Paranormal phenomena??/?

Question

wanna know more about it..... is it related to metaphysics... if not what is metaphysics.... will someone explain about it... thanks....

Answer 1

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy responsible for the study of existence. It is the foundation of a worldview. It encompasses everything that exists, as well as the nature of existence itself. It says whether the world is real, or merely an illusion. It is a fundamental view of the world around us.

Reality is absolute. It has a specific nature independent of our thoughts or feelings. The world around us is real. It has a specific nature and it must be consistent to that nature. A proper metaphysical worldview must aim to understand reality correctly.

The physical world exists, and every entity has a specific nature. It acts according to that nature. When different entities interact, they do so according to the nature of both. Every action has a cause and an effect. Causality is the means by which change occurs, but the change occurs via a specific nature. Metaphysics is the foundation of philosophy.

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One particular word associated with metaphysics, is ‘metaphysical’,then this is how it is associated with the

world paranorlmal,now related to metaphysical,are;

Meaning and the Problem of Universals,The Divine Intellect (Divine Intelligence),Spiritual Phenomena,(Guardian Angels,

Muse,The Matrix[not the movie],Dreams,Enlightenment,

Bodhisattva, Hope,Imagination,Immortality,Neoplatonic Ethics,Sixth Sense,Spiritual Soul,and the likes,The scope of metaphysics is so profoundly vast, encompassing a seemingly infinite number of areas; it would seem one word is insufficient.

Answer 2

I have googled some materials for u...

paranormal phenomena- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranormal

Metaphysics-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics

Answer 3

Well, its no new age c**p! People used to put telepathy, for example, in the metaphysical domain; but now it is PURE physics. We are even thinking of making devices that will read your mind! You may like to check it out at:

http://harmonicsgalore.blogspot.com/2007...

Do give your comments and suggestions on this.

Answer 4

ghosts, poltergeists, all the things that can't be explained yet such as the bermuda triangle and i think atlantis is inside at the center of it

its a possilbe explantion

Answer 5

Paranormal phenomena is not at all related with physics or metaphysics.

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the nature of reality, being, and the world.  Its name derives from the Greek words μετά (metá) (meaning "after") and φυσικά (physiká) (meaning "those on nature"), "those on nature" referring to those works on nature by Aristotle in antiquity. Metaphysics addresses questions such as:

What is the nature of reality?

What is humankind's place in the universe?

Are colors objective or subjective?

Does the world exist outside the mind?

What is the nature of objects, events, places?

A central branch of metaphysics is ontology, the investigation into what types of things there are in the world and what relations these things bear to one another. The metaphysician also attempts to clarify the notions by which people understand the world, including existence, objecthood, property, space, time, causality, and possibility.

More recently, the term "metaphysics" has also been used more loosely to refer to "subjects that are beyond the physical world". A "metaphysical bookstore", for instance, is not one that sells books on ontology, but rather one that sells books on spirits, faith healing, crystal power, occultism, and other such topics.

Before the development of modern science, scientific questions were addressed as a part of metaphysics known as "natural philosophy"; the term "science" itself meant "knowledge". The Scientific Revolution, however, made natural philosophy an empirical and experimental activity unlike the rest of philosophy, and by the end of the eighteenth century it had begun to be called "science" in order to distinguish it from philosophy. Metaphysics therefore became the philosophical enquiry into subjects beyond the physical world. Natural philosophy and science may still be considered topics of metaphysics, if the definition of "metaphysics" includes empirical explanations.

Answer 6

From what I have seen it's someones special effects and control over us. It does appear there is a spiritual world as well as our physical one. Hopefully one day soon we'll have a better understanding and regular contact. After that possibly immortality or artificial new bodies. That's a scary thought if there was an immortal army created out there of a cloned soldier. Maybe this isn't sci-fi anymore either. You can attach whatever other description you want, it's still a higher knowledge to someone who actually knows about it already.

Answer 7

Paranormal is an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of reported anomalous phenomena. According to the Journal of Parapsychology, the term paranormal describes "any phenomenon that in one or more respects exceeds the limits of what is deemed physically possible according to current scientific assumptions."[1] For this reason, the scientific community often avoids research on the paranormal, believing that it may not conform to the standards required by the scientific method.

