The Koestler Parapsychology Unit and the Study of Consciousness

The KPU was set up in 1985, 'to conduct systematic and responsible research into the capacity attributed to some individuals to interact with their environments by means other than the recognised sensori-motor channels'. If such a capacity exists, then it represents an aspect of mental life that may have profound implications for the nature of mind and of human consciousness. One or more new sets of mechanisms may be responsible, making new aspects of physics or even new means of direct interaction between mind and matter. The research of our Unit involves three main areas: the study of physical factors as they may influence our brains and mental abilities; the study of the psychological experience, including how we interpret such experiences, what conditions are conducive to these experiences, what cognitive processes are involved, and what psychological explanations there may be for such experiences; and the implications of such experiences, for philosophy, for the person and for society as a whole. If we are to evaluate such experiences, we must take into account at least twelve kinds of interpretations of them: co-incidence, inadequate observation, misinterpretation of observation, inadequate storage and retrieval of memories, hidden physical factors, self-deception, deception by others, functional distortion of information processing, biological distortion of information processing, physical factors not well understood, presently unknown natural processes and causation beyond nature. The first ten involve current scientific knowledge; the eleventh involves the kind of new knowledge being generated by parapsychology; and the twelfth involves possible super-natural effects, beyond those that science can investigate. As part of the above, some of our research does include how people form and maintain beliefs, including beliefs that when carried to extremes can be dysfunctional to those involved. In addition to the above, some of our research deals with what appear to be genuine instances of psychic functioning. For instance, we study the ability of one individual to influence the level of arousal or concentration of another person at a distance. We also study the ability of individuals in mild sensory deprivation to be influenced by vivid film material displayed on a remote monitor. Both have produced good positive results in our own research and elsewhere. The latter procedure has produced especially strong results with highly creative participants. These findings, taken together, do indicate that we have abilities to interact with our environments using means well beyond those of conventional physics, biology and psychology. This in turn suggests that, until the full range of mechanisms involved becomes more completely understood, our knowledge of ourselves and of the nature of consciousness will remain very incomplete.