Customer Reviews

The Trickster and the Paranormal

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone who has studied paranormal phenomena knows how maddening they can be. Whether you're talking about apparitions, UFOs or anything in between, the phenomena have an elusive, always-just-out-of-reach quality. Jacques Vallee and others have suggested that paranormal phenomena may be part of a "control system" - intentionally inexplicable carrots dangled in front of us by Someone or Something to instill a sense of wonder and keep us thinking and evolving. This "trickster" quality of the phenomena themselves is what I had assumed this book would be about, but it's actually much broader in scope.

Be forewarned: This isn't light reading. It's a dense, scholarly 500-page work that will have you confused and ready to give up at various points. It reminds me of "Hamlet's Mill" -- another dense, scholarly work whose meaning and depth aren't fully revealed until you've read it several times. The author states at one point that readers of early drafts complained that the book seemed unfocused and rambling, and I suspect that even the final version will strike most readers as somewhat abstruse. However, even though I've only read it once at this point, I do believe that what the author has to say is extremely important and well worth the effort it will take you to mine his nuggets.

I was vaguely aware of Native American "trickster" lore, but I wasn't aware that there was an entire body of scholarly work surrounding the trickster archetype. The author seems to have not only a solid foundation in parapsychology but also an amazing knowledge and grasp of all of the disciplines relevant to the trickster - anthropology, sociology, psychology, literary criticism or whatever. In a nutshell, he explains how paranormal phenomena fit the trickster model and how approaching the phenomena from this perspective can inform and enrich one's understanding not only of the phenomena themselves but also of society's reactions to them.

For example, with UFOs I might have expected him to discuss how even the best cases don't present any consistent picture of what UFOs "are." They're sort of like nuts-and-bolts spaceships ... but also sort of like holograms ... and ultimately so incomprehensible that you just throw up your hands (or latch onto one particular theory and ignore the vast body of evidence that doesn't fit it). Instead, he explains how the entire UFO phenomenon, from the worst hoaxes to the best cases, fits the trickster model and how the phenomenon's effect on various segments of society (from "true believers" in aliens with magical powers to nuts-and-bolts ufologists to CSICOP debunkers) likewise fits the model.

I hesitate to say more, because I don't feel that after one reading I have a sufficient grasp of everything the author is trying to say. Suffice it to say that I do think this book will repay the effort you put into it. It's not all dry, either - the author's background in parapsychology provides the fodder for quite a bit of interesting information about personalities and events. Just be forewarned that much of the discussion about the trickster and related concepts makes for difficult, jargon-laden reading and will require considerable effort on your part.

The academic world is desperately trying to solve the
problem of self-reference, from Godel's arguments in
mathematics to postmodernism in literary criticism. The
field of parapsychology is filled with frauds and self-
promoters to the point where one is tempted to throw it all
out and concede to the materialists and behaviorists.

George P. Hansen, in _The Trickster and the
Paranormal_, suggests that these problems can be considered
in the light of the trickster figure, that archetype
appearing in cultures all over the world at the
edges of society, resisting definition, and representing
"deceit, disruption, reduced sexual inhibition, magical
practices, boundary crossing, destabilizing structures,
transition, [and] marginality."

He gives us a view of how the trickster has appeared
everywhere from primitive cultures to the contemporary
battle over psi (both sides), with copious, wittily
described examples, and he invites us to find the trickster
archetype elsewhere. (I had not considered the extent to
which Robert Heinlein was a trickster.)

He does not answer the great questions he discusses
(one would be suspicious if he did), but he gives us new
tools to ponder them with. The broad spectrum of areas he
covers makes this the sort of generalist book that can be
nibbled to death by specialist ducks. (For instance, he
uses the nonword "deconstructionism.") Still, this is a
thought-provoking, mind-opening book, one that I recommend
to all.