Paranormal describes subjects studied under parapsychology, which deals with psychic phenomena like telepathy, extra-sensory perception, psychokinesis, and post-mortem survival studies like reincarnation, ghosts, and hauntings. However, as a broader category, the paranormal sometimes describes subjects outside the scope of parapsychology, including anomalous aspects of UFOs, some creatures that fall under the scope of cryptozoology, purported phenomena surrounding the Bermuda Triangle, and many other non-psychical subjects.[2]

[edit] Etymology

The word paranormal consists of two parts: para and normal. In most definitions of the word paranormal, it is described as anything that is beyond or contrary to what is deemed scientifically possible.[1] The definition implies that the scientific explanation of the world around us is the 'normal' part of the word and 'para' makes up the beyond, contrary, or against part of the meaning.

Para has an Greek and Latin origin. Its most common meaning (the Greek usage) is 'similar to' or 'near to', as in paragraph. In Latin, para means 'against,' 'counter,' 'outside,' or 'beyond'. For example, parapluie in French means 'counter-rain' – an umbrella. It can be construed, then, that the term paranormal is derived from the Latin use of the prefix 'para', meaning 'against, counter, outside or beyond the norm.'

The term paranormal can also be traced back to World War II. It was a term coined and used by paratroopers to describe proper deployment of their canopy on a jump. Immediately after the static line deployed the chute soldiers were to look up and determine whether any lines were tangled, and corrective action needed. A proper deployment indicated "paranormal" status.

[edit] Paranormal research

Approaching paranormal phenomena from a research perspective is often difficult because even when the phenomena are seen as real they may be difficult to explain using existing rules or theory. By definition, paranormal phenomena exist outside of conventional norms, if they exist at all. Skeptics contend that they don't. Despite this challenge, studies on the paranormal are periodically conducted by researchers from various disciplines. Some researchers study just the beliefs in paranormal phenomena regardless of whether the phenomena actually exist.

This section deals with various approaches to the paranormal including those scientific, pseudoscientific, and unscientific. Skeptics feel that supposed scientific approaches are actually pseudoscientific for several reasons which are explored below.

[edit] Anecdotal approach



Charles Fort, 1920. Fort is perhaps the most widely known collector of paranormal stories.An anecdotal approach to the paranormal involves the collection of anecdotal evidence, which is an informal account of something that presumably happened. Anecdotes are often in contrast to empirical evidence, which are types of formal accounts that can be investigated using the scientific method. The anecdotal approach is not a scientific approach to the paranormal because it leaves verification dependent on the credibility of the party presenting the evidence. It is also subject to such logical fallacies as cognitive bias, inductive reasoning, lack of falsifiability, and other fallacies that may prevent the anecdote from having meaningful information to impart. Nevertheless, it is a common approach to paranormal phenomena.

Charles Fort (1874 – 1932) is perhaps the best known collector of paranormal anecdotes. Fort is said to have compiled as many as 40,000 notes on unexplained phenomena, though there were no doubt many more than these. These notes came from what he called "the orthodox conventionality of Science", which were odd events originally printed in respected mainstream scientific journals or newspapers such as Scientific American, The Times, Nature and Science. From these researches Fort wrote seven books, though only four survive. These are: The Book of the Damned (1919), New Lands (1923), Lo! (1931) and Wild Talents (1932); one book was written between New Lands and Lo! but it was abandoned and absorbed into Lo!.

Reported events that he collected include teleportation (a term Fort is generally credited with coining); poltergeist events, falls of frogs, fishes, inorganic materials of an amazing range; crop circles; unaccountable noises and explosions; spontaneous fires; levitation; ball lightning (a term explicitly used by Fort); unidentified flying objects; mysterious appearances and disappearances; giant wheels of light in the oceans; and animals found outside their normal ranges (see phantom cat). He offered many reports of OOPArts, abbreviation for "out of place" artifacts: strange items found in unlikely locations. He also is perhaps the first person to explain strange human appearances and disappearances by the hypothesis of alien abduction, and was an early proponent of the extraterrestrial hypothesis.

