaction with the physical brain. However, a model for such an interaction already exists.

Eccles had earlier postulated a physical theory of the brain (as mentioned above) in relation to

quantum mechanics. His model can easily account for psi events at the level of an interaction




64

between psi and the human brain. Eccles found that neurons in the brain could be fired by subtle

“influences,” but made no references to what type of physical quantities could account for these

“subtle influences.” It could be assumed that psi carriers would have extremely small energies since

they have not yet been detected. So they could act as Eccles’ “subtle influences.” Eccles’

neurophysical hypothesis could easily be combined with any of the above quantum mechanical

interpretations to explain how the human mind, will or even consciousness acts on the neurophysical

level, at least partially explaining their interaction with the physical brain. If they exist, psi carriers can

cause a neuron to fire within the limits of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which may cause a

chain reaction of neuron firings in the brain to bring the subtle psi influence into awareness.

Although this is one way of addressing the problem, it does not satisfy the needs of the scientific

community to explain psi phenomena. None of these theories is complete in its explanation. They

tend to tell how psi manifests itself in the receiving brain, while leaving the question of transmission

and conveyance of psi open to speculation. The later quantum mechanical theories and models of thepresent era forego hypothesizing ‘psi carriers’ and opt to explain the physical transmission of psi

information as the interaction of consciousness, which is not bound by normal physical laws, and

either the collapse of the wave packet or some other mode of mind-matter interaction.

What Eccles’ purely neurophysiological theory of the will has done, is to set psi free from

psychological and physiological considerations to be studied and explained by physicists. If one

assumes a purely mental theory of psi, then physics is unnecessary in psi research. But all evidence

points to the necessity of physics at some level to explain psi. This raises the problem of demarcation

between the physical and mental aspects of psi. The physical aspects deal with the transmission of a

signal carrying information as well as the sending and receiving of that signal while the mental aspects

deal with how the brain processes and utilizes that information, bringing the signal to a consciousconclusion such as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition and so on. Between the mental and physical

process there must be a clean-cut boundary over which the two are separated but also linked. Eccles ’

theory seems to offer the best explanation of that combination of boundary and linkage. By setting a

boundary between what is parapsychological and what is paraphysical, Eccles’ work has freed

physics to pursue its own explanation of information transfer without becoming entangled in

unnecessary speculations on the interaction of mind and brain.

D. Recent developments during the 90s

Even though quantum theory introduces the concept of consciousness into physics and

consciousness is somehow related to psi, the field concept cannot be ignored in the development ofphysical theories of psi. The present historical trend of physics is toward a major unification of

quanta and field, discrete and continuous, so the trend in the explanation of psi within the context

of physics is following the same path. With this in mind, perhaps the best contender for such a

unification theory is Bohm’s quantum model which utilizes a quantum potential field as the




65

substructure of the space-time continuum. So, it is Bohm’s model that presently seems to be the

main focus for a physical theory of psi. However, whether a physicist prefers Bohm’s or any other

physical model, it is certain that consciousness has become an integral part of the present as well as

any future physics paradigm.

More mainstream physicists have entered the debate over psi and many have accepted either the

possibility of psi or its reality. However, most just remain silent on the issue. At the very least, it has

become very difficult for physicists to totally ignore psi functioning since it is so intimately related to

consciousness. In some cases, physicists and other researchers are using more neutral phrases and

terms, anomalous phenomena (AP) or anomalous cognition (AC), in place of the terms psi

phenomena and psi. The names AP and AC do not carry the same mental artifacts or connotations

as the term psi, so they are more acceptable to physicists. The very use of these new terms marks a

sharper turn toward research into the physical aspects of psi. Before any new science can become

established, a new language must be developed for the use of that science.Brian Josephson and the Greek physicist Fotini Pallikari-Viras recently authored a paper on the

“Biological utilisation of quantum nonlocality,” firmly committing themselves to a physical

explanation of psi. They first considered the normal case of quantum mechanics whereby

consciousness is restricted to local action because the special probabilistic distribution functions for

any given event cancel or average out at increasing distances from the seat of the event. This special

distribution function in phase space assures the statistical equivalence of the causal interpretation

with quantum mechanics and thus disallows action-at-a-distance. The direct influence of one particle

on another ensemble is averaged away. Therefore, any telepathic or other psi interaction would

become totally random and unusable within the formal apparatus of quantum mechanics. This

interpretation of quantum mechanics also renders a Bohm style of non-locality useless.However, they further point out that these special distribution functions need not be the only

functions that represent any given physical event.

One may ask, however, why only these special distribution functions should apply. Is there

anything absolute about the ignorance implicit in the use of these particular distribution

functions? The argument will be made in the following that other distribution functions,

with different statistical properties, are relevant in other contexts, especially those

associated with life.

Situations where a change in context leads to a new kind of statistical distribution

becoming relevant are indeed commonplace in science: they occur for example whenever aphase transition occurs that leads to a breaking of symmetry. As a result of symmetry

breaking, statistical distributions that are asymmetric with regard to this symmetry may come

into existence in situations where previously only symmetric distributions were observable

or relevant. Analogously, it can be anticipated that special situations will exist whose natural




66

description involves probability distributions other than the particular ones that arise in the

quantum formalism. (Josephson, 1991, p. 4 of 8).

If various physical events can be represented by other more general probabilistic functions than justthose functions that average out at greater distances, consciousness can act non-locally. Psi

functioning has the same characteristics as consciousness when consciousness acts non-locally, so a

quantum mechanical explanation of the non-local action of consciousness would amount to a

physical explanation of psi. Bohm’s theory of the implicate order explains just such non-local actions

and Josephson has indicated that he believes Bohm’s concepts represent the actual case of physical

reality. (Josephson, 1993, p.2)

In the past, those studying science have made it a point to study nature in the context of form

rather than meaning, thus emphasizing quantity at the expense of quality. But life itself is concerned

with meaning rather than form. Life emphasizes the qualitative nature of reality. So, life cannot easily

be placed within a scientific model even though it has its own “potentialities” which must eventuallybe included in any physical model of reality.

But the self-consistent and completely logical multiple-description view of knowledge

advocated here, an alternative to the conventional view that all knowledge may be reduced

to quantum mechanical knowledge, allows life to have its own potentialities, beyond what

the constraints of “good scientific method” will allow, for knowing and for acting on the

basis of such knowing. Included in these categories of acting and knowing are psychic

functioning. (Josephson, 1991, p.7 of 8)

Life itself would thus seem to correspond to a quantum mechanical system or ensemble that could

be represented by a non-standard distribution function which would allow for the action ofconsciousness non-locally. Under such conditions, living organisms would have access to

information and thus knowledge that is far more detailed than that specified by quantum mechanics.

This information could be accessed psychically by intelligent life forms. So psi could have a scientific

as well as a physical basis since it emerged directly from a specific interpretation of the quantum

theory. Unfortunately, including living organisms in a valid quantum mechanical model presents

great difficulties, a problem with which Josephson and Pallikari-Viras are quite aware.

