The Paranormal

Who Believes, Why They Believe, and Why It Matters

By: Erich Goode

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Paperback | 15 April 2012 | Edition Number 1

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335 Pages

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22.86 x 15.24 x 2.54

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Ghosts, psychics, communicating with the dead, UFOs, angels, ESP, astrology: These and other astounding phenomena are accepted as valid by a substantial proportion of the public. Why do so many members of our scientifically sophisticated society believe in assertions that scientists have roundly and almost unanimously rejected? And what does expressing such beliefs mean for the lives of those who do? Unlike many books on the paranormal, which are focused on debunking or verifying such beliefs, this author is interested in explaining paranormal belief as a sociological phenomenon: Who believes, why, and with what consequences?

Industry Reviews

""Goode's unique and outstanding work directs an illuminating sociological beam of light on one of humanity's most fascinating riddles: the paranormal. His integrated analysis provides a straightforward and clear examination of who believes in the paranormal, and why. Such an integrated and significant approach has never been presented before. Goode offers truly fresh insights and a persuasive new perspective. . . . It is the one book you simply must read if you really want to know and understand what the paranormal is all about." --Nachman Ben-Yehuda, professor of sociology and former dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Hebrew University "It's easy enough to make fun of bizarre claims about the paranormal and supposed alternative realities, from UFOs and astrology to ghost hunting and pseudoprophecy. What Erich Goode has done, though, is to examine such claims seriously from the point of view of an experienced sociologist, showing how [such] deviant ideas arise and spread. This highly readable and rewarding book tells us a great deal about the mass media and our educational system, and how contradictory ways of understanding the world coexist so uneasily in a postmodern society." --Philip Jenkins, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of History and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania State University

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Mind, Body, Spirit Psychic Powers & Psychic Phenomena Sociology & Anthropology Sociology Unexplained Phenomena & the Paranormal Ghosts & Poltergeists

Preface And Acknowledgements	p. 9
Introduction	p. 15
Paranormal Beliefs: An Introduction	p. 19
The Popularity of Paranormal Thinking	p. 24
Paranormalism vis-à-vis Scientific Thinking	p. 29
Are Scientists Always Right?	p. 32
Sociologists as Scientists, Sociologists versus Scientists	p. 34
Student Account: Crystal Jiminez	p. 35
Looking at Paranormalism	p. 41
Approaches to Paranormal Beliefs	p. 41
Why Study Paranormalism?	p. 48
Etic versus Ernie, Ontology versus Epistemology	p. 53
Student Account: Nicole Prisco	p. 59
Student Account: Tina Contorno	p. 61
Scientific Thinking	p. 65
Probabilities versus Absolutes	p. 65
Uncommon versus Common Sense	p. 66
Unifomitarianism versus the Exceptional Case	p. 69
Falsifibility	p. 75
Teleology	p. 78
The Paranormalist Replies	p. 82
Student Account: Chris Dlugozima	p. 83
Student Account: Zaira Luz Serrano	p. 87
Paranormal Belief Systems	p. 91
Astrology and Psychic Predictions	p. 97
Astrological Readings	p. 103
Psychic Predictions	p. 106
Was Nostradamus Psychic?	p. 110
The Forer Effect	p. 112
Anonymous Account: Astrology	p. 114
Creationism	p. 117
Why Do Scientists Deny the Genesis Origin Account?	p. 125
Do Scientists Believe in God?	p. 132
Do Evolutionists Believe in God?	p. 133
Epistemology	p. 134
Creationists: A Sociological Portrait	p. 138
Creationists View Evolution	p. 142
Account: Kurt P. Wise: A Geologist Chooses to Believe in the Creation	p. 146
Parapsychology: Belief in Psi	p. 149
Is Psi a Paranormal Phenomenon?	p. 154
Practical Applications of Psi	p. 157
Research on Psi	p. 161
Parapsychology as a Deviant Science	p. 170
Account; Robert A. McConnell: How I Became a Parapsychologist	p. 173
UFOs Are Real	p. 179
A Brief Pre-Roswell History of UFOs	p. 180
Scientists and the Public Look at UFOs	p. 183
Are UFOs Real?	p. 186
Why Alien Craft?	p. 189
The Incident at Roswell	p. 193
Alien Abductions	p. 200
Account: Interview with Steven	p. 203
Institutional Connections	p. 209
Religion and Paranormalism	p. 213
Religious Paranormal Beliefs	p. 216
Paranormalism and Religion: Some Parallels	p. 220
Correlations between Religious and Paranormal Beliefs	p. 225
Student Account: Amanda Bowcock	p. 228
Paranormalism in the Media	p. 233
Are Paranormal Beliefs Influenced by the Media?	p. 237
Paranormalism in Film	p. 240
Supermarket Tabloids, Folklore, and Urban Legends	p. 245
Paranormalism in the Media: A Summary	p. 250
Paranormalism Politics and Social Movements	p. 253
Conspiracy Theories	p. 255
The Paranormal Basis of American Indian Prehistory	p. 264
The Nation of Islam	p. 267
Creationism as a Paranormal Social Movement	p. 270
Why Paranormalism?	p. 283
Changing the Way We Think?	p. 285
Why Do People Believe in Science?	p. 285
Paranormalism as Entertainment	p. 286
Populism	p. 290
Cognitive Biases and Heuristics	p. 293
Compartmentalization	p. 295
Conclusion	p. 302
Student Account: Soona Kim	p. 305
Student Account: Phil Salamacha	p. 306
References	p. 311
Index	p. 325
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

The Paranormal

Who Believes, Why They Believe, and Why It Matters

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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