Paranormal Phenomena and Berkeley's Metaphysics (Psi informatics series) (Paperback)

The central thesis of Berkeley's philosophy is that what we take to be the solid world around us is really a dream in a much bigger mental system. Berkeley called that system 'God', but the author has avoided religious connotations by calling it the 'metamind'. Stated simply and out of context, this thesis may seem to be an absurdity. It is, however, an internally consistent theory. And, when you examine it carefully, you will find that it does not yield the paradoxes that you might, at first, expect it to.

Moreover, there are rigorous philosophical arguments to support it. These are given in the companion volume, Consciousness and Berkeley's Metaphysics. The present book gives a 'guided tour' of Berkeley's metaphysical philosophy. It does not, however, go into details of the arguments for his philosophical position - that was done at some length in the first volume. It also provides a comparison of Berkeley's philosophy with that of the Vedanta in Hinduism. (One of the paradoxes of modern consciousness studies is that the immaterialism of Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism is better known than the home-grown immaterialism of Berkeley.)

Once we accept the basic platform of Berkeley's philosophical scheme, a lot of seemingly chaotic paranormal phenomena start to fall into place. The author leads us through recent research in telecognition (such as remote viewing and telepathy) and telekinesis, and puts forward a theoretical model in which these phenomena can be seen as natural consequences of the basic Berkeleian theory.

Beyond the elementary paranormal phenomena, which are studied in university laboratories, there are many reliable reports of encounters with outlandish beings: angels, fairies, aliens. At first, these seem to defy any rational explanation. Again, however, the author shows that they fall into an coherent framework - provided that we look at them from Berkeley's perspective.

Following on from the pioneering work of Jacques Vallee and John A. Keel, the author accepts that many reports of aliens and other entities reflect genuine experiences. But they do not represent meetings with material beings who have travelled to Earth in nut-and-bolts spacecraft. Where Vallee and Keel left open the big question of what 'universe' these entities come from, the author proposes that they are a product of what Carl Jung called the 'collective unconscious'. Whilst Jung was uncertain of how flying saucers and other manifestations of the collective unconscious could have physical effects such as radar traces and ground marks, the Berkeleian perspective lets us see clearly how autonomous forces in the collective unconscious could generate manifestations that are indistinguishable from regular physical phenomena.

Designated 'strange manifestors' by the author, these entities make sense only within the framework of mental monism that Berkeley established.

The book ends with a discussion of the ethics and practicality of a new era of psychic engineering.