The theories discussed here have the feature, in contrast to that of quantum mechanics, of

being qualitative rather than quantitative. This may be an unavoidable correlate of such

aspects of nature, stemming from a fundamental irreproducibility of biology and of the

phenomena connected with the indeterminism of the quantum domain. (Josephson and

Pallikari-Viras, p.7 of 8)

Finding the proper distribution function (or functions) to describe living organisms will be extremely

difficult, but not as difficult as finding the valid function for intelligent life exhibiting consciousness.




67

Although their work has not yet been concluded by an actual theory describing the mechanics

of psi functioning, some conclusions can be drawn.

These arguments lead us to the conclusion that, because of the different kind of perceptualand interpretative processes characteristic of life compared with those of science, living

organisms can possess knowledge that is more detailed in certain aspects than is the

knowledge specified by the quantum theory. ...

Our assumption in relation to psi functioning is that here also the relevant probability

distributions are highly focused in relation to goals, in a way that may become more

effective over time as development through learning takes place. (Josephson, 1991, p.5 of

8)

The idea of goal directed thought fits well with a field theoretic view of physical reality, rather than

the discrete description of reality as studied in an event-by-event manner through quantummechanics. So it further seems that quantum mechanical descriptions of consciousness and psi

would reduce quantum mechanics to a field theory.

Sarfatti’s ideas on the subject are similar, but his ‘theory ’ is more mechanical in nature. He

favors a concept of “back action” at the quantum level to describe consciousness and non-local

interactions as well as psi. According to Sarfatti, Bohm’s physical model posits a “mind-like quantum

force,” or rather a force-like quantity that is not a force in the traditional Newtonian sense. This

quantum force can be represented mathematically, so Sarfatti’s ideas seem more amenable to the

development of a comprehensive mathematical model.

The quantum force is the negative spatial gradient of a context-dependent quantum

potential that appears in the Hamilton-Jacobi equation for the particle derived from the

linear Schrödinger wave equation. The quantum force ’s context-dependence explains the

wave-like guidance of the individual particle in the famous double slit experiment which

the late Richard Feynman called the “central mystery of quantum mechanics.” (Sarfatti, p.2

of 35)

However, Sarfatti does not believe that Bohm’s theory addresses all of the issues pertaining to a

unification of mind (or consciousness) and matter. Bohm does not account for what Sarfatti terms

“back action.”

The guidance of the mind on matter is already there in Bohm’s theory. What is missing for

perception and our immediate awareness of the arrow of time is the modification of the stateof mind by the particles that compose the brain. This is back-reaction. Now we see that

such back-reaction is required for the familiar role of conservation laws in physics.

However, such back-reaction violates the statistical predictions of quantum mechanics....

Bohm’s theory shows why the world divides naturally into elemental matter and elemental mind.




68

(Sarfatti, p.17 of 35)

Whether this assessment of Bohm’s theory is valid or not, it must be remembered that Bohm’s

theory is a purely physical theory, and not specifically a theory of mental action or consciousness.However, Bohm’s theory as well as other interpretations of quantum mechanics still remains

compatible with Sarfatti’s concept of “back action,” or “back reaction,” as he sometimes calls it.

Sarfatti’s model follows from the most basic concepts of physics. According to Newton’s third

law of motion, every action generates an equal and opposite reaction, so the “mind-like quantum

force” described by Sarfatti must generate a “quantum back action.”

We now come to “back-action” which is the main idea of this paper. The origin of this idea

is Newton’s third law that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. We now

know that this is a consequence of translational symmetry in physical space.... It can also be

shown that quantum spontaneous emission of real radiation by virtual zero point vacuum

fluctuations can be explained as advanced wave effects from the future that are classically

associated with radiation resistance. Feynman also used the term “back-action” to explain

the generation of quantized vortices in superfluid helium. (Sarfatti, p.2 of 35)

And,

By the term “back-action” I mean that the quantum wave field is “directly affected by the

conditions of the particles”. It is qualitatively obvious that such a direct dependence is the

counter-force or reaction to the quantum force. The combination of the quantum force of

wave on particle with the counter-force or back-action of particle on wave forms a

feedback control loop which is able to control the formerly uncontrollable guidance of the

particle by its wave. This results in a distortion of the statistical patterns of orthodox

quantum mechanics. This is the mechanism of intent or free will. (Sarfatti, p. 4 of 35)

In other words, Sarfatti agrees that consciousness collapses the wave packet to realize or materialize

a solid particle as in the normal quantum mechanical point of view, but he has further added the idea

that the particle reacts equally and oppositely to the collapsing wave in the form of a “back action.”

Just as consciousness acts physically through an exchange of information which causes the wave

collapse, the particle reacts through its “back action” to pass information on the state of the collapse

back to consciousness. Therefore, the solid particle must affect the consciousness that collapsed the

wave to create it.

Sarfatti implies that his theory of “back action” can serve to explain psi effects by a mutualexchange of information at the quantum level rather than a one-way exchange of information from

consciousness to physical particle. He ultimately associates his “back action” with perception and

consciousness,

The back-reaction, not found in orthodox quantum mechanics, completes a feedback




69

control loop between particle and wave which explains the matter-mind connection in

which mind is the quantum wave that not only moves living matter but is, in turn, moved

by living matter. The latter is the basis of perception and consciousness. It is how sensory

data from neuron pulses and bio-chemical messenger molecules transform their

information into meaningful subjective experience (i.e., qualia) (Sarfatti, p.8 of 35)

as well as intent, free will (as described above) and the elan vital or life-force upon which scholars

speculated over two centuries ago.

I suspect that the proper understanding of the biophysics of living matter requires this two-

way dialectic between local particle and nonlocal wave which is beyond quantum

mechanics. The back-action of the particle on its wave, missing in quantum mechanics, is

the origin of the elan vital. That idea, rejected by modern science, was a correct idea

introduced too soon in the nineteenth century. It is an idea whose time has finally come.

(Sarfatti, p. 8 of 35)

He even associates his back action with the Chinese concept of chi and the Japanese ki , although he

mistakenly identifies ki as Chinese.

For example, a classically “free” particle has a nonlocal quantum potential energy in

addition to its local classical kinetic energy. These nonlocal quantum wave properties are

what the Chinese call “Ki” or “Chi”. (Sarfatti p.18 of 35)

And finally, he associates “back action” with several other characteristics, quantities or qualities

of cognitive thought.

Purpose, meaning, intention, intuition all are beyond orthodox quantum mechanics. Allrequire violation of the statistical predictions of such quantum mechanics. All require not

the violation but the transcending or leapfrogging over Eberhard’s theorem which assumes

the statistical predictions of quantum mechanics cannot be violated. All require a direct non

unitary back-reaction of the particle on the shape of its guiding quantum potential in a feed-

back control loop which is the elan vital, the distinguishing mark of life relative to non-life.

(Sarfatti, p.13 of 35)

These associations may well prove true, if not for Sarfatti’s “back action” then for some other

physical explanation of psi since all of these quantities are either associated with consciousness or

some level of thought itself. However, Sarfatti gives no further physical mechanisms that can help todistinguish between these various types of mental activity. It was perhaps unwise for Sarfatti to have

associated his “back action” with so many different things before he has more fully developed his

theory and provided some further verification of his ideas.

