The Paranormal: Research and the Quest for Meaning

ISBN-13: 9781138712942 / Angielski / Miękka / 2018 / 202 str.

Eric Carlton

Opis

This title was first published in 2000:  A manifestation of mass hysteria, a compensation for physical or emotional deprivation, or an alternative to religion? What is the function of the paranormal in society?

Spis treści

Contents: Introduction; meanings and methods; The development of ideas about the paranormal; The paranormal as a form of social compensation; Excursus: the ’false history’ problem; The paranormal as an aetiological device; Excursus: astrology and the determinants of fortune; The paranormal as mental aberration: near death and out-of-body experiences; Excursus: the reincarnation issue; The paranormal as ethereal hope: the question of survival; Excursus: ambiguity and the psychic; The paranormal and mass hysteria; Excursus: the ’Vailala’ madness in Papua; The paranormal as esoteric cult and media craze: the UFO phenomenon; Excursus: the ’solar temple cult’; The paranormal as a religious surrogate; Excursus: credibility or credulity: a comparative study of beliefs about the paranormal among students in Higher Education; The paranormal as an intellectual pursuit; Excursus: the phenomena of hauntings and apparitions; Postscript: the paranormal and the quest for meaning; Bibliography; Index.

O autorze

Eric Carlton