The play of humans beyond rationalism: Parapsychology meets Absurdism

-By Parishi Shah

“One must imagine Sisyphus happy”, wrote Albert Camus. We should be happy in the mundane, the absurd and the unknown; yet, what holds us back is our innate fallacy of the senses: the need to seek meaning in everything even when it might not have one. On the other hand, the universe is unempathetic and doesn’t provide us with meanings and explanations—even if it does, it is inexplicable to us humans. This contradiction between the secret nature of the universe and the human desire to create meaning gives birth to the feeling known as absurd. Now, there are certain things we do to shake off this ‘absurd’ feeling: we turn to religion and try to find a purpose through God or put on a mask of self-determination and try to make sense of things through science and logic. This act of trying to understand the unknown gives birth to Parapsychology.

 

What is Parapsychology?

Parapsychology is a branch of psychology that studies phenomena outside the realm of quantifiability and observation. It delves deeper into topics like extrasensory perception (ESP), telepathy, and near-death experiences, which challenge conventional explanations and go beyond the boundaries of science. However, many scientists do not consider parapsychology a science and regard it as a pseudoscience due to its inconsistent findings and problems with methodology.

Yet, for the proponents of parapsychology, investigations into these topics hold the potential to increase our understanding of the human mind and consciousness. Parapsychology challenges the core of knowledge and reality, it is an attempt to reconsider our understanding of the universe, which is labelled ‘rebellion’ in the Philosophy of the Absurd.  

 

Parapsychology meets Absurdism

The notion of telekinesis or telepathy or psychokinesis brings forward the doubt that if all of this were proven to be true, the way we view the world would change completely. Moreover, it would prove that the universe is beyond our understanding and that we humans are out of place in a world where rationality doesn’t exist. For Absurdists, Parapsychology could be the search for certainty in an uncertain world which is healthy according to Camus as this is what leads to a happy life: the acceptance of absurdity and the vying for meaning at the same time.

 

The quest to find meaning in uncertainty

Over the years, parapsychologists have conducted several experiments to explore areas like telekinesis and ESP, the following are some experiments that were conducted:

• The Global Consciousness Project by Roger D. Nelson examines if there is a connection between significant global events—like celebrations, war etc and non-random patterns between random data generated by a worldwide network of Random Number Generators (RNGs). The experiment hypothesizes that intense moments of global emotional response, such as celebrations or tragedies, might lead to detectable changes in randomness which suggests a global consciousness effect. Over the years, there have been over 450 statistical deviances from chance which provides a piece of strong statistical evidence to prove the existence of at least a collective consciousness.

•  Carl Jung’s theory of collective consciousness is referred to in a lot of discussions when it comes to parapsychology. Jung proposed that all human beings share a reservoir of memories and ideas, existing in the unconscious mind which suggests that there is a deeper connection between humans rather than just individualised experiences. This, however, sharply contradicts the belief of absurdism that everyone is alone in this world. In this case, one could argue that the existence or just the notion of a collective consciousness could enhance our understanding of the absurd and the unknown then this would serve as a coping mechanism, allowing people to find comfort in shared experiences. Hence, even if we are isolated in our consciousness, there might exist a part of the psyche that transcends individuality.

These experiments somewhere link absurdism to parapsychology. To understand both better, it is essential to remember that absurdism is a philosophical theory that posits that humans try to make sense of the world through rebellion which gives rise to parapsychology and science. It is our inherent need to find logic and order in chaos which is good but sometimes might also lead to conflict between rational and irrational. The only thing we ought to do in life is revel in and rebel against the order of nature to somewhere find enough meaning for us to live and then eventually die.

In essence, the quest of parapsychologists is similar to that of Sisyphus where they devote their entire lives to work towards something and are still disregarded. This curiosity and hope to give meaning to the absurd is what makes them live while also the understanding that they may never find the complete answers to their questions may be their salvation. Acceptance of the unknown is the key to embracing absurdism and rebellion to learn more is parapsychology

References:

NELSON, R. D. (2018, October 13). The global consciousness project. Journal of International Society of Life Information Science. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/islis/32/2/32_KJ00009468390/_article/-char/ja/

Jung, C. (1970). The theory of psychoanalysis (Vol. 19). Newcomb Livraria Press.

Camus, A. (2013). The myth of Sisyphus. Penguin UK.

 

About the Author 

Parishi Shah, Head of PsyCreative Column

Psychology committee, JDSOLA, NMIMS Mumbai

Parishi Shah is a passionate writer with a deep admiration for Sylvia Plath's works, drawing inspiration from her profound emotional depth and literary style. A second-year psychology student at NMIMS University, Parishi also serves as the head of the PsyCreative Column, where they combine their love for creativity and mental health. Known for her reflective approach to life, she believes in taking one day at a time. Moreover, she believes that a cup of coffee can fix even the gravest of problems!