Parapsychology
Parapsychology is the study of mental awareness
or influence of external objects without interaction from known
physical means. Most objects of study fall within the realm
of "mind-to-mind" influence (such as extra-sensory perception,
folie a deux and telepathy), "mind-to-environment" influence
(such as psychokinesis) and "environment-to-mind" (such as hauntings).
Collectively, these abilities are often referred to as "psionics".
Another definition of parapsychology is the scientific study
of paranormal phenomena.
The scientific validity of parapsychology research is a matter
of frequent dispute and criticism. It is widely regarded as
a pseudoscience, but, obviously, supporters of parapsychology
reject this term.
A number of academic institutions now conduct research on the
topic employing the scientific method, and the field of psi
research is not without high level support, with a number of
eminent scientists being of the belief that the field is worthy
of analysis.
People differ in their attitudes towards the paranormal. At
one end is the devout believer who will not consider any counter
arguments or evidence. At the other end is the aggressive sceptic
who dismisses or seeks to debunk any apparent evidence for the
paranormal.
Somewhere between these two extremes is the open-minded inquirer
who has no particular axe to grind and is willing to consider
the evidence on its own merits. Parapsychological research operates
somewhere in this open-minded middle ground, although (adopting
Occam's razor) the burden of proof always lies with those who
would make paranormal claims.