Jump to content

Charles Honorton: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Goblin Face (talk | contribs)
7,637 edits
Undid revision 600912570 by Ersby (talk) Please read Wikipedia policy. You are deleting reliable references.
Citation bot (talk | contribs)
Bots
5,356,449 edits
Add: newspaper, work. Removed parameters. Some additions/deletions were parameter name changes. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Category:Psychonautics researchers | #UCB_Category 55/59
 
(42 intermediate revisions by 27 users not shown)
Line 2: Line 2:
| name = Charles Henry Honorton
| name = Charles Henry Honorton
| birth_place = [[Deer River, Minnesota]]
| birth_place = [[Deer River, Minnesota]]
| birth_date = February 5, 1946
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1946|02|05|df=y}}
| death_date = November 4, 1992
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1992|11|04|1946|02|05|df=y}}
| death_place =
| occupation = [[parapsychologist]]
| occupation = [[Parapsychologist]]
}}
}}


'''Charles Henry Honorton''' (February 5, 1946 - November 4, 1992) was an American [[Parapsychology|parapsychologist]] and was one of the leaders of a collegial group of researchers who were determined to apply established scientific research methods to the examination of what they called "anomalous information transfer" ([[extrasensory perception]]) and other phenomena associated with the "mind/body problem"--the idea that mind might, at least in some respects, have a physical existence independent of the body.<ref name="obit">{{cite news|author = Emily Williams Cook|title = Obituary: Charles Honorton|quote = |publisher = The Independent |date = November 19, 1992|url = |accessdate = October 29, 2010}}</ref>
'''Charles Henry Honorton''' (February 5, 1946 – November 4, 1992) was an American [[Parapsychology|parapsychologist]] and was one of the leaders of a collegial group of researchers who were determined to apply established scientific research methods to the examination of what they called "anomalous information transfer" ([[extrasensory perception]]) and other phenomena associated with the "mind/body problem"—the idea that mind might, at least in some respects, have a physical existence independent of the body.<ref name="obit">{{cite news|author = Emily Williams Cook|title = Obituary: Charles Honorton|work = The Independent |date = November 19, 1992}}</ref>


==Biography==
== Biography ==


Over several decades, Honorton conducted many experiments, the most famous and significant of which involved the use of the [[Ganzfeld experiment]] technique for creating a state of sensory deprivation. His hypothesis was that the information "channel," or transfer mechanism, in ESP was "weak" and easily diluted or drowned out by normal sensory input.
Over several decades, Honorton conducted many experiments, the most famous and significant of which involved the use of the [[Ganzfeld experiment]] technique for creating a state of sensory deprivation.<ref>Philip John Tyson, Dai Jones, Jonathan Elcock. (2011). "Psychology in Social Context: Issues and Debates". Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 199-200.</ref> His hypothesis was that the information "channel," or transfer mechanism, in ESP was "weak" and easily diluted or drowned out by normal sensory input.


⚫
Honorton rejected the term [[parapsychology]], instead preferring to approach extra-sensory perception as one would any other area of psychophysics, "for the first time in history, we have begun to forge an empirical approach to one of the most profound and ancient of mysteries, the nature of mind and its relationship to the physical world."<ref name="obit"/>
⚫
A review published by [[Daryl Bem]] and Honorton, "Does Psi Exist? Replicable Evidence for an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer" provides a thorough discussion of the Ganzfeld research, criticisms, refinements and implications. The review was criticized by the scientific community as it was discovered to contain errors.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Does Psi Exist? Lack of Replication of an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer | author=Milton, Wiseman|journal=Psychological Bulletin | year=1999 | volume= 125 | issue= 4 | pages=387–391 | doi=10.1037/0033-2909.125.4.387 | pmid=10414223 | last2=Wiseman | first2=R}}</ref><ref> {{cite journal|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/new_analyses_raise_doubts_about_replicability_of_esp_findings/| title=New Analyses Raise Doubts About Replicability of ESP Findings | author=Scott O. Lilienfeld | journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=November–December 1999}}</ref>


