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Libra Esoterica

Pseudoscience and the Paranormal

a critical examination of the evidence

by Terence Hines

  • First published:
  • 20th century
  • Language: English

Description

Description from OpenAlex (opens in a new tab)

Popular culture fills the mind with a steady diet of fantasy, from tales of UFO landings and alien abductions, haunted houses, and communication with the dead to claims of miraculous cures by spiritual healers and breakthrough treatments in 'alternative' medicine. The paranormal - and the pseudoscience that attempts to validate it - is so ubiquitous that many people lose sight of the distinction between the real and the imaginary, and some never learn to make the distinction in the first place. In this updated and expanded edition of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal, the most comprehensive and up-to-date work of its kind, psychologist and neuroscientist Terence Hines explores the question of evidence for the paranormal and delves beyond it to one that is even more puzzling: Why do people continue to believe in the reality of the supernatural despite overwhelming evidence that it does not exist? Devoting separate chapters to psychics, life after death, parapsychology, astrology, UFOs, faith healing, alternative medicine, and many other topics, Hines examines the empirical evidence supporting these popular paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. New to this edition are extended sections on psychoanalysis and pseudopsychologies, especially recovered memory therapy, satanic ritual abuse, and facilitated communication. Also included are new chapters on 'alternative' medicine and environmental pseudoscience. Critiquing the whole range of current paranormal claims, this carefully researched, thorough review of pseudoscience and the paranormal in contemporary life shows readers how to carefully evaluate such claims in terms of scientific evidence. This scholarly yet readable volume is an invaluable reference work for students and general readers alike.

Provenance

Why this book is in the catalog

Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Afterlife, reincarnation, and near-death experiences, Astrology, Ghosts, hauntings, and poltergeists, Occultism and esotericism, Parapsychology and psychical research, Spiritualism, mediumship, and channeling, and UFOs, extraterrestrials, and contact.

  • Occultism and esotericism

    Retained metadata contains “supernatural” in the description and “Occultism” in the subject metadata.

    • “supernatural”· in description
    • “Occultism”· in subject
  • Astrology

    Retained metadata contains “Astrology” in the description and “Astrology” in the subject metadata.

    • “Astrology”· in description
    • “Astrology”· in subject
  • Spiritualism, mediumship, and channeling

    Retained metadata contains “Spiritualism” in the subject metadata.

    • “Spiritualism”· in subject
  • Ghosts, hauntings, and poltergeists

    Retained metadata contains “haunted” in the description.

    • “haunted”· in description
  • Afterlife, reincarnation, and near-death experiences

    Retained metadata contains “Life after death” in the description and “afterlife” in the subject metadata.

    • “Life after death”· in description
    • “afterlife”· in subject
  • Parapsychology and psychical research

    Retained metadata contains “Parapsychology” in the description and “Parapsychology” in the subject metadata.

    • “Parapsychology”· in description
    • “Parapsychology”· in subject
  • UFOs, extraterrestrials, and contact

    Controlled discovery queries from harvard and openalex matched “alien abduction” and “unidentified flying objects”. Retained metadata contains “ufo” in the description and “Unidentified flying objects” in the subject metadata.

    • “unidentified flying objects”· via Harvard LibraryCloud
    • “alien abduction”· via OpenAlex
    • “ufo”· in description
    • “Unidentified flying objects”· in subject

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

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Editions

2 editions cataloged here.

a critical examination of the evidence

Harvard LibraryCloud bibliographic record

xii, 372 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 23 cm.

c1988Prometheus BooksEnglish
  • 0879754192
Catalog record

OpenAlex scholarly book record

1988-02-01Japan Society of Medical Entomology and Zoology; Medical Entomology and ZoologyEnglish—Unknown

Subjects

22 subject headings

Identifiers & provenance

How this record was assembled, and the authority identifiers it carries.

Cataloged from

Catalog id
openalex:W560346111
Edition coverage
Multi source partial
Retrieved