Description
Book SynopsisOften seen as supernatural, unpredictable, illusory and possibly dangerous, ESP, telepathy, clairvoyance and other parapsychological activities are actually happening all the time and help us make sense of everyday experiences. First Sight provides a new way of understanding such experiences and describes a way of thinking about the unconscious mind that makes it clear that these abilities are not rare and anomalous, but instead are used by all of us all the time, unconsciously and efficiently.Drawing upon a broad array of studies in contemporary psychology, the author integrates a new model for understanding these unusual abilities with the best research in psychology on problems as diverse as memory, perception, personality, creativity and fear. In doing so, he illustrates how the field of parapsychology, which, historically, has been riddled with confusion, skepticism and false claims, can move from the edges of science to its center, where it will offer fascinating new knowledge ab
Trade Review"In First Sight, Dr. James Carpenter shows that there is nothing 'para' about paranormal abilities; they are a normal, natural, and vital part of the human endowment on which we continually rely. In this important book, Carpenter has given us a new vision of what it means to be human. Highly recommended." -- Larry Dossey, M.D., author, Reinventing Medicine and The Power Of Premonitions
“First Sight: ESP and Parapsychology in Everyday Life is written from James Carpenter’s unique dual perspective as both a respected research scientist and a practicing psychotherapist. It is an exciting and elegantly written book that simultaneously makes a major theoretical contribution to the science of psychic functioning while providing an accurate, non-technical overview of the field accessible to the interested general reader.” -- Daryl J. Bem, professor emeritus of psychology, Cornell University
“Beyond the sixth sense and before second sight there simmers a more fundamental First Sight. In this radical reframing of the meaning and mechanisms of psychic phenomena, James Carpenter proposes that where the edges of mind and matter meet all distinctions between inner and outer, subjectivity and objectivity, disappear. First Sight reigns in this strange place where everyday reality blurs, and it is here where extrasensory perception and other psychic effects suddenly make a good deal of sense. A refreshingly novel approach to understanding psychic phenomena.” -- Dean Radin, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Institute of Noetic Sciences
"Psychic abilities like ESP are usually treated as great mysteries, either to be desperately and illogically explained away since they don't fit into our predominant materialistic world view, or embraced uncritically as a prop for unexamined personal belief systems. While we still don't have (and perhaps won't ever have) a simple, physicalistic explanation for psychic abilities, we have a lot of psychological data on what effects it and how it fits in with the psychology of our minds. This data has been pretty scattered and unconnected, though, so Carpenter's book is a brilliant integration of what we know. I'm supposed to be an expert on the subject, but I know this book is going to take me in whole new directions!" -- Charles T. Tart, professor emeritus of psychology, University of California, Davis
This book is an extremely stimulating alternative to current models of explanation for paranormal phenomena represent, and the book also offers a wide-ranging. . .overview of selected fields of experimental parapsychological research of the last half century. This alone makes it already a worthwhile purchase that should be in every bookcase a parapsychological interested reader. * Zeitschrift für Anomalistik *
First Sight: ESP and Parapsychology in Daily Life makes an enormous contribution to parapsychology—and an even greater contribution to psychology. It belongs in every medical and psychology library. I would love to use this book as a text in a graduate psychology course. Research ideas and hypotheses jump from the pages. . . . Carpenter’s First Sight is an intellectual tour de force that deserves a place in the pantheon of groundbreaking scientific works. * Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing *
Scientifically minded readers will quickly gravitate to First Sight. Carpenter's thorough and technical analysis on a paradoxical topic sheds refreshing enlightenment not only in the field of parapsychology, but also a clearer understanding of the psychic experience in our daily lives. * San Francisco Book Review *
First Sight surely has a place in the future of parapsychology. . . .[I]t is always impressive, and often intriguing, putting it in a league of its own, but hinting at the possibility that only the more serious and able-bodied academics will take it on. First Sight is handsomely presented; the editing and proof-reading is exceptional, leaving a lot to be desired in other textbooks of the same calibre. It is a top-quality book in more ways than one, and a must for any serious parapsychologist. * Australian Journal of Parapsychology *
Table of ContentsPreface Section I: A Point of View 1: A New Conception Guided by Two Analogies 2: A Model and a Theory of Psi Section II: Elaborations of the Model and the Theory 3: A Model of the Mind and of the Place of Psi in Mental Functioning 4: Psi and Consciousness 5: The Vicissitudes of the Extrasensory: To Be Known or Not to Be Known 59 6: Some Implicit Assumptions That Need to Be Changed 7: Psychokinesis: First Sight and First Act 8: Precursors of the Model 9: A Reiteration of Essential Points Section III: Psi and Other Preconscious Processes 10: Psi and Ambiguous or Unconscious Sensory Information 11: Psi and Memory: Are the Processes Similar? 12: Psi and Memory: How Do They Affect One Another? 13: Psi and Creativity Section IV: First Sight and Other Research Findings 14: Fear and Psi 15: Extraversion and Psi 16: Other Individual and Situational Factors 17: Two Vexing Problems: Experimenter Effects and Decline Effects Section V: First Sight beyond the Laboratory 18: Ordinary Nonpsychic Experience 19: The More Psychic Person 20: First Sight and Personal Exploration of Psi 21: First Sight in the Consulting Room Section VI: Prospects for Parapsychology 22: Recent Research Pertinent to First Sight 23: Applications of First Sight 24: Suggested Directions for Future Research 25: First Sight, Parapsychology, and Other Branches of Science 26: Psi and a New Science of the Mind Acknowledgments References Index About the Author
