Hypothesis: The electrophysiological basis of evil eye belief
Anthropology of Consciousness 21 (1):47-57 (2010)
| Abstract | The sense of being stared at is the basis of evil eye beliefs, which are regarded as superstitions because the emission of any form of energy from the human eye has been rejected by Western science. However, brainwaves in the 1–40 Hertz, 1–10 microvolt range emitted through the eye can be detected using a high-impedance electrode housed inside electromagnetically insulated goggles. This signal, which the author calls “human ocular extramission,” is physiologically active and has distinct electrophysiological properties from simultaneous brainwave recordings over the forehead. Western science's rejection of evil eye beliefs may be based on an erroneous rejection of a widespread component of human consciousness, the sense of being stared at, which may in turn be based on a real electrophysiological signal. The author proposes a series of future studies designed to determine whether human ocular extramission is the basis of evil eye beliefs | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,672 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesErik D. Reichle, Keith Rayner & Alexander Pollatsek (2003). The E-Z Reader Model of Eye-Movement Control in Reading: Comparisons to Other Models. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 26 (4):445-476.
Ken Wilber (2001). Eye to Eye: The Quest for the New Paradigm. Distributed in the U.S. By Random House.
Sara Vollmer (2000). Two Kinds of Observation: Why Van Fraassen Was Right to Make a Distinction, but Made the Wrong One. Philosophy of Science 67 (3):355-365.
A. M. Weisberger (1999). Suffering Belief: Evil and the Anglo-American Defense of Theism. Peter Lang.
James Rachels (1997). Punishment and Desert. In Hugh LaFollette - (ed.), Ethics in Practice. Basil Blackwell.
Howard Sankey (2004). Scientific Realism and the God's Eye Point of View. Epistemologia 27 (2):211-226.
Wayne S. Murray (2003). The Eye-Movement Engine. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 26 (4):494-495.
Douglas Mesner & Colin A. Ross (2011). Letter to the Editor: A Dialogue Regarding Colin Ross' Article “The Electrophysiological Basis of Evil Eye Belief”. Anthropology of Consciousness 22 (2):103-105.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2010-03-05Total downloads27 ( #45,755 of 549,049 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,185 of 549,049 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