⚫
Honorton was a research fellow at the Institute for Parapsychology in [[Durham, North Carolina]], from 1966 to 1967, a research associate, then senior research associate, then director of Research Division of Parapsychology and Psychophysics at [[Maimonides Medical Center]] in [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]], from 1967 to 1979. After that he became the director of Psychophysical Research Laboratories in the Forrestal Research Center located in Princeton, [[New Jersey]], from 1979 to 1989,<ref>{{cite news|author = John Palmer|title = Why Is Science Spooked by 'psi'?|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = March 8, 1987}}</ref> and from there he moved on to become a researcher at [[Edinburgh University]] from 1991 until his death.<ref>{{cite news|author = Susan Watts|title = The American Association for the Advancement of Science: Magician presents evidence of ESP|work = The Independent|date = February 15, 1993}}</ref>
⚫
Honorton rejected the term [[parapsychology]], instead preferring to approach extra-sensory perception as one would any other area of psychophysics, "for the first time in history, we have begun to forge an empirical approach to one of the most profound and ancient of mysteries, the nature of mind and its relationship to the physical world."<ref name="obit"/>


⚫
In 1971, Felicia Parise, an American psychic, allegedly moved a pill bottle across a kitchen counter by [[psychokinesis]]. Her feats were endorsed by Honorton. Science writer [[Martin Gardner]] wrote Parise had "bamboozled" Honorton by moving the bottle by an invisible thread stretched between her hands.<ref>[[Kendrick Frazier]]. (1991). "The Hundredth Monkey: And Other Paradigms of the Paranormal". Prometheus Books. p. 163. {{ISBN|978-0-87975-655-0}}</ref><ref>[[Gordon Stein]]. (1996). "The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal". Prometheus Books. p. 384. {{ISBN|978-1573920216}} "Felicia Parise thoroughly bamboozled parapsychologist Charles Honorton by using invisible thread stretched between her hands when she pushed a pill bottle across her kitchen counter. Had Honorton known anything about thread magic (books about it are sold in magic supply houses, along with strong thread so fine that it cannot seen in bright daylight) he would have examined Felicia’s hands while the bottle was gliding."</ref>
⚫
Honorton was a research fellow at the Institute for Parapsychology [[Durham]] [[North Carolina]] from 1966–67, a research associate, then senior research associate, then Director of Research Division of Parapsychology and Psychophysics at [[Maimonides Medical Center]] in [[Brooklyn]], [[New York]] from. 1967-79. After that he became the Director Psychophysical Research Laboratories in the Forrestal Research Center located in Princeton, [[New Jersey]] from 1979-89<ref>{{cite news|author = John Palmer|title = Why Is Science Spooked by 'psi'?|quote = |publisher = The Washington Post|date = March 8, 1987|url = |accessdate = October 29, 2010}}</ref> and from there he moved on to become a researcher at [[Edinburgh University]] from 1991 until his death.<ref>{{cite news|author = Susan Watts|title = The American Association for the Advancement of Science: Magician presents evidence of ESP|quote = |publisher = The Independent|date = February 15, 1993|url = |accessdate = October 29, 2010}}</ref>


⚫
A review published by [[Daryl Bem]] and Honorton (posthumously), "Does Psi Exist? Replicable Evidence for an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer"<ref>Bem, D. J., & Honorton, C. (1994). Does psi exist? Replicable evidence for an anomalous process of information transfer. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 4-18.</ref> in 1994 provided a discussion of the pairs evaluation of Ganzfeld research, criticisms, refinements and implications. The review was criticized by [[Richard Wiseman]], [[Terence Hines]], [[Ray Hyman]] among others who identified a number of errors in the piece which cast considerable doubt on the scholarship and conclusions argued.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Does Psi Exist? Lack of Replication of an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer | author=Milton, Wiseman|journal=Psychological Bulletin | year=1999 | volume= 125 | issue= 4 | pages=387–391 | doi=10.1037/0033-2909.125.4.387 | pmid=10414223 | last2=Wiseman | first2=R}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/new_analyses_raise_doubts_about_replicability_of_esp_findings/| title=New Analyses Raise Doubts About Replicability of ESP Findings | author=Scott O. Lilienfeld | journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=November–December 1999}}</ref><ref>[[Terence Hines]]. (2003). "Pseudoscience and the Paranormal". Prometheus Books. p. 138.</ref><ref>[[Ray Hyman]]. "Evaluating Parapsychological Claims" in Robert J. Sternberg, Henry L. Roediger, Diane F. Halpern. (2007). "Critical Thinking in Psychology". Cambridge University Press. pp. 216-231.</ref>
⚫
In 1971, Felicia Parise an American psychic allegedly moved a pill bottle across a kitchen counter by [[psychokinesis]]. Her feats were endorsed by Honorton. Science writer [[Martin Gardner]] wrote Parise had "bamboozled" Honorton by moving the bottle by an invisible thread stretched between her hands.<ref>[[Kendrick Frazier]]. (1991). "The Hundredth Monkey: And Other Paradigms of the Paranormal". Prometheus Books. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-87975-655-0</ref><ref>[[Gordon Stein]]. (1996). "The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal". Prometheus Books. p. 384. ISBN 978-1573920216 "Felicia Parise thoroughly bamboozled parapsychologist Charles Honorton by using invisible thread stretched between her hands when she pushed a pill bottle across her kitchen counter. Had Honorton known anything about thread magic (books about it are sold in magic supply houses, along with strong thread so fine that it cannot seen in bright daylight) he would have examined Felicia’s hands while the bottle was gliding."</ref>


