Superstition, Magic - and States of
Mind 30
April, 2007 (Monday)- 7.15 for 7.30 pm start Famously, psychologists often take a derogatory view of
magic and superstition, and in doing so regularly theorise themselves into some
awkward intellectual corners. Contemporary academic parapsychological research
offers a refreshing view of the occult from the standpoint of science. It
welcomes the omen, the ritual and the taboo all as possible gadgets… rather
than dismissing them as mere gimmicks. These psychologists actually embrace ‘the
primitive’. Tonight we find out how they look at these matters, and the way
their research works. David Luke has just finished his doctoral thesis at the
Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes at the University of
Northampton, where his also an occasional visiting lecturer. Northampton is currently one of the largest centres for the academic study of
parapsychology anywhere in the world.
Parapsychologists
Investigate
David Luke (University of Northampton)
Treadwells Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden,
London.
£5