Abstract

Discusses 3 questions facing the field of parapsychology that deal with whether psi exists, the nature of psi, and whether individuals continue to have experiences and engage in mental activity after their brains and bodies have ceased to function. Experimental evidence on each of these questions is reviewed, and the potential for ever obtaining answers is assessed. Issues related to the disputes on these matters between physicalists and transcendentalists are also considered, and a 3-stage program for establishing a commission of inquiry on parapsychological issues is proposed. The 1st stage would be a large-scale screening operation to discover promising Ss, the 2nd would involve training these Ss to perform under stringent laboratory conditions and in front of critical observers and cameras, and the 3rd would call for witnesses from various scientific disciplines to vouch for the results. (12 ref)