Abstract

Argues that despite at least 100 yrs of serious research on paranormal phenomena, all the evidence to date suggests that the phenomena are too anarchic to be brought under some acceptable scientific and philosophical rubric. Parapsychology is seen as spanning 3 types of evidence: (1) data from the parapsychological laboratory to which the same rules apply as any other experimental science, (2) records of past experiments and investigations to which the same rules apply as for historical evidence in general, and (3) reports of spontaneous cases by living individuals which can be dealt with in much the same way as with legal evidence. It is asserted that what constitutes good evidence in psychical research is not in principle different from good evidence in any other field of inquiry.