Sarfatti’s concepts are well taken, but so many unsubstantiated claims lend a distinct air of




70

speculation to Sarfatti’s theory, rendering his theory, as are so many others, tentative and

incomplete. He has even referred to the speculative nature of these associations.

The astute reader may recall at this point that I have been arguing the unorthodoxhypothesis that quantum mechanics is not a complete theory of the world because it lacks

this back-reaction, indeed, I speculate that life in general and conscious “qualia” in particular

require back-reaction in order for perception to be possible. The particles compose the

“brain” while their quantum potential is the “mind”. (Sarfatti, p.17 of 35)

In fact, this quality and other problems have led Edwin May to criticize the theory, as Sarfatti has

himself pointed out, commenting that “theories that do not quantitatively describe data are not just

wrong, they are bad theories.” Yet Sarfatti claims in rebuttal that his theory “gives a theoretical

candidate for qualia [subjective mental experiences] in qualitative agreement with May ’s experimental

findings.” (Sarfatti, 1996, p.4 of 7) The “experimental findings” to which Sarfatti refers have been

used by May and James Spottiswoode to develop their own theory of psi, called the Decision

Augmentation Theory or DAT for short.

According to DAT, “humans interpret information obtained by anomalous cognition into the

usual decision process. The result is that, to a statistical degree, such decisions are biased toward

volitional outcomes.” (May and Spottiswoode, Abstract) So DAT is a theory of information transfer

between object and subject rather than a theory of a subject initiating a force to cause a change of

state in the object. May has stated unequivocally that he does not believe PK exists. (May, Interview,

p.3 of 4) What psi researchers normally detect as PK phenomena is just a precognition of an event.

May and his colleagues have come to this conclusion after extensive experimentation with

Random Number Generators (RNGs) as well as considering previous experimental results dating

back to 1969. The May group considered four possible explanations to account for anomalous

effects in the RNG experiments. They could have been caused by: (1) Mean Chance Expectations

(MCEs) which are simply random statistical fluctuations; (2) True Anomalous Phenomena (APs)

which result from a psi-related force initiated by the subject; (3) Decision Augmentation (DAs) in

which psi has biased the normal decision making process; or (4) A combination of DA and AP.

By considering these four possible explanations of anomalous results, they derived a statistical

formula and model to analyze the data. Any random ensemble would demonstrate a normal

probability distribution with zero mean and a variance of one. If the randomness of the RNG events

were affected psychokinetically, such as by the application of a psi controlled force, then the variance

would be disturbed. The group’s measurements demonstrated a distinct change in the mean ratherthan the variance, so PK was ruled out as the cause of the anomalies. The only solution left available

was the precognition of the results by the subjects, which affected the choice of states, i.e., decision

augmentation. May believes that psi exists, but merely as information transfer across time and space,

while there is neither a “force” nor energy transfer during psi related phenomena.




71

Whether scientists are talking about an information transfer during the collapse of a wave

packet or decision augmentation, there seems to be a trend away from explaining psi as a transfer

of force or energy between separate and distinct minds as well as between mind and matter. This

trend corresponds with recent attempts to extend quantum physics to cases of non-local

interactions at the quantum level. It also conforms to science ’s increasing reliance on field theories

which were originally developed as a counterpoint to physical explanations involving action-at-a-

distance. DAT is compatible, to an extent, with other recent physical theories of psi since all of

these explanations seem to have many elements in common. But DAT, like other theories, offers

no ‘mechanism’ for explaining psi phenomena or the nature of psi. The word ‘mechanism’ must be

qualified when used in this sense since a classical notion of ‘mechanisms’ would entail the inclusion

of terms for force and/or energy. Still, it must be remembered that at some point or level of reality,

a ‘mechanism’ of the classical type must come into the picture since psi affects a real physical world

in which Newtonian mechanics and the relationship F = ma are still valid.E. Conclusions

Many of the older theories of psi thus far discussed, such as Marshall ’s, Wasserman’s and

Berger’s, have had to resort to either hypothetical new structures or a new formalism as yet

unrecognized (Marshall’s eidopoic influences) by physicists. Some of the newer theories are similar

in that they depend upon hypothetical particles such as tachyons or new formalisms such as hidden

variables, hyperspaces or the quantum potential. Even Feynman’s notion of a positron traveling

backwards in time and Dirac’s model of negative energy fall into this category since they are

hypothetical physical concepts suggested by the mathematic models describing physical situations.

However, there is a major difference between these new theories and the older theories, whichderive hypothetical entities to explain psi.

The newer theories are based upon sound physics rather than the mere inventions of new

entities or immeasurable quantities for the sole purpose of explaining psi. Hyperspaces, quantum

potentials, tachyons and all the rest are theoretical quantities, variables and entities which exist

independent of a theory of psi, if they are proven to exist at all. These were first developed to

further theories in physics and physicists will eventually determine the valid use of these new ‘things’

in mainstream physics through a regular application of the scientific method. Should they prove to

either exist or become necessary in purely physical theories, and then their connections to psi must

be seriously discussed. For this reason, physical theories of psi based on these ‘things’ tend to be

somewhat semi-physical depending on how broadly we define “physical” and whether we limit“physical” to its present conceptual form denying that physics may itself change in the future. The

electromagnetic theories of psi do not fall into this class since they are based upon physical

quantities and variables that are already known to exist, rather than hypothetical concepts within

physics. Yet the electromagnetic theories have other problems with which to contend and they fare




72

no better. So, the science of paraphysics is still in its infancy and no clear-cut theory has emerged as

the front-runner to completely explain psi.

It would be nice to think that science has progressed far enough during the past two millennia

so that questionable ideas such as those offered by psi phenomena could be handled with the

respect that all of nature deserves, but the existence of psi still raises emotional and unscientific

responses from its critics. The physicist Henry Stapp recently agreed to run a special series of

experiments with Helmut Schmidt. Schmidt hoped to demonstrate to Stapp that anomalous

phenomena associated with PK do actually occur at the quantum level of reality. Stapp’s portion of

the experiment yielded null results, contradicting Schmidt’s previous results, and Stapp published his

findings. He published a paper on the subject entitled “ Theoretical model of a purported empirical

violation of the predictions of quantum theory,” in Physical Review , a mainstream professional journal

of physics. In this paper, Stapp used a generalization of Steven Weinberg ’s nonlinear quantum

mechanics to demonstrate how “a reported violation of the predictions of orthodox quantumtheory ” could account for Schmidt’s anomalous effects. (Stapp, p.1) In other words, Stapp offered a

physical theory of PK, which is completely compatible with modern thinking in quantum theory.