Honorton died in on November 4, 1992 of a heart attack.<ref name="obit"/>
Honorton died in on November 4, 1992, of a heart attack.<ref name="obit"/>


==Reception==
== References ==


⚫
{{reflist}}
Some statisticians argued that the meta-analysis carried out by Honorton that supported an underlying pattern behind parasychological studies was ill-conceived and ignored basic rules of mathematics.<ref name="obit"/><ref>{{cite news|author = John Palmer|title = Pink Noise and Dice|quote = |publisher = The Washington Post|date = March 8, 1987|url = |accessdate = October 29, 2010}}</ref> Bem and Honorton (1994) published a review of studies which concluded [[Psi (parapsychology)|psi]] was operating in the ganzfeld but it was discovered their review contained serious errors.


==Further reading==
According to [[Terence Hines]]:
*[[Paul Kurtz]]. (1985). ''A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology''. Prometheus Books.
*[[Koneru Ramakrishna Rao]]. (1994). ''Charles Honorton and the Impoverished State of Skepticism: Essays on a Parapsychological Pioneer''. McFarland.


⚫
{{Authority control}}
{{quote|There was a serious problem with the Bem and Honorton (1994) review. In 1999 Milton and Wiseman published a critique of that review and an analysis of additional new ganzfeld studies. In their review Bem and Honorton had counted the results of some studies as being statistically significant when they actually were not significant. This error led Bem and Honorton to conclude that the studies they reviewed had shown, overall, that ESP was operating in the ganzfeld situation. Milton and Wiseman then reviewed thirty ganzfeld studies that had been designed to meen the rigorous methodological standards set forth in Hyman and Honorton (1986); these studies showed no effect greater than chance.<ref>[[Terence Hines]]. (2003). "Pseudoscience and the Paranormal". Prometheus Books. p. 138.</ref>}}


Between 1982-1989 Honorton carried out a series of autoganzfeld experiments at his Psychophysical Research Laboratories (PRL). Hyman suspected that a [[Sensory cue|visual cue]] had occurred in the experiments and came to the conclusion the autoganzfeld experiments were flawed because they did not rule out the possibility of [[sensory leakage]].<ref>[[Ray Hyman]]. "Evaluating Parapsychological Claims" in Robert J. Sternberg, Henry L. Roediger, Diane F. Halpern. (2007). "Critical Thinking in Psychology". Cambridge University Press. pp. 216-231.</ref>

==References==
⚫
{{reflist}}

{{Parapsychology}}

⚫
{{Authority control|VIAF=26288714}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME =Honorton, Charles
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = February 5, 1946
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = November 4, 1992
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honorton, Charles}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honorton, Charles}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:1946 births]]
Line 53: Line 39:
[[Category:Duke University faculty]]
[[Category:Duke University faculty]]
[[Category:Academics of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Academics of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Parapsychologists]]
[[Category:Psychonautics researchers]]

Latest revision as of 19:19, 14 September 2023

Charles Henry Honorton
Born(1946-02-05)5 February 1946
Deer River, Minnesota
Died4 November 1992(1992-11-04) (aged 46)
OccupationParapsychologist

Charles Henry Honorton (February 5, 1946 – November 4, 1992) was an American parapsychologist and was one of the leaders of a collegial group of researchers who were determined to apply established scientific research methods to the examination of what they called "anomalous information transfer" (extrasensory perception) and other phenomena associated with the "mind/body problem"—the idea that mind might, at least in some respects, have a physical existence independent of the body.[1]

Biography

[edit]

Over several decades, Honorton conducted many experiments, the most famous and significant of which involved the use of the Ganzfeld experiment technique for creating a state of sensory deprivation.[2] His hypothesis was that the information "channel," or transfer mechanism, in ESP was "weak" and easily diluted or drowned out by normal sensory input.