Despite more than a hundred years of the highest quality scientific research which, to any genuinely rational mind, demonstrates the existence of several kinds of paranormal phenomena (telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition and psychokinesis being the major ones), parapsychology research remains marginalized, rejected and actively persecuted. As a psychologist that tells me there are powerful, irrational forces involved. Hansen's excellent book surveys many of these and is must reading for anyone who really wants to understand this area.
Personally the data in the book depressed me in many ways, for I am one of those who attempts to make scientific sense of this area (even though I know there's much more to the world than that) and it's not cheering to be reminded of these difficulties. But we don't solve problems by pretending they are not there, so I am grateful to Hansen for this authoritative reminder.

This is a comprehensive overview of parapsychology and the paranormal. Scholarly and dense--definitely not light reading--it is nonetheless well thought out and approachable. Hansen's exhaustive research of the field shows clear but strange patterns. The paranormal, or psi, is more than the "hoax or delusion" argument with which skeptics often dismiss it, but not quite as true believers portray it, either. Like light particles in the world of quantum physics, the paranormal seems to change its nature based on who is doing the observing. It is most comfortable working in the world of the outsider, the marginalized and liminal, artists, mischief makers, magicians, the social pariahs and anti-establishment types--and in this, shares many of the characteristics of trickster deities throughout the world.

Because tricksters are so often comfortable in the culture of the shunned, it is almost a given that academia will run from psi as a priest from that which is unclean. Serious and impartial study becomes difficult because to engage in it, academics must overcome rigid social taboos and embrace unconventional thought paradigms. Academia is no more immune from societal pressures and conventional thinking than any other human institution. As Hansen himself states, "The widespread, subtly negative attitude toward fantasy, imagery, and the imagination indirectly acknowledges its power and the need to keep it constrained." There is also the very real danger of becoming so drawn into the subject one loses one's ability to tell fantasy from reality. Loss of objectivity comes in many forms.

I don't think any summary I achieve here could do justice to the amount of researcher Mr. Hansen has laid out in this book, encompassing a multiplicity of disciplines from physics to anthropology, psychology to deconstructionism, lab parapsychology to professional magic. For a meticulous and original view of the field--its history, current trends, and deeper philosophical meaning--The Trickster and the Paranormal cannot be beat.

There are very few books really worth reading on the subject of the paranormal or forteana. When one that is comes along it is an exciting event. Hansen's approach to parnanormal phenomena is interdisciplinary. He ties together anthropology, literary criticism, semiotics, psychology and other disciplines to examine the paranormal. Having worked professionally in parapsychology laboratories for many years, he was able to recognize the limits of a scientific, rational, Aristotelian approach to understanding the paranormal. He never suggests that such research is invalid or meaningless. However, by its nature it is only able to illuminate very limited aspects of the paranormal. By trying together work in a wide variety of disciplines, he illustrates how a constellation of attributes he calls "the trickster" can serve as a unifying principal for understanding these phenomena. The trickster is characterized as deceptive, liminal and anti-structural. It is at work when classifications cannot be clearly defined. This character is essential to understanding the works of Charles Fort, the brilliant philosopher of anti-science and the paranormal. For further reading on the subject of anti-structure & liminality in the paranormal fields I strongly recommend the works of Patrick Harpur, John Keel, & Jacques Vallee who also follow in the footsteps of Fort.

Like other reviewers here, if I could, I would give this book SIX stars. I am both a Native American, familiar with our Trickster stories, and an anthropologist, familiar with Levi-Strauss, Victor Turner, and structural anthropology. The synthesis of anthropology and folklore achieved in this book by Mr. Hansen is amazing and wonderful!

The chapter topics include:
-An Overview of Tricksters from Mythology, Folklore, and Elsewhere
-Ernest Hartmann's Mental Boundaries
-Victor Turner's Concept of Anti-structure
-Mysticism, Holy Madness, and Fools for God
-Shamanism and its Sham
-Michael Winkelman on Magico-religious Practitioners
-Max Weber, Charisma, and the Disenchantment of the World
-Cultural Change and the Paranormal
-Prominent "Psychics"
-Conjurors and the Paranormal
-CSICOP and the Debunkers
-Small Groups and the Paranormal
-Alternative Religions and Psi
-Institutions and the Paranormal
-Anti-structure and the History of Psychical Research
-Unbounded Conditions
-Government Disinformation
-Hoaxes and the Paranormal
-Reflexivity and the Trickster
-Laboratory Research on Psi
-Totemism and the Primitive Mind
-Literary Criticism, Meaning, and the Trickster
-The Imagination
-Paranoia