While Stapp’s model was offered as a purely physical and scientific model in accordance with

the prevalent views and attitudes of the scientific community, Jonathan P. Dowling, a U.S. Army

physicist, attacked his paper in a letter to Physics Today magazine. Dowling claimed Stapp ’s model

represented “pseudoscience” and “pathological science.” He further suggested, “ Articles dealing

with parapsychology should not be published in PRA [ Physical Review A ] - period.” (Dowling, p.2 of

11) Although this statement was couched in terms that would make it seem that he was only

suggesting the outright censoring of physics journals as a possible alternative, Dowling clearly

implied that such was his position. In his own defense, Stapp answered the criticisms against hisscience and scientific method by stating that a refusal “to look at such physical evidence on

ideological grounds would [itself] be pseudoscience.” Although he did not fully agree with

Schmidt’s interpretation of the experimental results, Stapp certainly defended both Schmidt’s and

his own interpretation of the physical data as scientific until science could prove one theory or

another. As Stapp stated,

The procedure that I myself carried out was purely a “physics experiment.” ... It was within

the specific context of simple and clean physical experiments of this particular kind that I

put forth my quantum mechanical model of how results of the kind predicted by Schmidt

could be explained by merely making a small change in the Schrödinger equation that

would produce no observable effects in any purely physical experiment heretofore

performed by physicists. Because of the existence of this model we cannot rationally rule

out the possibility that the “Schmidt effect” exists merely on the grounds that this effect is

incompatible with what we already know about the laws of nature. I believe it would now

be useful to perform additional experiments of the kind described here to resolve the




73

discrepancy between the null result that I obtained and the positive combined result of the

five experiments reported by Schmidt. (Stapp, p.3 of 11)

Stapp has taken and defended the position that science cannot a priori rule out PK or similaranomalous phenomena when plausible physical models can account for them. The fact that the

“Schmidt effect” can be accounted for in quantum mechanics if it is found necessary to do so

implies that science must search for and either verify or repudiate the claimed effect. So, while Stapp

is neither a supporter of psi research nor inclined to accept the existence of psi without further

verification, he certainly maintains a position that the existence of psi cannot be automatically

precluded from physics. Other scientists are not as liberal minded as Stapp and the attitude

expressed by Dowling is still endemic in a large portion of the scientific community.

Dowling represents one segment of the scientific community while Stapp represents another.

No one knows how many scientists, let alone physicists, fall into either category. There exists a large

silent majority whose opinion on this subject has been neither voiced nor solicited and it has beenassumed, perhaps without justification, that that majority is against paraphysical research. Most

physicists are just not willing to discuss the subject of psi for fear of being subjected to either

censure, ridicule or bias, whether that fate is perceived or imagined. However, as has been shown

above, some well-known physicists are willing to entertain the possible existence of psi while others

are willing to go further and accept its existence in some as yet undetermined shape or form as well

as publicize their views. The number of scientists in this category is growing and psi is slowly, if not

begrudgingly, merging into mainstream physics.

The burning question then becomes “Is a consensus regarding the reality of psi developing?”

This question cannot yet be answered with any precision so an alternate question should be

considered, “Is the pre-paradigmatic period of psi drawing to a close with the development of a newparadigm in physics which may be more amenable to psi?” The historical evidence indicates that the

answer to this second question is yes. This evidence can be found in the association of psi effects

with the consciousness/matter interaction, the flowering of contending theories, the development of

a specialized language with terms such as PRP, anomalous cognition and anomalous phenomena as

opposed to PK, ESP and psi phenomena which still carry psychological connotations, as well as

debates whether psi is fundamentally mental or physical. These trends indicate a coming change of

scientific attitude toward psi research that would be part of a larger paradigm shift in physics. The

debate over the physical nature of psi is itself a measure of the success of the incursion of physics

into psi research since it seems to upset some parapsychologists who believe that physics might be

taking over their discipline. There is no evidence that paraphysics will replace parapsychology. On

the contrary, they seem to complement each other even though the border between them is still

vague.

What can be concisely discerned is that consciousness acting non-locally is intricately related to

the physics of psi, if it is not psi itself, rather than the psychological aspects of psi. So, physical




74

theories of psi that account for the non-local action of consciousness at the quantum level seem to

be in the offing for the coming paradigm shift. In the meantime, psi seems to be a field effect as

opposed to the discreteness of traditional quantum theory, so a field theory of psi also seems to be

in the offing. Perhaps even the question of quantum versus field has reached a level indicating that it

may soon become irrelevant, both in pure physics as well as paraphysics. The future paradigm in

physics will be neither field nor quantum, but both and neither.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

George Adams, Physical and Ethereal Spaces . London: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1965.

Robert H. Ashby, The Guidebook for the Study of Parapsychology . New York: Samuel Weiser, 1973.

Ian G. Barbour, Issues in Science and Religion . New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1966.Cart B. Becker, Paranormal Experience and the Survival of Death . Albany, New York: State University of

New York Press, 1993.

David Bohm and B.J. Hiley, The Undivided Universe . London: Routledge, 1993.

John F. Briggs and F. David Peat, Looking Glass Universe: The Emerging Science of Wholeness . New York:

Touchstone, 1984.

Richard S. Broughton, Parapsychology: The Controversial Science . New York: Ballantine, 1991.

Karl A. Brunstein, Beyond the Four Dimensions: Reconciling Physics, Parapsychology and UFOs . New York:

Walker, 1979.

Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern

Mysticism . Berkeley: Shambhala, 1975.D. Hatcher Childress, The Anti-Gravity Handbook, revised edition. Kempton, Illinois: Adventures

Unlimited, 1993.

Robert Darnton, Mesmerism and the End of the Enlightenment in France . New York: Schocken Books,

1976.

Paul Davies, Superforce: The Search for a Grand Unified Theory of Nature . New York: Simon and Schuster,

1984.

P.C.W. Davies and J.R. Brown, The Ghost in the Atom . New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Paul Davies and J. Brown (editors), Superstrings, A Theory of Everything . Cambridge University Press,

1992.

Ronald Duncan and Miranda Weston-Smith (editors), The Encyclopedia of Ignorance: Everything you everwanted to know about the unknown . New York: Pocket Books, 1977.

Martin Ebon (ed), The Signet Handbook of Parapsychology . New York: New American Library, 1978.

Hoyt L. Edge, Robert L. Morris, Joseph H. Rush, and John Palmer, Foundations of Parapsychology:

Exploring the Boundaries of Human Capability . London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986.




75

Jule Eisenbud, Parapsychology and the Unconscious . Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 1992.

Haakon Forwald, Mind, Matter, and Gravitation: A Theoretical and Experimental Study , Monograph

No.11. New York: Parapsychology Foundation, 1969.

J.T. Fraser, The Voices of Time . New York: George Braziller, 1966.

Kendrick Frazer, The Hundredth Monkey and other Paradigms of the Paranormal: A Skeptical Inquirer

Collection . Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1991.

Michael D. Friedlander, At the Fringes of Science . San Francisco: Westview, 1995.

Martin Gardner, “Parapsychology and Quantum Mechanics,” in George O. Abell and Barry Singer,

Science and the Paranormal: Probing the Existence of the Supernatural : 56-69:

Gibbons, G.W., “ Twistor Theory,” an essay review of R.S. Ward and R.O. Wells Jr, Twistor Geometry

and Field Theory , in Contemporary Physics , 33, 1994: 187-188.

Sheldon L. Glashow, The Charm of Physics . New York: Touchstone, 1991.

