Overview

Often seen as supernatural, unpredictable, illusory and possibly dangerous, ESP, telepathy, clairvoyance and other parapsychological activities are actually happening all the time and help us make sense of everyday experiences. First Sight provides a new way of understanding such experiences and describes a way of thinking about the unconscious mind that makes it clear that these abilities are not rare and anomalous, but instead are used by all of us all the time, unconsciously and efficiently. Drawing upon a broad array of studies in contemporary psychology, the author integrates a new model for understanding these unusual abilities with the best research in psychology on problems as diverse as memory, perception, personality, creativity and fear. In doing so, he illustrates how the field of parapsychology, which, historically, has been riddled with confusion, skepticism and false claims, can move from the edges of science to its center, where it will offer fascinating new knowledge about unmapped aspects of our nature. The author demonstrates that the new model accounts for accumulated findings very well, and explains previous mysteries, resolves apparent contradictions, and offers clear directions for further study. First Sight also ventures beyond the laboratory to explain such things as why apparent paranormal experiences are so rare, why they need not be feared, and how they can be more intentionally accessed. Further study of this theory is likely to lead to a “technology” of parapsychological processes while drastically revising our conception of the science of the mind toward a new science more humane and more replete with possibility than we have imagined in the past.

Full Product Details

9781442213906

Table of Contents

Reviews

Well-named as he is, Jim Carpenter proves himself a master carpenter of the mind in constructing a provocative new theory that integrates ESP and other psi phenomena into the overall edifice of human consciousness. According to this theory, ESP is not really the Second Sight that common sense has supposed it to be, but indeed is the very earliest information-gathering process of our being, the First Sight upon which all other perceptual and mental processes have become intricately overlaid. The ramifications of the First Sight theory are tremendous, leading to a whole new view of human consciousness and for its serious study by psychologists and parapsychologists alike.--Feather, Sally Rhine

James C. Carpenter has presented a model of the mind that is both innovative and compelling. Psychic abilities, such as telepathy and precognition, fit easily into this model and are seen as not only ubiquitous but adaptive. FirstSight will challengereaders who are skeptical about so-called extra-sensory perception, as well as those who areconvinced of its existence orthose who are simplycurious.Carpenter opens the book with a provocative summary of the assumptions underlying his model, andthose whoread the first page will have troubleputting the book aside until they are finished. Readers may agree with First Sight, or they might disagree with FirstSight, but they will never forget it.--Krippner, Stanley Ph.D

