parapsychology

Study of paranormal phenomena, which are generally subdivided into two types: extrasensory perception (ESP), or the paracognitive; and psychokinesis (PK), telekinesis, or the paraphysical – movement of an object without the use of physical force or energy.

Most research into parapsychology has been experimental. The first Society for Psychical Research was established in London in 1882 by scientists, philosophers, classical scholars, and spiritualists. Despite continued scepticism within the scientific establishment, a chair of parapsychology was established in in 1984 at Edinburgh University, endowed by the Hungarian author Arthur Koestler.