Fort is considered by many as the father of modern paranormalism, which is the belief in paranormal phenomena.

[edit] Experimental approach



Participant of a Ganzfeld Experiment which proponents say may show evidence of telepathy.Main article: parapsychology

Experimental investigation of the paranormal is largely conducted in the multidisciplinary field of parapsychology. Although parapsychology has its roots in earlier research, it began using the experimental approach in the 1930s under the direction of J. B. Rhine (1895 – 1980).[3] Rhine popularized the now famous methodology of using card-guessing and dice-rolling experiments in a laboratory to find a statistical validation of extra-sensory perception.[3]

In 1957, the Parapsychological Association was formed as the preeminent society for parapsychologists. In 1969, they became affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. That affiliation, along with a general openness to psychic and occult phenomena in the 1970s, led to a decade of increased parapsychological research.[3] During this time, other notable organizations were also formed, including the Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine (1970), the Institute of Parascience (1971), the Academy of Religion and Psychical Research, the Institute for Noetic Sciences (1973), and the International Kirlian Research Association (1975). Each of these groups performed experiments on paranormal subjects to varying degrees. Parapsychological work was also conducted at the Stanford Research Institute during this time.[3]

With the increase in parapsychological investigation, there came an increase in opposition to both the findings of parapsychologists and the granting of any formal recognition of the field. Criticisms of the field were focused in the founding of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (1976), now called the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and its periodical, Skeptical Inquirer.[3]

As astronomer Carl Sagan put it, 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence', and experimental research into the paranormal continues today. One such experiment is called the Ganzfeld Experiment. The purpose of the Ganzfeld Experiment, like other parapsychological experiments, is to test for statistical anomalies that might suggest the existence of psi, a process indicating psychic phenomena.[4] In the Ganzfeld Experiment, a subject (receiver) is asked to access through psychic means some target. The target is typically a picture or video clip selected randomly from a large pool, which is then viewed in a remote location by another subject (sender). Ganzfeld experiments use audio and visual sensory deprivation to remove any kind of external stimulus that may interfere with the testing or corrupt the test by providing cues to correct targets. A 'hit' refers to a correctly identified target. The expected hit ratio of such a trial is 1 in 4, or 25%. Deviations from this expected ratio might be seen as evidence for psi, although such conclusions are often disputed.[5]

[edit] Participant-observer approach



Ghost hunters taking an EMF reading which proponents say may show evidence of ghosts.While parapsychologists look for quantitative evidence of the paranormal in laboratories, a great number of people immerse themselves in qualitative research through participant-observer approaches to the paranormal. Participant-observer methodologies have overlaps with other essentially qualitative approaches as well, including phenomenological research that seeks largely to describe subjects as they are experienced, rather than to explain them.[6]

Participant-observation is a straightforward technique. It suggest that by immersing onself in the subject being studied, a researcher is presumed to gain understanding of the subject. In paranormal research, a participant-observer study might consist of a researcher visiting a place where alleged paranormal activity is said to occur and recording observations while there. Participation levels may vary. In studying a supposedly haunted location, for example, the researcher may conduct a séance or participate in other activities said to cause paranormal activity.

Criticisms of participant-observation as a data-gathering technique are similar to criticisms of other approaches to the paranormal, but also include an increased threat to the objectivity of the researcher, unsystematic gathering of data, reliance on subjective measurement, and possible observer effects (observation may distort the observed behavior).[7] Specific data gathering methods, such as recording EMF readings at haunted locations have their own criticisms beyond those attributed to the participant-observation approach itself.

The participant-observer approach to the paranormal has gained increased visibility and popularity through reality-based television shows like Ghost Hunters, and the formation of independent ghost hunting groups which advocate immersive research at alleged paranormal locations. One popular website for ghost hunting enthusiasts lists over 300 of these organizations throughout the United States and the United Kingdom.[8]

[edit] Survey approach

While the validity of the existence of paranormal phenomena is controversial and debated passionately by both proponents of the paranormal and by skeptics, surveys are useful in determining the beliefs of people in regards to paranormal phenomena. These opinions, while not constituting scientific evidence for or against, may give an indication of the mindset of a certain portion of the population (at least, among those who answer polls).