This lengthy book offers a detailed and extensive examination of a new model of how the unconscious mind works, which Carpenter (psychiatry, Univ. of North Carolina) labels First Sight. Carpenter's argument is that abilities like extrasensory perception (ESP), parapsychology, psychokinesis, and paranormal experiences are neither unusual nor rare--in fact, humans use them, without knowing it, all the time. The First Sight model asserts that, first, all people have unlimited parapsychological potential and, second, that parapsychological behaviors and experiences occur unconsciously and purposefully. Carpenter supports these two statements by explaining how unconscious parapsychological activities help us make sense of the world, then covers areas of experience like anticipation, summation, intentionality, and frustration, among others. The book concludes with a presentation of research findings that support Carpenter's theory, as well as suggestions for future directions of research... Recommended for serious readers interested in a scientific theory for parapsychological phenomena that is supported by case studies. Library Journal James C. Carpenter has presented a model of the mind that is both innovative and compelling. Psychic abilities, such as telepathy and precognition, fit easily into this model and are seen as not only ubiquitous but adaptive. First Sight will challenge readers who are skeptical about so-called extra-sensory perception, as well as those who are convinced of its existence or those who are simply curious. Carpenter opens the book with a provocative summary of the assumptions underlying his model, and those who read the first page will have trouble putting the book aside until they are finished. Readers may agree with First Sight, or they might disagree with First Sight, but they will never forget it. -- Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., co-editor Varieties of Anomalous Experience and professor of psychology, Saybrook University Well-named as he is, Jim Carpenter proves himself a master carpenter of the mind in constructing a provocative new theory that integrates ESP and other psi phenomena into the overall edifice of human consciousness. According to this theory, ESP is not really the Second Sight that common sense has supposed it to be, but indeed is the very earliest information-gathering process of our being, the First Sight upon which all other perceptual and mental processes have become intricately overlaid. The ramifications of the First Sight theory are tremendous, leading to a whole new view of human consciousness and for its serious study by psychologists and parapsychologists alike. -- Sally Rhine Feather, Ph.D., executive director emeritus, Rhine Research Center Jim Carpenter has devoted many decades to study psi phenomena in the lab and the psychological clinic. In First Sight he presents his bold integration of psi phenomena and contemporary cognitive, personality, and clinical psychology, and seeks to demystify phenomena that are part and parcel of what being alive is all about. William James wrote more than a century ago that psi influences at times leak into reality and Jim Carpenter provides a model of how these influences may be at the base of all of our psychological life. It has been decades since we had a comprehensive attempt to integrate psi phenomena into psychology and I hope that this tome will be seriously considered by everyone seriously interested in the nature of all mental processes. -- Etzel Cardena, Thorsen Professor, Lund University, co-author of Altering Consciousness and Varieties of Anomalous Experience, past president of the Parapsychological Association, Division 30 of the American Psychological Association, and the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis In this engaging and beautifully crafted book Jim Carpenter shows in remarkable depth and detail how situating the paranormal in the context of other preconscious receptive and expressive processes allows us to understand a host of existing findings in a way that makes excellent psychological sense - a significant theoretical achievement that should command the attention of parapsychologists and mainstream psychologists alike. -- Edward F. Kelly, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia In First Sight, Dr. James Carpenter shows that there is nothing 'para' about paranormal abilities; they are a normal, natural, and vital part of the human endowment on which we continually rely. In this important book, Carpenter has given us a new vision of what it means to be human. Highly recommended. -- Larry Dossey, M.D., author, Reinventing Medicine and The Power Of Premonitions First Sight: ESP and Parapsychology in Everyday Life is written from James Carpenter's unique dual perspective as both a respected research scientist and a practicing psychotherapist. It is an exciting and elegantly written book that simultaneously makes a major theoretical contribution to the science of psychic functioning while providing an accurate, non-technical overview of the field accessible to the interested general reader. -- Daryl J. Bem, professor emeritus of psychology, Cornell University Beyond the sixth sense and before second sight there simmers a more fundamental First Sight. In this radical reframing of the meaning and mechanisms of psychic phenomena, James Carpenter proposes that where the edges of mind and matter meet all distinctions between inner and outer, subjectivity and objectivity, disappear. First Sight reigns in this strange place where everyday reality blurs, and it is here where extrasensory perception and other psychic effects suddenly make a good deal of sense. A refreshingly novel approach to understanding psychic phenomena. -- Dean Radin, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Institute of Noetic Sciences Psychic abilities like ESP are usually treated as great mysteries, either to be desperately and illogically explained away since they don't fit into our predominant materialistic world view, or embraced uncritically as a prop for unexamined personal belief systems. While we still don't have (and perhaps won't ever have) a simple, physicalistic explanation for psychic abilities, we have a lot of psychological data on what effects it and how it fits in with the psychology of our minds. This data has been pretty scattered and unconnected, though, so Carpenter's book is a brilliant integration of what we know. I'm supposed to be an expert on the subject, but I know this book is going to take me in whole new directions! -- Charles T. Tart, professor emeritus of psychology, University of California-Davis and author of The End of Materialism and Altered States of Consciousness

Author Information

James C. Carpenter is a board-certified clinical psychologist and parapsychologist and has been in private practice for more than 30 years. He is currently Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Research Associate at the Rhine Research Center, where he has also served on the board, including two terms as president. Dr. Carpenter has published numerous research articles, book chapters and professional articles in both parapsychology and clinical psychology and has edited the Bulletin of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology. He has lectured in various public venues on topics related to psychotherapy and parapsychology. He served two terms on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology and has also served on the Board of Directors of the Parapsychology Association. In addition, he is a clinical consultant for the Rhine Center, and provides pro bono services for persons who are troubled by ostensive paranormal experiences. Read more about the author and book here.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available