State of Psi knowledge in the Philippines
Parapsychology is the science that deals with the paranormal and psychic phenomena.
But, regrettably, not much progress has been achieved by this science in terms of new discoveries or new knowledge since its acceptance as a member of the scientific community in 1969.
No dramatic revelation has been made since Dr. J. B. Rhine started his pioneering scientifically controlled experiments on ESP in the 1930s. On the contrary, the science has remained as controversial as when it first started.
Some members of the orthodox western scientific community even referred to parapsychology as a “pseudo-science,” which is rather an unfair and biased remark.
Despite this, there are universities in several western countries that offer higher degrees in parapsychology.
Not included
In the Philippines, the situation is worse. There is no school of higher learning that includes parapsychology in its curriculum.
The few times this science was included in an academic setting were in 1982, when I taught a one-semester elective subject on Parapsychology under the Behavioral Science Department of De La Salle University; and in 2004-2006 when I taught New Age Philosophy and Parapsychology under the Department of Philosophy in San Beda College.
After teaching for one semester at De La Salle University, a former seminar participant, Dr. Lane Chua-Garcia, revived the class in Parapsychology at DLSU. But it was discontinued after a few years and the subject became just a part of the course in psychology.
The bias against parapsychology by the scientific and academic communities in the Philippines has remained very strong, despite great interest shown by students of various schools in learning more about this subject.
In the last 25 years, I have been besieged by students from various colleges and universities for interviews on different aspects of extra-sensory perception (ESP) and paranormal phenomena as part of their research projects.
There were times I had to decline interviews and speaking invitations for lack of time.
Serious matter
On the other hand, in the former Soviet Union and her allies in Eastern Europe, parapsychological subjects have always been taken seriously. But the Soviets call the science by different names, such as Psychotronics Research, Bio-energetics, or even Biophysics.
Those who engaged in such research were mostly mathematicians, engineers and physicists, not psychologists or sociologists as one would expect.
Since the interest of Russian and Eastern European scientists was more on the practical application of such powers or phenomena, rather than merely proving they exist, they made much more progress in the field compared to their American and Western counterparts.
Russian parapsychologists have focused their research in finding cures for cancer, increasing the yield of agricultural and dairy products, and even assisting in crime detection.
No qualifier
In the Philippines, nobody qualifies to be called a parapsychologist because there is no school offering an academic degree on this science.But there are several local characters who have proclaimed themselves to be such, but they are not recognized at all by any respectable local or foreign organization.
I myself cannot claim to be a parapsychologist, although I have written more than 15 books on paranormal and psychic phenomena (some of which have been translated into foreign languages) because I do not have a formal degree to show for it. Nevertheless, my works have been cited in several scientific publications all over the world.
One reason for the lack of serious interest in parapsychology in the Philippines is religion. The Philippine population is 80-85 percent Catholic. And a very conservative one at that.
The field studied by parapsychologists have falsely been identified with the evil forces in the minds of the conservative public and even by some members of the clergy. Some of them have the mistaken notion that studying paranormal phenomena would be in conflict with their religious beliefs, which is not the case at all.
Parapsychology is a science and has nothing to do with religion. Like any other science, it seeks only to understand the veracity or validity of a psychic ability or phenomenon and not to change or influence a person’s religious beliefs.
This misunderstanding has led to the avoidance by the academic community of various studies of this field.
This is really unfortunate because the Philippines has a lot to offer in terms of diversity of paranormal and mystical happenings. Most of them have remained unrecorded and unheralded, so people outside the Philippines, and even those living in the country, do not realize our rich paranormal and mystical heritage.
Note: For more information about the next ESP & Intuition Development seminar, please call tel. nos. 8107245 or 8926806, or e-mail the author at innerawareness_2005@yahoo.com.
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=94671
But, regrettably, not much progress has been achieved by this science in terms of new discoveries or new knowledge since its acceptance as a member of the scientific community in 1969.
No dramatic revelation has been made since Dr. J. B. Rhine started his pioneering scientifically controlled experiments on ESP in the 1930s. On the contrary, the science has remained as controversial as when it first started.
Some members of the orthodox western scientific community even referred to parapsychology as a “pseudo-science,” which is rather an unfair and biased remark.
Despite this, there are universities in several western countries that offer higher degrees in parapsychology.
Not included
In the Philippines, the situation is worse. There is no school of higher learning that includes parapsychology in its curriculum.
The few times this science was included in an academic setting were in 1982, when I taught a one-semester elective subject on Parapsychology under the Behavioral Science Department of De La Salle University; and in 2004-2006 when I taught New Age Philosophy and Parapsychology under the Department of Philosophy in San Beda College.
After teaching for one semester at De La Salle University, a former seminar participant, Dr. Lane Chua-Garcia, revived the class in Parapsychology at DLSU. But it was discontinued after a few years and the subject became just a part of the course in psychology.
The bias against parapsychology by the scientific and academic communities in the Philippines has remained very strong, despite great interest shown by students of various schools in learning more about this subject.
In the last 25 years, I have been besieged by students from various colleges and universities for interviews on different aspects of extra-sensory perception (ESP) and paranormal phenomena as part of their research projects.
There were times I had to decline interviews and speaking invitations for lack of time.
Serious matter
On the other hand, in the former Soviet Union and her allies in Eastern Europe, parapsychological subjects have always been taken seriously. But the Soviets call the science by different names, such as Psychotronics Research, Bio-energetics, or even Biophysics.
Those who engaged in such research were mostly mathematicians, engineers and physicists, not psychologists or sociologists as one would expect.
Since the interest of Russian and Eastern European scientists was more on the practical application of such powers or phenomena, rather than merely proving they exist, they made much more progress in the field compared to their American and Western counterparts.
Russian parapsychologists have focused their research in finding cures for cancer, increasing the yield of agricultural and dairy products, and even assisting in crime detection.
No qualifier
In the Philippines, nobody qualifies to be called a parapsychologist because there is no school offering an academic degree on this science.But there are several local characters who have proclaimed themselves to be such, but they are not recognized at all by any respectable local or foreign organization.
I myself cannot claim to be a parapsychologist, although I have written more than 15 books on paranormal and psychic phenomena (some of which have been translated into foreign languages) because I do not have a formal degree to show for it. Nevertheless, my works have been cited in several scientific publications all over the world.
One reason for the lack of serious interest in parapsychology in the Philippines is religion. The Philippine population is 80-85 percent Catholic. And a very conservative one at that.
The field studied by parapsychologists have falsely been identified with the evil forces in the minds of the conservative public and even by some members of the clergy. Some of them have the mistaken notion that studying paranormal phenomena would be in conflict with their religious beliefs, which is not the case at all.
Parapsychology is a science and has nothing to do with religion. Like any other science, it seeks only to understand the veracity or validity of a psychic ability or phenomenon and not to change or influence a person’s religious beliefs.
This misunderstanding has led to the avoidance by the academic community of various studies of this field.
This is really unfortunate because the Philippines has a lot to offer in terms of diversity of paranormal and mystical happenings. Most of them have remained unrecorded and unheralded, so people outside the Philippines, and even those living in the country, do not realize our rich paranormal and mystical heritage.
Note: For more information about the next ESP & Intuition Development seminar, please call tel. nos. 8107245 or 8926806, or e-mail the author at innerawareness_2005@yahoo.com.
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=94671
posted by Misteryo Philippines Network (MPN) at 6:32 AM
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