The Koestler Parapsychology Unit is a research group established in 1985 at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, in Scotland, to teach and conduct research concerning various aspects of

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...

. It hosts the only endowed chair of parapsychology in the UK, established by a bequest following the suicide in 1983 of internationally acclaimed intellectual, writer and journalist

Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler, (, ; ; hu, Kösztler Artúr; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was a Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. In 1931, Koestler join ...

. The first person to hold the chair, beginning in 1985, was Robert L. Morris.

John Beloff John Beloff (19 April 1920 – 1 June 2006) was an English psychology professor at Edinburgh University and parapsychologist. Biography Beloff was born and brought up in London, and was from a Russian Jewish family. His parents were Semion ...

and Joshua Snyder were instrumental in setting it up. The chair is currently held by Professor

Caroline Watt Caroline Watt (born 1962) is a Scottish psychologist and professor of parapsychology. She is the holder of the Koestler Chair of Parapsychology at the University of Edinburgh. She is a past president of the Parapsychological Association. She is ...

. The unit interprets parapsychology events to include in its remit "what’s not psychic but looks like it" and makes no judgement about the mechanisms underlying apparent paranormal events. Its focus is primarily on understanding why people believe they have psi experiences, and on how to improve the scientific rigour of studies. The unit includes the Koestler Parapsychology Library.Koestler parapsychology library
University of Edinburgh School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences. 31 May, 2022.

References

External links

Caroline Watt
interview, ''Brainwaves'', BBC Radio Scotland (2015). (retrieved 18 February 2022). {{Coord, 55.9452, -3.1879, region:GB-SCT, format=dms, display=title Parapsychology University of Edinburgh 1985 establishments in Scotland Research institutes in Edinburgh