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THE PARAPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION BECOMES AFFILIATED WITH THE
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.
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SG1E
Parapsychology is now e Recognized Science, How it was done.
Newark College of Engineering
by: E. Douglas Dean
CPYRGHT
In 1957 che British end in 1958 the American Medical Association voted
to make hypnosis research a respectable field of science. Hypnosis has made
great advances since then. For a decade and even longer the parapsychologists
have yearmed for their field to become legitimate; then they would not be made
co feet loss of self-respect, or forced to lose their University positions IE
they contributed to gaining knowledge in parapsychology. So little is known
definitively of human nature and personality and some scientists felt that A
study of purapsychology could help our understanding so that they were will-
ing to suffer censure and accusations of froudulence from their colleagues,
until auch time as opinion changed. That there is starting hare, now, in the
U.S.A .
In 1957 the Parapsychological Association was formed with members from
all over the world: this was a first step in creating professionalim in the
parapsychological area. The Medical Associations are not the correct authori-
dies from whom to seek recognition; rather chio falls to the Associations for
the Advancement of Science (AAAS in the U. S. A. ). The AAAS has about 300 affil-
inted societies composed of all the scientific, medical and engineering socie-
ties in the U. S. The delegates, numbering about 530, make up the Council of
the AAAS which votes Constitution changes and additions to society affiliations.
After the P. A. had been going the minimum five years in 1983, Dr. Carroll
Nash, President, made the first attempt to affiliate vich the AAAS but it was
rejected. In 1966 Dean promised to try again and wos elected P.A. President.
His 1967 attempt passed the first hurdle which was recommendation by the AAAS
Committee on Affiliation in November. It contained the statement that the
Committee wished to encourage scientific research in parapsychology but not to
way that ESP was thereby proven.
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CPYRGHT
- 2 ..
However the second hurdle is the Board of Directors of the AAAS on
December 26, and here some VIP scientists considered it preposterous that
parapsychology be regarded as scientific. So they did not put the affili-
ation of the P.A. to the third hurdle -- the AAAS Council vote on December 30.
A storm of controversy produced a metion by Council that the matter must be
brought to a vote, yes or no, in 1968. The Council also abolished the AAAS
Committee on Affiliations, officially and actually for other reasons, Things
looked dark for the P.A.'s chances.
Non-Bokentific people find this action
of scientists very hard to understand.
Yet in 1968, Six Alistair Hardy,
President of the S. P.R., and Fellow of the Royal Society (mainly a society
of Nobel prize-winning scientists in England) stated that perhaps 12 of his
100 F.R. S. colleagues believed in ESP; 88 did not accept ESP's existence.
In 1968 Dean became Secretary of the P.A. and submitted another appli-
cation, this time to the AAAS Committee on Council Affairs. The AAAS Presi-
dent, Dr. Walter Orr Roberts, was favorable to our cause and spoke for us
on the committee. Yet he was overridden and the application was voted down
at the first hurdle. Not only that but the criteria for affiliation were to
be vewritten for future years, officially for other reasons.
Things looked
very dark for P.A. affiliation.
In 1969 Dean was elected to P. A. Council on a tie vote with Dr. John
Beloff. Beloff lost on a toss-up. So Dean became Secretary of the P.A.
again.
He decided to lay low and not submit in 1969; this was in hope that
by removing the pressure the criteria for affiliation would not be changed
too adversely for 1970 when the new criteria were to be released. However
Dr R. A. McConnell (Biophysics, Pittsburgh, and first P.A. President) told
Daan that the criteria change was supposed to help the P.A. and that ve
should try again in 1969. This was a kind of zeverse logic but Daen was
only too willing, especially as McConnell knew Dr. A. Spillhaus, AAAS
President-elect, and chairman of the first committee hurdle, was favorable
to us. Dean's decision change was also reverse logic, since a letter came
from the Washington AAAS office to say that even if we submitted in 1969
the committee would most probably table the application pending the new cri-
terie due in 1970. Things looked very dark and rough for the P. A.
Nevertheless the P.A. Council backed up the decision to mount another
application in 1969, the fourth.
These applications are no easy motter.
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CPYRGHT
They cost about $150 each. To each of twelve scientists on the AAAS Com-
mittee is sent about 44 pounds weight of materials.
These are reprints of
the best, most recent parapsychological research papers, copies of the P.A.
Constitution and By-laws, and articles in encyclopaedias. Thanks are due
to P.A. members who sent in dozens of their valuable papers. Very hard-
nosed decisions had to be made on which to include and which to leave out,
as this in itself is a test of scientific acumen.
Dr. McConnell was extra-
ordinarily helpful here.
In addition, about: 20 typewritten pages were included in answer to
reasons why the P.A. wanted affiliation, whether the P.A. satisfied six
procedural matters, and seven points concerning the criteria of affiliation.
Results of a poll of P.A. members Dean conducted were included to show that
about two-thirds of those replying were AAAS members and nine P.A. members
were also AAAS Fellows. The membership list showed that two-thirds had a
Ph.D. degree. A list of about 50 master's and Ph. D. theses at Universities
around the world showed that degrees had been given (by some top-flight
Universities) for research in parapsychology. Dr. R. Van de Castle (1970
P.A .. President) was very helpful here. A list of recent notices of Symposia
on Parapsychology, given at the New York Academy of Science, New York Uni-
versity, MIT, UCLA, A. Psychological Assa., A. Psychiatric Assn., and ASPR,
was also presented.