Eileen Garrett, The Sense and Nonsense of Prophecy , New York: Berkeley Publishing, 1950.I.J. Good (ed), The Scientist Speculates: An Anthology of Partly-Baked Ideas . New York: Basic Books, 1962.

Ivor Grattan-Guinness editor), Philosophy of Science and the Occult Psychical Research: A Guide to Its

History, Principles and Practices . Wellingsborough, England: Aquarian Press, 1982.

Patrick Grim (ed), Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1990.

C.E.M. Hansel, The Search for Psychic Power: ESP and Parapsychology Revisited . Buffalo: Prometheus

Books, 1989.

Richard T. Hammond, “New Fields in General Relativity,” Contemporary Physics , 36, #2 (1995): 103-

114.

Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time: From the big bang to black holes . New York: Bantam Books,

1988.Nick Herbert, Faster Than Light: Superluminal Loopholes in Physics . New York: New American Library,

1988.

H.J. Irwin, Introduction to Parapsychology , 2nd ed. London: McFarland & Company, 1994.

H.J. Irwin, Psi and the Mind: An Information Processing Approach . Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow

Press, 1979.

Menas Kafatos and Robert Nadeau , The Conscious Universe: Part and Whole in Modern Physical Theory .

New York: Springer, 1990.

Michio Kaku, Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th

Dimension . New York: Anchor Doubleday, 1994.

Beverly Kane, Jean Millay, and Dean Brown (editors), Silver Threads: 25 Years of ParapsychologicalResearch . Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 1993.

Arthur Koestler, The Roots of Coincidence . London: Picador, 1974.

Paul Krutz (editor ), A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology . New York: Prometheus Books, 1985.

Ian D. Lawrie, A Unified Grand Tour of Theoretical Physics . New York: Adam Hilger, 1990.




76

Lawrence LeShan, Toward a General Theory of Paranormal: A Report of Work in Progress . Monograph

No.9. New York: Parapsychological Foundation, 1969.

Lawrence LeShan, The Medium, the Mystic, and the Physicist: Toward a General Theory of the Paranormal .

New York: Ballantine, 1975.

Arthur Lovejoy, The Great Chain of Being: The Study of the History of an Idea . New York: Harper & Row,

1960.

Jan Ludwig, Philosophy and Parapsychology . Buffalo: Prometheus Press, 1978.

Jeffrey Mishlove, The Roots of Consciousness: Psychic Liberation through History, Science and Experience . New

York: Random House; And San Francisco: Bookworks, 1975.

Jeffrey Mishlove, The Roots of Consciousness: The Classic Encyclopedia of Consciousness Studies Revised and

Expanded . Tulsa: Council Oak Books, 1993.

Edgar D. Mitchell, Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science , edited by John White. New York:

Putnam's Sons, 1974.Madhusree Mukergee, “Explaining Everything,” Scientific American , Volume 274, #1, January 1996:

88-94.

Joseph Needleman, A Sense of the Cosmos: The encounter of modern science and ancient truth . Garden City,

New York: Doubleday, 1975.

Terry O'Neill (editor), Stacey L. Tipp (asst ed), Paranormal Phenomena: Opposing Viewpoints . San Diego:

Greenhaven Press, 1991.

Janet Oppenheim, Other Worlds: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850-1914. New York:

Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Robert O. Ornstein, The Psychology of Consciousness . New York: Penguin, 1977.

Laura Oteri, editor, Quantum Physics and Parapsychology , Proceedings of an International Conferenceheld in Geneva, Switzerland, August 26-27, 1974. New York: Parapsychology Foundation,

1974.

P.D. Ouspensky, Tertium Organum, The Third Cannon of Thought: A Key to the Enigmas of the World . New

York: Vintage Books, 1970: Reprint of Original Manas Press, 1920.

Barry Parker, Einstein’s Drea m: The Search for a Unified Theory of the Universe . New York: Plenum Press,

1986.

J. Paton, “Unifying field theory,” an essay review of M. Le Bellac, Quantum and Statistical Field Theory ,

in Contemporary Physics , 33, 1992: 191-195.

Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics . New

York: Penguin, 1991. James S. Perkins, A Geometry of Space-Consciousness , second edition. Adyar, Madras: Theosophical

Publishing House, 1973.

Frank Podmore, Studies in Psychical Research . New York: Putnam's Sons, 1897.

Frank Podmore, Mediums of the 19th Century , Volume 1. New Hyde Park, New York: University




77

Books, 1963; Reprint of 1902.

E. A. Power, “ The insights of John Wheeler,” an essay review of John Wheeler, At Home in the

Universe , in Contemporary Physics , 35, 1994: 217-219.

A.K. Raychandhuri, Theoretical Cosmology . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979.

Amaury de Riencourt, The Eye of Shiva: Eastern Mysticism and Science . New York: William Morrow,

1980.

D. Scott Rogo, Parapsychology: A Century of Inquiry . New York: Dell, 1975.

Serena Roney-Dougal, Where Science and Magic Meet , second edition. Rockport, Massachusetts:

Element Books, 1993.

Albert Rosenfeld (ed), Mind and Supermind . New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977.

G.G. Ross, “A ‘theory of everything?’” Contemporary Physics , 34, #2 (1993): 79-88.

Joseph H. Rush, “Physical and quasi-physical theories of Psi,” Chapter 11 in Foundations of

Parapsychology : 276-292. Joseph H. Rush, New Directions in Parapsychological Research . Monograph No.4. New York:

Parapsychological Foundation, 1964.

L.H. Ryder, “General Relativity comes of age,” an essay review of G. Ellis, A. Lanza and J. Miller,

The Renaissance of General Relativity and Cosmology , in Contemporary Physics , 34, 1994: 333-336.

Gertrude Schmeidler, Parapsychology: Its Relation to Physics, Biology, Physiology, and Psychology . Metuchen,

New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1976.

Erwin Schrödinger, What is Life & other Scientific Essays . Garden City, New York: Anchor Doubleday,

1956.

Betty Shapin and Lisette Coly, Concepts and Theories of Parapsychology , Proceedings of an International

Conference held in New York, December 6, 1980. New York: Parapsychology Foundation,1981.

Kevin J. Sharpe, “Relating the Physics and Religion of David Bohm,” Zygon , Volume 25, Number 1

(March 1990): 105-122.

Saul-Paul Sirag, “Consciousness: A Hyperspace View,” in Mishlove, Roots of Consciousness , 2nd

edition: 327-365.

Siu, The Tao of Science: An Essay on Western Knowledge and Eastern Wisdom . Cambridge: M.I.T. Press,

1957.

H.P. Stapp, Mind, Matter, and Quantum Mechanics .Springer-Verlag, 1993.

E.J. Squires, “Consciousness in the Quantum World,” an essay review of H.P. Stapp, Mind, Matter

and Quantum Mechanics , in Contemporary Physics , 34, #6 (1993): 329-331.E.J. Squires, Conscious Mind in the Physical World . Adam Hilger, 1990.

Christine Sulton, Building the Universe . New York: Basil Blackwell and New Scientist, 1985.