Honorton rejected the term parapsychology, instead preferring to approach extra-sensory perception as one would any other area of psychophysics, "for the first time in history, we have begun to forge an empirical approach to one of the most profound and ancient of mysteries, the nature of mind and its relationship to the physical world."[1]

Honorton was a research fellow at the Institute for Parapsychology in Durham, North Carolina, from 1966 to 1967, a research associate, then senior research associate, then director of Research Division of Parapsychology and Psychophysics at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, from 1967 to 1979. After that he became the director of Psychophysical Research Laboratories in the Forrestal Research Center located in Princeton, New Jersey, from 1979 to 1989,[3] and from there he moved on to become a researcher at Edinburgh University from 1991 until his death.[4]

In 1971, Felicia Parise, an American psychic, allegedly moved a pill bottle across a kitchen counter by psychokinesis. Her feats were endorsed by Honorton. Science writer Martin Gardner wrote Parise had "bamboozled" Honorton by moving the bottle by an invisible thread stretched between her hands.[5][6]

A review published by Daryl Bem and Honorton (posthumously), "Does Psi Exist? Replicable Evidence for an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer"[7] in 1994 provided a discussion of the pairs evaluation of Ganzfeld research, criticisms, refinements and implications. The review was criticized by Richard Wiseman, Terence Hines, Ray Hyman among others who identified a number of errors in the piece which cast considerable doubt on the scholarship and conclusions argued.[8][9][10][11]

Honorton died in on November 4, 1992, of a heart attack.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Emily Williams Cook (November 19, 1992). "Obituary: Charles Honorton". The Independent.
  2. ^ Philip John Tyson, Dai Jones, Jonathan Elcock. (2011). "Psychology in Social Context: Issues and Debates". Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 199-200.
  3. ^ John Palmer (March 8, 1987). "Why Is Science Spooked by 'psi'?". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ Susan Watts (February 15, 1993). "The American Association for the Advancement of Science: Magician presents evidence of ESP". The Independent.
  5. ^ Kendrick Frazier. (1991). "The Hundredth Monkey: And Other Paradigms of the Paranormal". Prometheus Books. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-87975-655-0
  6. ^ Gordon Stein. (1996). "The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal". Prometheus Books. p. 384. ISBN 978-1573920216 "Felicia Parise thoroughly bamboozled parapsychologist Charles Honorton by using invisible thread stretched between her hands when she pushed a pill bottle across her kitchen counter. Had Honorton known anything about thread magic (books about it are sold in magic supply houses, along with strong thread so fine that it cannot seen in bright daylight) he would have examined Felicia’s hands while the bottle was gliding."
  7. ^ Bem, D. J., & Honorton, C. (1994). Does psi exist? Replicable evidence for an anomalous process of information transfer. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 4-18.
  8. ^ Milton, Wiseman; Wiseman, R (1999). "Does Psi Exist? Lack of Replication of an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer". Psychological Bulletin. 125 (4): 387–391. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.125.4.387. PMID 10414223.
  9. ^ Scott O. Lilienfeld (November–December 1999). "New Analyses Raise Doubts About Replicability of ESP Findings". Skeptical Inquirer.
  10. ^ Terence Hines. (2003). "Pseudoscience and the Paranormal". Prometheus Books. p. 138.
  11. ^ Ray Hyman. "Evaluating Parapsychological Claims" in Robert J. Sternberg, Henry L. Roediger, Diane F. Halpern. (2007). "Critical Thinking in Psychology". Cambridge University Press. pp. 216-231.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Paul Kurtz. (1985). A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology. Prometheus Books.
  • Koneru Ramakrishna Rao. (1994). Charles Honorton and the Impoverished State of Skepticism: Essays on a Parapsychological Pioneer. McFarland.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Charles_Honorton&oldid=1175397765"