The 20-pages were exquisitely typed and flawlessly Xeroxed with the
Xoxox repair man present to ensure it so. Then they were separated into
transparent plastic folders. Dean had to disappear from life for three weeks
to get this done each year. It is human to err, and on the 1969 one he was
completing the packets with one hour to go before the Post Office closed;
suddenly he realized he had Xeroxed the wrong article, leaving it out and
submitting two of another. So he raced across town to the Xerox machine be-
fore it closed, and then to che Post Office with five minutes to spare to
bargain for another hour which was granted to meet the deadline.
The application was considered by the first committee in the second
half of November. Dean could not find out until mid-December that it had
passed. The P.A. application was then on the agenda of the AAAS Council
meeting sent to delegates as Item 7. But there was a mistake. Only four
P. A. members were listed as AAAS Fellows, not nine. So Dean went up to the
MAAS Annual Convention, held this year in Boston, and sought out Dr. Roberts
just after he came off a TV show, He agreed to have the typing mistake
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changed and gave the good news that the Board of Directors on December 26
had passed the P.A application. So now there remained the vote of AAAS
Council on December 30, when a strange event occurred on the 29th. Dean
is & addict of Polynesian restaurants and goss in to admire the South Sea
Island decor, hear the Hawaiian music, and order ten aud fortune cookies.
He must have eaten 300 such cookies over the years and read the fortunos.
On the 29th, in the KONTIKI, at 7 p.m. , he was given the fortune "SUCCESS
WILL COME TO YOU SOON," Did soon mean just 17 hours?
The AAAS Council meeting was held in the Statler-Hilton ballroom which
was so vast that an Observer's Gallery was roped off at the back.
Thus Dean
could get a first-hand account of what happened. The Chairman should have
been Dr. Spillhaus but he could not be present. Neither could Dr. Roberts,
Bo it fell to the 1969 AAAS President, Dr. Bentley Glass. About 12 noon
Dr. Glass brought up Item 7 on the agenda -- the application of the American
Orthopsychiatric Association and the Parapsychological Association for
affiliation. Dr. Glass: "I will put each organization separately to a vote.
The A. Orothopsychiatric Assn. do I hear a motion? Yes. Second? Yes. Any
discussion?
Silence. All those in favor of the motion say Aye? Aye. Against?
Silence.
The motion is passed by voice vote. '
"Now the Parapsychological Association. Do I hear a motion? Silence.
(Dean cringed, since he had tried to arrange a friend but could not and per-
haps it was as well. The next ten seconds were interminable. )
Then a soft
voice spoke up and said "Yes. ' Dr. Glass: 'Is there a second? Silence. "
(Agaitt Dean nearly died. Do we lose it because there is no second to the
motion?) But after five seconds someone said 'Yes. ' 'Is there any discus-
sion?º Several members tried to get to the microphones. A man whose name
Dean could not hear said: "In our agenda it states that 'the aims of the P.A.
are to advance parapsychology as a science, to disseminate knowledge of the
field, and to integrate the findings with those of other branches of science. '
The so-called phenomena of parapsychology do not exist and it is impossible
to do scientific work in this area, so that we have a null science. I there ..
fore will vote against this motion." A woman member said: "We are not fam-
ilinr with what parapsychology is and so we are not qualified to make a vote
on this association." (This was not quite correct, since Dr. McConnell had
undertaken the huge task of mailing several items of literature describing
parapsychology to all 530 delegates during the fall. )
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CPYRGHT
Dr Glass added: 'The Committee on Council Affairs considered the P.A. 's
work for a very long time. The Committee came to the conclusion that it is an
association investigating controversial or non-existent phenomena; however it
is open in membership to crities and agnostics; and they were satisfied that it
uses spientific methods of enquiry; thus chat investigation can be regarded as
scientific. Further information has come to us that the number of AAAS Fellows
who are also members of the P.A. is not four as on the agenda but nine. : (Even
the typing error was now working in our favor. ) 'Is there any further discussiont'
Dr. Margaret Mead spoke: "For the last ten years we have been arguing
about what constitutes science and scientific method and what societies use it.
We even changed the By-laws about it. The P.A. uses statistics and blinds,
placeboes, double blinds and other standard scientific devices. (Then in a
ringing statement. ) The whole history of scientific advance is full of scien-
tists investigating phenomena that the establishment did not believe were there.
I submit that we vote in favor of this Association's work." Dr. Glass: 'The
question of a vote is raised. Because of the controversial nature of this
motion we should have a show of hands. Please raise your hands those Council
members in favor of the motion?" (Approximately 160-180 hands gauged by the
number of tables and average number of persons seated. ) "Those against ?!
(Approximately 30-35. ) Dr. Glass: 'It seems that the motion is carried.
I£
anyone desires a count of the hands, I will ask for the vote to be repeated?
Silence. The motion is carried. Now to Item 8.
Dean was overcome with emotion and wept. He had got out of a bed of 'flu
to go to Boston.
It was due to those members who had published superlative
research papers.
Now however, many perapsychologists' positions in Universi ..
tles would be strengthened. The P. A. membership would rise as many good
scientists would be able to join now without forfeiting their jobs or their
promotion. Money may be easier too. Advances would come in man's understand-
ing of his mind. It was a kind of intellectual turning point as we entered
the Seventies. We can rejoice for a time, for many of us have yearned for
decades to be regarded as respectable scientists.
Yet we must not let it go to our heads, but hope for better research with
moze emphasis on a theory or model which will predict results. To keep our
perspective may we remember a free translation of T. H. Hurley's dictum: Sit
doun before a little fact end ponder it humbly, and the smaller the fact,
ponder it the longer and more humbly.
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