The Sense of Being Stared at: And Other Aspects of the Extended Mind (Paperback)

However, Sheldrake follows an impeccable scientific approach. The writing in this book is very clear, and the evidence for the reality of the phenomenon is very impressive. The empirical sections of the book are the most persuasive. His theoretical explanations will likely generate the most controversy among those scientists and philosophers who are willing to drop their prejudice and concede the reality of the sense of being stared at.

Sheldrake combines his theory of the 'extended mind' with his idea of morphic fields - regions of influence not currently recognized by mainstream physics, but (it is argued) necessary to explain the growth and regeneration of organisms. Those readers interested in this will want to read Sheldrake's best and most important work, The Presence of the Past.

Where this explanation of ESP in terms of fields may falter is that all of the other fields recognized by physics decline with distance. Parapsychology experiments have demonstrated that ESP is not affected by distance, or by shielding of any sort. Explanations of ESP in terms of electromagnetic fields, for example, have been convincingly falsified by such experiments. Morphic fields, if they exist, must have very different properties from the known fields if they are to explain ESP. Some physicists feel that the non-local quantum mechanical effects that have been corroborated in physics experiments may more plausibly explain ESP. If there is any shortcoming to this book, it is that related profound issues - such as the mind/body problem or the implications of quantum mechanics - are dealt with only briefly. Again, this is not true of Sheldrake's masterwork, The Presence of the Past.

So, readers who wish to delve more deeply into Sheldrake's theories know where to look. Sheldrake is a bold scientist, one who never lets convention or dogma interfere with his explorations.

As Sheldrake writes in the Introduction,

"I believe it is more scientific to explore phenomena we do not understand than to pretend they do not exist. I also believe it is less frightening to recognize that the seventh sense is part of our biological nature, shared with many other animal species, than to treat it as weird or supernatural."

Sheldrake is a daring and imaginative theorist, and his ideas deserve to be taken seriously. This is an important work, well-worth reading.

This book also provides an interesting review of the context in which this issue arises, from anecdotes to mythology. Physical scientists often dismiss stories and history lessons as irrelevant, but I believe that they are essential for understanding the background and motivations for why one would question conventional theories in the first place.

Cross-cultural opinion polls indicate that on occasion the majority of people experience the odd feeling that someone is staring at them. And they're right, not merely paranoid. There are many conventional explanations for such feelings, as Sheldrake describes, but the question remains as to whether those explanations can account for 100% of all such experiences. I am convinced that Sheldrake's approach to investigating this question, and his results, lead to the conclusion that something in the conventional view is missing, and that there is a residue of scientifically valid evidence requiring a new explanation. "The" adequate theory may not be the one that Sheldrake proposes, but it does raise the debate to the level where empirical evidence can be evaluated rather than (as is often done with controversies) rehashing speculations and prejudices from the armchair. And that is why this book is so important.