I.K. Taimni, Science and Occultism . Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974.

Michael Talbot, Mysticism and the New Physics . New York: Bantam, 1981.




78

Michael Talbot, The Holographic Universe . New York: Harper Perennial, 1991.

Charles Tart (ed), Altered States of Consciousness . Garden City, New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1972.

John G. Taylor, Black Holes . New York: Avon Books, 1973.

John Taylor, Superminds: A Scientist Looks at the Paranormal . New York: Warner Books , 1975.

G.D. Wasserman, “ An Outline of a Field Theory of Organismic Form and Behaviour,” in G.E.W.

Wolstenholme and Elaine C.P. Millar (editors), Extrasensory Perception , A CIBA Foundation

Symposium. 2nd edition. New York: Citadel Press, 1966. Original 1956.

Richard S. Westfall, Science and Religion in Seventeenth Century England . New Haven: Yale University

Press, 1958.

J. Craig Wheeler, “Of Wormholes, Time Machines, and Paradoxes,” Astronomy , Volume 24, #2,

February 1996: 52-57.

John White and Stanley Krippner (editors), Life Energies and the Physics of Paranormal Phenomena .

Garden City, New York: Anchor Doubleday, 1977.Selma S. Williams and Pamela Williams Adelman, Riding the Nightmare: Women and Witchcraft from the

Old World to Colonial Salem . New York: Harper Perennial, 1975.

lan Wolf, Taking the Quantum Leap: The New Physics for Nonscientists . New York: Harper & Row, 1981.

Krzysztof Wodkiewicz, “Non-local and local ghost fiels in quantum correlations,” Contemporary

Physics , 36, 1996: 139-147.

Benjamin B. Wolman (ed), Handbook of Parapsychology . New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1977.

Gary Zukav, The Dancing Wu Li Master: An Overview of the New Physics . New York: William Morrow,

1979.

Internet Bibliography

Material is presented in a different manner over the Internet, so the bibliography of

internet material is offered separately. In some cases, no author is indicated, while in other

cases material may change from time to time as papers are updated. In as many cases as

possible, the date when the paper was last updated is offered as reference along with the

internet address.

“Physics Facts and Speculations,” www.mtnmath.com/physics.html#contemp.view

“sci.physics Frequently Asked Questions,” (Part 4 of 4), www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/physics-

faq/part4.html

“Measurement in Quantum Mechanics FAQ,” www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/physics-

faq/measurement-in-qm.html

“ The Barn and the Pole,” Relativistic Paradoxes Part A, from psi.physics FAQ,

sunsite.unc.edu/lunar/relapara.html

“ The Twin Paradox,” Relativistic Paradoxes Part B, from psi.physics FAQ,

sunsite.unc.edu/lunar/relaparb.html




79

“ The Superluminal Scissors,” Relativistic Paradoxes Part C, from psi.physics FAQ,

sunsite.unc.edu/lunar/relaparc.html

“ Tachyons,” from psi.physics FAQ, sunsite.unc.edu/lunar/tachyons.html

“ What is the Mass of the Photon?” from psi.physics FAQ, sunsite.unc.edu/lunar/massphot.html

“Gravitational Radiation,” from psi.physics FAQ, sunsite.unc.edu/lunar/gravradi.html

“Effects Due to the Finite Speed of Light,” from psi.physics FAQ,

unsite.unc.edu/lunar/finilite.html

“Geometry of a Light Cone #1,” sunsite.unc.edu/lunar/geobod.html

“Curved Space and Common Sense,” www.berlinet.de/smeltzer/PG/spaceCS.html

“School of Superphysics,” zow00.desy.de:8000/~hungbhy/super.html

Definition of “Grand Unified Theory,” www.sti.nasa.gov/thesaurus/G/word6261.html

Definition of “Unified Field Theory,” www.sti.nasa.gov/thesaurus/U/word16490.html

“Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity,” www.mistral.co.uk/einstein/ Ajad, “Quantum Future Physics,” 11 April 1996, www.ift.uni.wroc.pl/~ajad/qf-phys.htm

Bernard J. Baars, “Can Physics Provide a Theory of Consciousness>“ A review of Shadows of the

Mind by Roger Penrose, Psyche , 2(8), May 1995, psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/volume2-1/psyche95-

2-08-shadows-6-baars.html

John Baez, “General Relativity Tutorial - Parallel Transport,”

www.math.ucr.edu/home/baez/gr/parallel.transport.html

John Baez, “General Relativity Tutorial - Torsion,”

www.math.ucr.edu/../home/baez/gr/torsion.html

Eric Baird, “Eric’s Relativity Pages,”

ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/eric_baird/homepage.htmFrank Barr, “ The Theory of Evolutionary Process as a Unifying Paradigm,”

users.lanminds.com/~ab/ay/barr.html

John Blanton, “The EPR Paradox and Bell’s Inequality Principle,” updated 31 Aug 1993,

www.desy.de/user/projects/Physics/bells_inequality.html

John Blanton, “ The EPR Paradox and Bell’s Inequality Principle,” with commentaries by Jack

Sarfatti, Version 0.2, 31 August 1993, www.hia.com/hia/pcr/epr.html

Julian Brown, “Martial arts students influence the past,” originally published in New Scientist and Scince

Journal , 27 August 1994, alethea.ukc.ac.uk/CPRS/RPKP/martial

P.R.F. Brown, “ Theories of the Aether,” magna.com.au/~prfbrown/aether.html

Paul Budnik, “Measurement in quantum mechanics FAQ,” www.mtnmath.com/faq/meas-qm.html;1. “ About this FAQ,” (.../meas-qm-1.html), 2. “ The measurement problem,” (.../meas-qm-

2.html), 3. “Schrodinger’s cat,” (.../meas-qm-3.html), 4.” The Copenhagen Interpretation,”

(.../meas-qm-4.html), 5. “Is QM a complete theory?” (.../meas-qm-5.html), 6. “ The shut up and

calculate interpretation,” (.../meas-qm-6.html), 7. “Bohm’s theory,” (.../meas-qm-7.html), 8.




80

“ The Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics,” (.../meas-qm-8.html), 9. “Complex

probabilities,” (.../meas-qm-9.html), 10. “Quantum logic,” (.../meas-qm-10.html), 11.

“Consistent theories,” (.../meas-qm-11.html), 12. “Spontaneous reduction models,” (.../meas-

qm-12.html), 13. “ What is needed?” (.../meas-qm-13.html), 14. “Is this a real FAQ?” (.../meas-

qm-14.html).

Paul Budnik, Einstein’s Revenge , 1995. Www.mtnmath.com/book.html, to .../ node??.html

Zdzislaw Ted Bylok, “ The Field Energy Theory of Spacetime,”

www.eskimo.com/~mpb/spacetime.html

Walter E.R. Cassini, Index to “ The Wave Theory of the Field,” www.

