Extra-Sensory Perception

by Joseph Banks Rhine

By Professor William MacDougall THE work reported in this volume is the first fruit of the policy of naturalization of "psychical research" within the universities. It goes far to justify that policy; to show, first, that a university may provide conditions that will greatly facilitate and promote this most difficult branch of science; secondly, that the university may benefit from such liberal extension of its field of studies. On the former head I will say nothing; it is for the instructed public to judge of the value of this work. On the second head, I may properly testify here that to the best of my judgment, the group of students who have taken part in this work have reaped in a high degree the chief benefits which scientific research has to offer, namely, discipline in careful experiment and observation, and in logical thinking, practice in faithful cooperation, and the gratification of pushing back the bounds of knowledge, in this case in a field of peculiar difficulty and significance. There has been no hysteria, no undue excitement, among this group of students, nor has this work unduly pre-occupied their minds to the detriment of other activities.

Genres: Psychology, Science, Paranormal

279 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

J. B. Rhine was an American botanist who founded scientific research in parapsychology as a branch of psychology, founding the parapsychology lab at Duke University, the Journal of Parapsychology, the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man, and the Parapsychological Association.

Reviews

[Romuald Dzemo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extra-Sensory Perception by Joseph Banks Rhine is a groundbreaking, scientific work that will surprise the world. In a field where there are no absolutes and no certainty, where there has been a lot of speculation, Dr. Rhine comes across as an expert, offering to readers the fruits of long years of research, facts about topics that still appear, to many people, obscure. Readers will gain a lot of understanding into concepts like telepathy and precognition.

I was first attracted to the gorgeous cover of this well-written book, and out of curiosity, I bought it. I don't regret the choice, because the book turned out to be an eye-opener in a subject I have merely read about in sci-fi. In clear and powerful prose, the author demystifies the myths about extra-sensory perception and demonstrates that things like telepathy and perception without the senses are infinitely possible. In fact, it's a skill that can be developed.

What makes this work so compelling is that it comes as a result of a huge number of experiments and research, a work that should be considered a milestone, a surprising breakthrough in an area of science where few people want to experiment. Extra-Sensory Perception is highly informative and readers can be sure it will alter the way they approach perception.

[Andy Kurzweil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the classic study of ESP by J.B. Rhine using the Zener cards (plus, circle, square, star and wavy lines). I found it an interesting read despite all the statistics. Some good discussion of the nature of ESP based on the results. The hard core skeptics won't be convinced, but if you're open to the possibility that ESP exists, I recommend this book.