by Rupert Sheldrake
and Anthony Freeman (Editor)
A special edition of the Journal of Consciousness Studies (JCS Vol 12 No. 6, 2005) in paperback format.
In 1981 Rupert outraged the scientific establishment with his hypothesis of morphic resonance. Subsequently he devoted his research to pioneering science, winning popular acclaim and continued establishment opprobium with a series of ground-breaking works. In this special edition of JCS, Rupert summarises his case for the 'non-visual detection of staring'. His claims are scrutinised by fourteen critics, to whom Rupert then responds. Anthony Freeman, in his editorial introduction, explores the concept of "heresy" in science and in religion and asks why it provokes such hostility.
Editorial Introduction by Anthony Freeman
What Is It Like to Be a Heretic? | PDF
Rupert's Papers From the Journal
Part 1: Is it Real or Illusory? | PDF
Part 2: Its Implications for Theories of Vision | PDF
Response to Commentators | PDF
Contributors' Papers
Anthony P. Atkinson
Staring at the Back Of Someone's Head Is No Signal, And a Sense of Being Stared At Is No Sense
Ian S. Baker
Nomenclature and Methodology
Susan Blackmore
Confusion Worse Confounded
William Braud
The Sense of Being Stared At: Fictional, Physical, Perceptual, or Attentional/Intentional?
Jean E. Burns
Detection of Staring Psi or Statistical Artifact?
R.H.S. Carpenter
Does Scopesthesia Imply Extramission?
Chris Clarke
The Sense of Being Stared At: Its Relevance to the Physics of Consciousness
Ralph Ellis
The Ambiguity of 'In Here/Out There' Talk: In What Sense Is Perception 'Out in the World'?
David Fontana
Rupert Sheldrake and the Staring Effect
Christopher C. French
A Closer Look at Sheldrake's Treatment of Rattee's Data
Dean Radin
The Sense of Being Stared At: A Preliminary Meta-Analysis
Marilyn Schlitz
The Discourse of Controversial Science: The Sceptic-Proponent Debate on Remote Staring
Stefan Schmidt
Comments on Sheldrake's 'The Sense of Being Stared At'
Max Velmans
Are We Out of Our Minds?