Inet.it/ospiti/cassani/index.html

David L. Chalmers, “Minds, Machines, and Mathematics,” A review of Shadows of the Mind by Roger

Penrose, Psyche , 2(9), June 1995, psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/volume2-1/psyche95-2-09-shadows-

7-chalmers.html John G. Cramer, The Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, originally published in

Reviews of Modern Physics, 58, July 1986: 647-688;

mist.npl.washington.edu/npl/int_rep/tiqm/Tl_toc.html, to .../Tl_ref.html

Max Domaschko, “ A Unified Field Theory Free of Attractive Forces,” www.newwave.

Net/~applogic/theory.htm

Sergio Frasca, “On Physics and Psi - I,” www.roma1.infn.it/rog/group/frasca/b/pepsi1.html

Phil Gibbs, “New and Alternative Theories of Physics,”

ourworld.compusewrve.com/homepages/Phil_Gibbs/theories.html

Phil Gibbs, The Cyclotron Notebooks; 1. “ The Quantum Gravity Challenge,” 16 May 1996,

ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Phil_Gibbs/qugrav.htm; 2. “Is Space-Time Discrete,” 3 March 1996, same/; 3. “Metaphysics of Space-Time,” 8 Mar 1996, same/; 4. “ What about

Causality?” 15 May 1996, same/cause.htm; 5. “Universal Symmetry,” 3 June 1996,

same/symmetry.htm; 6. “ The Superstring Mystery,” 15 May 1996, same/strings.htm; 7. “Event-

Symmetric Space-Time,” 8 March 1996, same/; 8. “Is String Theory in Knots?” 15 May 1996,

same/knots.htm; 9. “ The Theory of Theories,” 8 Mar 1996, same/

Brian Greene, “Superstring Theory,”

www.lassp.cornell.edu/GraduateAdmissions/greene/greene.html

Simon Harvey-Wilson, “Dimensions, Consciousness, UFOs, and the Paranormal,” A lecture on

Friday 16th June 1995 at the Australian Society for Psychical Research, Murdoch University,

Western Australia, www.iinet.com.au/~steveb/aspr/SHW_lecture_1.html Joel Henkel, “Non-Unitary Quantum Observation as a Bridge Between Mind and Matter,” hermes-

op.com/inscirev/fall95/bridge.htm

Joel Henkel, “Quantum Measurement as Experience,” hermes-

op.com/inscirev/fall95/quanmeas.html




81

Joel Henkel, “ Toward a Metaview for Interscience Discussion,” hermes-

op.com/inscirev/fall95/metaview.html

David de Hilster, “Beyond Einstein: The Autodynamics Theory ,”

www.areacom.it/html/ita/loris/theories.html

Jason W. Hinson, “Relativity and FTL Travel, Part III: A Bit About General Relativity,”

sunsite.auc.dk/ftp/pub/news.answers/Star-Trek/relativity_FTL/part3

Andrew H. Hochheimer, “ The Philadelphia Experiment from A-Z,” www.

Wincom.net/softarts/philexp.html

Andrew Hodges, “ A First Few Scraps on Twistor Theory,”

www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/~ahodges/twistors.html

Christina Jetmore, William Coleman and Becky Romanowski, “Major Events in the History of

Parapsychology,” updated 23 April 1996, William H. Jack,

www.fpc.edu/academic/behave/psych/web93-1.htmBrian D. Josephson and Fotini Pallikari-Viras, “Biological Utilisation of Quantum NonLocality,”

originally published in Foundations of Physics, 21 (1991):197-207;

www.phy.cam.ac.uk/www/research/mm/articles/Bell.psi

Brian D. Josephson, “Has Psychokinesis Met Science’s Measure?” originally published in Physics

Today, 45, 7 (1992): 15;

www.phy.cam.ac.uk/www/research/mm/articles/PK_sci_measure.html

Brian D. Josephson and Beverly A. Rubik, “ The Challenge of Consciousness Research,” based on a

report in Frontier Perspectives, 3, 1, (1992): 15-19;

www.phy.cam.ac.uk/www/research/mm/articles/athens.html

Brian D. Josephson, “Limits to the Universality of Quantum Mechanics,” www.phy.cam.ac.uk/www/research/mm/articles/QMlimits.html

Brian D. Josephson, “Physics and the Mind,”

www.phy.cam.ac.uk/www/research/mm/articles/PM.html

Brian D. Josephson, “ The Elusivity of Nature and the Mind-Matter Problem,” originally published

in “ The Relationship between Mind and Matter’” edited by B. Rubik, the Center for Frontier

Sciences at Temple University; www.phy.cam.ac.uk/www/research/mm/articles/elusivity.html

Michio Kaku, “ A theory of everything?” published in Mysteries of Life and the Universe , edited by

William Shore, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992; “Black Hole, Wormholes, and the 10th

Dimension,” Published in the Sunday London Times , Literary Supplement , 1994; “ What Happened

before the Big Bang,” Published in the London Daily Telegraph , 1995; “Hyperspace: A ScientificOdyssey Through the 10th Dimension,” Published in Thesis Magazine; All on the WWW at

www.dorsai.org/~wbai/kaku/mk-artcl.html

Michio Kaku, “Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through the 10th Dimension,” Published in Thesis

Magazine, www.intr.net/bertwillco/kaku1.html




82

Michio Kaku, “Black Hole, Wormholes, and the 10th Dimension,” Published in the Sunday London

Times , Literary Supplement , 1994, www.intr.net/bertwillco/kaku3.html

Michio Kaku, “Frequently Asked Questions,” www.dorsai.org/~wbai/kaku/mk-faq.html

Michio Kaku, Abstract of “Quarks, Symmetries, and Superstrings,”

www.dorsai.org/~wbai/kaku/mk-quark.html

Michio Kaku, abstract of Introduction to Superstrings , www.dorsai.org/~wbai/kaku/mk-intro.html

Michio Kaku, Abstract of Beyond Einstein: The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of Everything ,

www.dorsai.org/~wbai/kaku/mk-einst.html

Michio Kaku, “Explorations in Science with Dr. Michio Kaku,” www.dorsai.org/~wbai/kaku/mk-

main.html

S. Kaufman, The Dynamic Structure of Space-Time , www.execpc.com/~skaufman/book.html, to

.../book??.html

Stanley A. Klein, “Is Quantum Mechanics Relevant To Understanding Consciousness,” A review ofShadows of the Mind by Roger Penrose, Psyche , 2(3), April 1995,

psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/volume2-1/psyche95-2-03-shadows-2-klein.html

Mike and Sue Lawrence, “Ring Theory - A short outline,”

ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Mike_and_sue_Lawrence/a01hp011.htm

F. Maiello, “Quantum Theory and Metaphysics,” ddi.digitasl.net/~egodust/fmpageq.html

Tim Maudlin, “Between the Motion and the Act...,” A review of Shadows of the Mind by Roger

Penrose, Psyche , 2(2), April 1995, psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/volume2-1/psyche95-2-02-shadows-

1-maudlin.html

Edwin C. May, “Interview with Dr. Edwin C. May of the Cognitive Sciences Laboratory,” on 12

May 1996, RPKP, maintained by M.R. Watkins, modified 24 June 1996,alathea.ukc.ac.uk/Dept/CPRS/RPKP/may

Daryl McCullough, “Can Humans Escape Gödel?” A Review of Shadows of the Mind by Roger

