Extra-Sensory Perception: Part I. General Introduction: Chapter 1. Clarification of the Problem

To designate these branches by acceptable names we will have to wait for more agreement on the outline and this must await agreement as to observation of the facts. Tentatively, however, it seems reasonable to accept some terminology less confused and ambiguous than we are now accustomed to. The German usage of "parapsychology" for the general field seems a little more generally appropriate than the others, if we do not use the prefix as implying that psychical research is outside the field of psychology—but simply that it is "beside" psychology in the older and narrower conception. But the German usage of "paraphysical" for the "physical" and "paraphysiological" for the "physiological" phenomena of Psychical Research are, I think, not at all consistent with this use of "parapsychology". They have no reference to the essentially "psychical" characteristic of all such phenomena. (We could as well call the psycho-physical phenomena of psychology "physical" instead of "psycho-physical".) Rather, I think, should we use a term that clearly implies the fact of their being first of all parapsychological phenomena and indicate by adding to this term whatever other branch is involved. With this in view I propose to use the expressions "parapsycho-physical", "parapsycho-physiological", "parapsycho-pathological" for these branches and to add on the same principle any others that are necessary. The "parapsycho—" indicates the general connection with the field of parapsychology and the rest specifies the other field jointly concerned. The "psycho" portion of every term used recalls constantly the connection with psychology, the fact that a phenomenon of personality is being dealt with. For the more purely and simply "mental" phenomena of the field, the adjective "para-psychical" is sufficiently distinguishing; quite as much so, indeed, as it is to say "psychical" for the less "physical" (i.e., less "psycho-physical") of the phenomena of present academic psychology. The viewpoint is that all the phenomena of the field are "psychical" in some degree. When there is another scientific field very obviously involved by the apparent

Subdivision on basis of fields involved, judged by type of laws "evaded".

If it is remembered that we are merely dividing up a field of problems on the basis of reports of indeterminate value, and not a field of known facts or laws, the natural hesitation of many readers to accept such a working scheme will, I think, be much lessened. At least, this outline gives some system to the reported occurrences and enables us to hold them in mind as a whole, as the careful worker in the field needs to do. And it gives this simply on the basis of the two general lines of reference most characteristic. Such a general view of the field is essential, I believe, to

Nor may we stop here. Physics has to give answer to several questions that an understanding of this process requires that we ask. Is the E.S.P. function an energetic process, as is sensory perception? If not,

Yet need we stop short of philosophy? Certainly the general biology and evolutionary history, social implications, and general cosmology of E.S.P. are in line for being ransacked in the pursuit of interesting co-relationships. Anthropology and comparative religion have suggestive facts, possibly of considerable interest, if not of value. To say where the study of the problem will or will not eventually lead us to would be to anticipate rashly the results of a life-time's research.

It will next be in order to survey the historical background for the special area we are engaged in investigating, the corporeal parapsychical; of this, only the experimental work will be dealt with at any length, since to do this very fully would be to fill a volume in itself. The objectives in the literature survey are, first, to draw before the reader at the start some of the better evidence for E.S.P., along with the criticisms, and some of the failures, in order to permit a tentative solution of the first problem; does E.S.P occur? The second objective of this survey is to sift out the points of value in past work that will help in solving the second problem of our special branch; what is the real principle underlying E.S.P.? At the close of the survey there will be reviewed the hypotheses that have been offered in explanation of E.S.P. phenomena.

It is the task of the investigation, after contributing independent proof of E.S.P. as a primary objective and justifying an interest in the problem of its nature, to go on to discriminate between the different hypotheses by testing them, and to add to the general factual accumulation that permits a logical evaluation of them and final choice among them. In a general way we have gone through this work along those lines. And it makes some definitely progressive steps, too, toward the second problem's solution,