Abstract

Discusses the commonly accepted definitions of psi--ESP and psychokinesis. Problems that arise from these negative definitions--exclusion, preliminarity, boundary conditions, phenomenological consistency, and language coherence--are outlined. It is argued that alternative positive conceptions of psi contain the same implicit models as the negative perspectives. The application of general systems theory to empirical parapsychological data is examined, and experimental data showing no influence on the radioactive source of a Schmidt-like psychokinesis machine are presented. Systems theory shows that psi may still be a learnable ability. An alternative positive definition of psi is proposed. (27 ref)