目次

Contents: Introduction; meanings and methods; The development of ideas about the paranormal; The paranormal as a form of social compensation; Excursus: the ’false history’ problem; The paranormal as an aetiological device; Excursus: astrology and the determinants of fortune; The paranormal as mental aberration: near death and out-of-body experiences; Excursus: the reincarnation issue; The paranormal as ethereal hope: the question of survival; Excursus: ambiguity and the psychic; The paranormal and mass hysteria; Excursus: the ’Vailala’ madness in Papua; The paranormal as esoteric cult and media craze: the UFO phenomenon; Excursus: the ’solar temple cult’; The paranormal as a religious surrogate; Excursus: credibility or credulity: a comparative study of beliefs about the paranormal among students in Higher Education; The paranormal as an intellectual pursuit; Excursus: the phenomena of hauntings and apparitions; Postscript: the paranormal and the quest for meaning; Bibliography; Index.