Concept in Definition ABC

The Greek prefix para means al margin of, against or next to. This prefix allows you to form compound words such as paralympic, paramilitary, paramedicine or paranormal. These examples have something in common: the prefix para indicates that the compound word does not express the authenticity something (a paramedic is not a doctor but has a certain relationship with him and a paramilitary is not exactly a military man).

The initial clarification on the prefix for allows us to introduce the term paranormal. Something is considered paranormal when you have a likeness with normal but it is not. In this sense, we speak of paranormal phenomena, which are all those events that are far from the usual and ordinary. Thus, a bright sunrise is a normal phenomenon but a bright green sunrise would be a paranormal phenomenon.

Key aspects of paranormal phenomena

The first particularity is its exceptionality (for example, a picture pretending to represent a group of spaceships flying through space).

Second, paranormal phenomena are presented as inexplicable from the point of view of science (for example, the presence of a spirit in a pebble session).

In most cases these phenomena are disturbing (for example, the knowledge of the thoughts of others through telepathy).

These characteristics make paranormal phenomena are valued within the framework of pseudosciences. While the approach scientist seeks to explain reality through laws and theories that can be demonstrated experimentally, the pseudoscience approach is based on other parameters (mysterious forces, hidden secrets or assumptions riddles).

The concept of paranormal has been changing over time

In ancient times certain mental illnesses were considered as phenomena of possession of the devil and thanks to scientific knowledge the same illnesses are valued as pathologies. This example puts manifest a general idea: everything that does not have an explanation rational and scientific is valued as paranormal.

If we are in Greece in the time before the philosophy, the knowledge of reality was based on mythological explanations. The Greek myths allowed us to explain the phenomena of nature and this vision of the world is currently magical and without foundation. In other words, what was once a normal explanation is now regarded as a story paranormal.

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