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Abstract

Abstract – A large dataset of US and Canadian eyewitness reports concerning a putative North American hominoid is examined in order to ascertain response patterns. The reports are grouped into five categories: 1) eyewitness data, 2) ecological data, 3) ethological data, 4) morphological data, and 5) ichnological data. There are 36 (out of 78) reported hominoid characteristics that are statistically significant “standouts” (the modal percentages of reports identifying these characteristics are significantly higher than the percentages identifying other characteristics), indicating a reasonable degree of convergence across witnesses. Certain features of the reports are suggestive of morphology and behavior found in apes, such as witness avoidance and flight behaviors. Modelling the cumulative species description curve for the ape superfamily (Hominoidea) suggests that from one to three additional species are likely to be described over the next 49 to 113 years, indicating potential room in the inventory for novel hominoid taxa. The possibility that patterns among reports might be due to some kind of “stereotype activation” distorting sensory interpretation and/or memory is considered in detail.

Keywords: Bigfoot – cryptozoology – eyewitness reports – hominology – hominoid – Sasquatch

Abstract

Abstract – This two-part essay illuminates the difficult relationship between astrology and science from different perspectives. While the first part provides a historical review of developments in the 20th century in German-speaking countries, the second part (in the next issue) concerns theoretical and methodological considerations for empirical investigations of the validity of astrology. During the 20th century, astrology in the German-speaking world was influenced by a few people who pursued a special quest for connectivity with scientific findings and models as well as a natural philosophical foundation. The astrologer Thomas Ring developed an elaborate “astrological anthropology”, the “revised astrology”, which claimed to be compatible to other scientific disciplines like biology and psychology. Hans Bender, who was willing to carry out experiments in order to test astrology, became an interested counterpart to Ring. This openness to scientific scrutiny combined with the desire to replace old concepts based on magical-analogical thinking with concepts more compatible with scientific models, met the criticism of several astrologers in the 1990s. The critics found the psychological-scientific aspiration represented too restrictive. This led, besides general socio-cultural developments, to a change in the “astrology scene”, which is described, among other things, on the basis of some expert interviews at the end of the first part.

Keywords: astrology – experimental investigation of astrology – magic thinking – revised astrology – science – Thomas Ring – psychologization of astrology

Abstract

Abstract – The article summarizes the main findings of a historical-sociological study, which was devoted to the question of the political and social handling of “paranormal” or “occult” knowledge, experiences and practices in German Democratic Republic (GDR). The “scientific world view” derived from Marxism-Leninism and propagated in the GDR was essentially a scientistic conception of science. Against this background, all occult or paranormal topics were rigorously rejected in the public discourse of the GDR. The clear direction of the public discourse was accompanied by an institutionally supported struggle against everything “irrational”. These discursive and institutional measures had a considerable impact on the GDR population. Towards the end of the GDR, only a few people were still secretly dealing with relevant topics. Overall, the findings show a largely successful marginalisation of deviant practices and belief systems in a society with a very strict order of social reality.

Keywords: German Democratic Republic (GDR) – Socialism – Scientism – Superstition – Occultism – Parapsychology – Discourse analysis

Abstract

Abstract – There exist fascinating reports about near-death experiences (NDEs), and surveys have shown that these experiences are not very rare. However, especially in the German-speaking countries, there are only a few surveys in which the so-called NDE scale was used, a questionnaire specifically designed for the investigation of NDEs. Our article closes this gap and presents the results of an online survey that was conducted in 2015. We found that our sample hardly differs from other samples in terms of content, intensity and depth of the NDEs, as well as in terms of demographic characteristics of those who experienced them – even in international comparison. In addition to the standardized answers, we analyzed free-text descriptions of the participants with regard to the variability of the content and the biographical aftereffects of NDEs. We found that NDEs represent drastic and impactful experiences in the lives of those affected. However, the descriptions also show that these experiences are not always related to dying, but often occur under more harmless circumstances. Remarkably, the intensity, depth and aftereffects of the experiences remain unaffected by the differences in these circumstances.

Keywords: Near-Death experience (NDE) – survey – NDE scale – aftereffects of NDEs

Abstract

Abstract – Around 600 B. C. E. a new epoch begins in the history of the Greeks: (1) Social and political tensions lead to social innovations; (2) the mythical world view is corrected by the emerging philosophy of nature; (3) the impersonal epic is replaced by lyrical poetry (i. e. freedom of thought and feeling). The priests in Delphi, as advisors in all situations of life, recognized the need to establish ethical norms as a guideline for action. They commissioned seven outstanding personalities to each present 20 gnomes as practical instructions for daily life. They had the seven catalogues, carved in stone, placed in the pronaos of the temple; the two most important gnomes: “Know thyself” and “Nothing in excess” were placed in large letters on the temple’s architrave. The gnomes answer the two basic questions of ethics: “How should man as a social being act?” and “How must he form himself for this purpose?” The gnomes, in contrast to the Decalogue in the Old Testament, do not contain any religious commandments and no prosecutable prohibitions. In his Sermon on the Mount, the evangelist Matthew set Christian ethics, also with 20 commandments, against pagan ethics; some of these are religious rules or are based on the Jewish tradition. Nine commandments correspond to pagan gnomes (i. e. they are the basic substance of all ethics). The most important difference can be seen in the two main demands: “Know thyself” and “Nothing in excess” in ancient Greek ethics, whereas in Christian ethics it is: “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “Love your enemies”. The pagan demands are realistic and practical; the Christian demands are exaggerated and unrealistic. 

Keywords: gnomes – aphorisms – “know thyself” – “nothing in excess” – number symbolism – Decalogue – oracle – the Ten Commandments – Sermon on the Mount