One such survey of the beliefs of the general United States population regarding paranormal topics was conducted by the Gallup Organization in 2005.[9] The survey found that 73 percent of those polled believed in at least one of the ten paranormal items presented in the survey.

Items included in the survey were as follows (the percentage of respondents who indicated that they believed in the phenomenon is in parenthesis): Extrasensory perception (41%), haunted houses (37%), ghosts (32%), telepathy (31%), clairvoyance (26%), astrology (25%), communication with the dead (21%), witches (21%), reincarnation (20%), and channeling spiritual entities (9%).

Only one percent of those surveyed believed in all ten items.

The items selected for the survey were chosen because they "require the belief that humans have more than the 'normal' five senses."

Another survey conducted in 2006 by researchers from Australia's Monash University[10] sought to determine what types of phenomena people claim to have experienced and the effects these experiences have had on their lives. The study was conducted as an online survey with over 2,000 respondents from around the world participating. Interim results revealed that around 70% of the respondents believe to have had an unexplained paranormal event that changed their life, mostly in a positive way. About 70% also claimed to have seen, heard, or been touched by an animal or person that they knew was not there; 80% have reported having a premonition, and almost 50% stated they recalled a previous life.[11]

Answer 8

Paranormal is a word typically applied to supposed psychic powers, auras and other New Agey wacko concepts, ghosts, demonic activity and spiritualism. In other words, fictitious c**p.

Why any of that is under Science & Mathematics is a complete mystery. Yahoo Answers was definitely not thinking straight when they organized it that way.

Answer 9

It's all a bunch of new age c**p by people who are afraid or too skeptical to accept the facts of the real world.

Answer 10

Metaphysics: Derived from the Latin word meta which means beyond, metaphysics would literally mean that which is beyond the laws of physics. It is a field of abstract thought and philosophy about topics not on the concrete or physical level of understanding. This includes subjects like existence, the soul, being, the supernatural, astral travel and psychicism.

Therefore, the paranormal CAN be included under the metaphysics terms - BUT the paranormal category itself is made up of many 'subsections'... here on Yahoo! Answers, you may have noticed that the "Alternative" Science Questions/Answers are divided into sections...

Parapsychology - study of psychic abilities and the human mind and superhuman abilities.

Paranormal Phenomena - Ghosts, Aliens, UFOs,  and even mythological/strange creatures such as the Yeti and Lochness monster.

Answer 11

item in the english press recently opining that it was due to electromagnetic fields causing hallucinations;

i am confused by people's distinction between it being real or explained by science;what's the difference?

the greek word 'meta' means outside of physics and they are trying to express the idea whether it is outside of the classical laws of newtonian physics

however,seeing that we know now that at the atomic level the quantum nature of matter means that a particle can be in all possible paths at once,before you meaure and collapse the superposition to determine the position of the particle,we now know the boundaries of metaphysics has been pushed back

see george johnson;'path to the quantum computer' to decide where  the new boundaries are

may i congratulate myself on a beautiful answer;boy,i'm good

Answer 12

The word "paranormal" means "beyond normal explanation". Paranormal phenomena are events - sightings on earth or in the sky or personal observations - that have no conclusive scientific or rational explanation. Almost 40% is true & can be possible even if there is no reasons or suggestions.

Some people have paranormal experiences which they share here. It is somewhat related to metaphysics. "Meta physics" means beyond physics. This maybe it.

Answer 13

Paranormal phenomena is a very large category. Some of it is nonsense.

Some of it is real.

Metaphysics is one of those things commonly grouped under "paranormal" but it is not always synonymous. Metaphysics is sort of like trying to define and discover what the universe is all about on a higher level that people can't see. Alternate dimensions, stuff like that. It differs from spiritualism mainly in the goal -- metaphysics is like an alternative science in how it seeks to learn and discover, spirituality is a sort of personal development.

So paranormal phenomena can be related to metaphysics, but both are ratehr vague terms and are used kind of loosely.