By its very nature, the paranormal is the area "betwixt-and-between", the grey places, the "neither fish nor fowl"...as the essence of antistructure, it is the place of dreams and frauds, and as soon as you name it, it retreats...it defines boundaries of the acceptable by being unacceptable, of the known by remaining unknown...and try to trap it, it slithers away through the door you forgot to close. If you want to know more about this wonderful book, visit the website for it at http://www.tricksterbook.com ...or better yet BUY IT! Your world will never be the same ;-))

This is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. Hansen takes a novel approach to explaining why psi, whose existence is beyond dispute for anyone who has considered the scientific evidence, continues to be marginalized in our culture and in scientific circles. Hansen applies literary theory, anthropology, ufology, and other fields to develop his thesis. The author is not trying to prove the truth of psi or the supernatural; the book aims to explain why psi is still accorded such low status in our society. It contains a great bibliography as well. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

If you're ready for challenging speculation beyond the usual range of Fortean subjects, this is a great book. Far from a lightweight read like all too many paranormal books, it fearlessly ranges from folklore to dense psychological introspection, semiotics, deconstructionism, structure and anti-structure as they all relate to his central thesis that the Trickster figure of myth is alive and well and still provoking us today whatever his/her guise: Coyote, Hermes, B'rer Rabbit, Carlos Castaneda, hoaxers of every type, you name it they're here. Popular paranormal figures, psychic phenomena, magicians, scholars and legends are brought together. Both ends of the spectrum of credulity are put under the lens, apologists and debunkers alike; most Forteans will rejoice that open-mindedness is celebrated and preconceived notions are sent flying out the window.
The role of this book is not so much to provide answers to why sometimes magic and psychic phenomena "work" and sometimes don't, but rather to encourage the reader to realize that our complex world has in so many ways become narrowed over the centuries by dogma and fear. Literalists find "unexplained" phenomena disturbing and even terrifying, and literalists are found running churches, governments and institutions alike. Our senses, observations and experiences frequently argue against literal interpretations of relatively common phenomena, but it's hard to argue with the righteously rigid without good ammunition.
Tricksters are integral to human society; they've always been with us, challenging us, pushing us to expand our horizons. Some of our tricksters are people and some are myths, some are among us and some are inspiring us every day to keep our minds open and our creativity flowing. Perhaps arguing that humanity "needs" tricksters to keep us on our toes won't get you very far with your local humorless debunker, but it's worth a try. I'm sold.
Also, the notes and references section alone is amazing.

This is an intellectual feast. If you're intelligent, open-minded and curious, then it is a must read. If not, then read it anyways because maybe it will do you some good. I read widely and I can say in all honesty there is no other book that I've seen that even compares to this one. Even if you aren't normally interested in the paranormal, you might be surprised how interesting the subject can be. And if you already are interested in the paranormal, then read this along with Patrick Harpur's Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld.

The Trickster and the Paranormal is a powerhouse of a book, and should be approached with both a sense of respect and a sense of pleasure, for although the book is challenging, it is also a deeply rewarding and very pleasurable read.

Mr. Hanson has a clear writing style and does an excellent job structuring an array of complex and obscure ideas into an enjoyable format. People who have an interest in shamanism, UFOs, and all forms of witchcraft, sorcery, hypnosis and magick will find this book to be a profound treasure trove of insightful information.

The Trickster and the Paranormal is one of those rare magnificent books that, when read and considered upon, opens up the hidden aspects of many other books and topics, and makes known what otherwise might have remained obscure or misunderstood. If you have any interest in the paranormal, this book is a giant key to help you unlock many deeply valuable jewels of wisdom.

If you can at all possible purchase the book in its hardback edition, do it. The paperback version wears out quickly.

Every library should have a copy of this excellent book.