Penrose, Psyche , 2(4), April 1995, psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/volume2-1/psyche95-2-04-shadows-

3-mccullough.html

Drew McDermott, “[STAR] Penrose is Wrong,” A review of Shadows of the Mind by Roger Penrose,

Psyche , 2(17), October 1995, psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/volume2-1/psyche95-2-17-shadows-9-

mcdermott.html

Hans Moravec, “Roger Penrose’s Gravitronic Brains,” A review of Shadows of the Mind by Roger

Penrose, Psyche , 2(6), May 1995, , psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/volume2-1/psyche95-2-06-

shadows-4-moravec.htmlGregory R. Mulhauser, “On the End of a Quantum Mechanical Romance,” Psyche , 2(19), November

1995, psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/volume2-1/psyche95-2-19-decoherence-1-mulhauser.html

J.T. Nordberg, “ The solution to the question, what is time?” home.earthlink.net/~jtnordberg

Roger Penrose, “Beyond the Doubting of a Shadow,” A Reply to Commentaries on Shadows of the




83

Mind , Psyche , 2(23), January 1996, psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/volume2-1/psyche96-2-23-

shadows-10-penrose.html

Dean Radin, “Frequently Asked Questions about Parapsychology,” updated 17 December 1995,

eeyore.lv-hrc.nevada.edu/~cogno/para1.html, .../para2.html, .../para3.html.

Allan F. Randall, “Quantum Superposition, Necessity and the Identity of Indiscernibles,”

www.io.org/~randall/indiscernibles/

Thomas J. Rider, “ The Observer Dependent Principle in Cosmology,” 4 April 1996,

lincoln.midcoast.com/~trider/

Jack Sarfatti, “Introduction by Jack Sarfatti on the logic of the original EPR paper,” version 0.3,

www.hia.com/hia/pcr/eprbell.html

Jack Sarfatti, “ The Quantum and Beyond,” New version 1.2, May 1996,

www.hia.com/hia/pcr/qmbeynd.html

Jack Sarfatti, “Quantum Back Action; Does Consciousness Require a Violation of OrthodoxQuantum Mechanics?” version 0.4, 22 March 1996, www.hia.com/hia/pcr/qmotion.html

Jack Sarfatti, “Sarfatti’s Online Guide to The Feynman Lectures on Gravitation ,” Version 0.3,

www.hia.com/hia/pcr/feyngrav.html

Jack Sarfatti, “Sarfatti’s Illuminati: Footnotes to In the Thick of Things,”

www.hia.com/pcr/si03f.html

Laro Schatzer, “ The Speed of Light - A Limit on Principle?: A physicist’s view on an old

controversy,” 31 July 1996, monet.physik.unibas.ch/~schatzer/space-time.html

Helmut Schmidt, Abstract of “Collapse of the State Vector and Psychokinetic Effect,” originally

published in Foundations of Physics , Vol.12, no.6, June 1982,

alethea.ukc.ac.uk/Dept/CPRS/RPKP/collapseHelmut Schmidt, “ The Strange Properties of Psychokinesis,” originally published in Journal of

Scientific Exploration, Vol.1, No.2, 1987, alethea.ukc.ac.uk/CPRS/RPKP/strange

Erwin Schrödinger, translated by John D. Trimmer, “ The Present Situation in Quantum

Mechanics: A translation of Schrodinger’s ‘Cat Paradox Paper’,” originally published in

Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society , 124, 323-38; Also appeared in J.A. Wheeler and

W.H. Zurek, editors, Quantum Theory and Measurement , Part I, Section I.11. (Princeton: Princeton

University Press, 1983); www.hia.com/hia/pcr/qcat.html

Jouni A. Smed, “Out of Body Experience FAQ,” www.spiritweb.org//Spirit/obe-faq.html

Henry P. Stapp, “ Why Classical Mechanics Cannot Naturally Accommodate Consciousness but

Quantum Mechanics Can,” Psyche , 2(5), May 1995, psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/volume2-1/psyche95-2-05-qm_stapp-1-stapp.html

Henry P. Stapp, “ Why Classical Mechanics Cannot Naturally Accommodate Consciousness But

Quantum Mechanics Can,” Part I, Lecture on the Physics of Consciousness, edited for the

Internet by Jack Sarfatti, 8 February 1995.




Henry P. Stapp, An abstract of Chance, Choice, and Consciousness: The Role of Mind in the Quantum Brain

with comments by Jack Sarfatti, Version 0.4, 28 November 1995,

www.hia.com/hia/pcr/newstapp.html

Henry P. Stapp, from Stapp’s Physics Today letter and LBL-33789 preprint of 12/6/93. Reprinted

from Physics Today, July 1995; www.hia.com/hia/pcr/pktheory.html

Henry P. Stapp, Excerpts from “ Theoretical model of a purported empirical violation of the

predictions of quantum theory,” originally published in Physical Review A, Volume 50, Number

1, July 1994. Alethea.ukc.ac.uk/Dept/CPRS/RPKP/Stapp

Victor J. Stenger, “Quantum Quackery,” 17 May 1996 revision, with response from Menas Kafatos

and commentaries by Jack Sarfatti, ww.hia.com/hia/pcr/stenger.html and stenger2.html

Victor J. Stenger, “ESP and Cold Fusion: Parallels in Pseudoscience,”

www.phys.hawaii.edu/vjs/www/cold.txt

Clark M. Thomas, “Relativity beyond Relativity,” home.earthlink.net/~cmthomas/Einstein.html Joseph S. Tomei, “ Towards a Theory of Hyper-Spatial Mechanics,” 1994, www.???????,

sunsite.unc.edu/lunar/hmo.html

Nicholas B. Tufillaro, “Nonlinear Dynamics - Flows in 3-D and Beyond,” cnls-

www.lanl.gov/nbt/nld_speech.html

Donald R. Tveter, “ The Quantum Basis of Intelligence?” 2 April 1996,

Jessica Utts and Brian D. Josephson, “ The Paranormal: the Evidence and its Implications for

Consciousness,” a shortened version of this article was published in the Times Higher Education

Supplement ’s special section on Consciousness linked to the Tucson II Conference “ Toward a

Science of Z consciousness,” April 5, 1996, page v;

www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~bdj10/psi/tucson.psiSteven Weinberg, “Newtonianism and today’s physics,” Metaphysical Review, Vol. 2, No.7, (March

1, 1996): einstein.sr.unh.edu:1905/MetaphysicalReview/archive/Vol2/March_1996.html

Doctor Why’s “Quantum Mystic Physics Theater,” presented by The Physics/Consciousness

Research Group, www.hia.com/hia/pcr/z.html#stenger

Doctor Why, “What’s DAT all about,” 24 May 1996, www.hia.com/hia/pcr/emay.html

Eric T. Lefevre, “Unifying Field Theory based on Riemannian Metrics and Distant Parallelism,”

English translation of A. Einstein, “ Auf die Riemann-Metrik und den Fernparallelismus

gegrundete einheitliche Feldtheorie,” www.lrz-

Documents

Search_for_Spock-libre.pdf