PARAPSYCHOLOGY IN THE IBERO-AMERICAN WORLD - BRAZIL

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- 180 The f ournal of Parapsychology
these have not been successful as yet. Since its inception, however,
members of the Society have been very active in organizing numer-
ous educational activities and seminars at different universities. The
seminar offered by the president of the Society, Ramos Perera Mo-
lina, at the Universidad AutOnoma de Madrid in 1975 drew distin-
guished and prominent figures such as Prince Juan Carlos of Spain
and his wife and the minister of education.
Since 1975, the Society has also published a biannual journal,
entitled Psi Comunicacion, which includes English abstracts. The
journal covers both the activities of the Society and a wide range of
topics in parapsychology, some of which have been mentioned. In
addition, their journal includes a section for national and interna-
tional news on parapsychological activities around the world. Mem-
bers of the Society have published several books summarizing its re-
search activities. I have already mentioned the books by Fernandez
Briones (1983). Other books include an anthology, entitled La Nueva
Parapsicologfa: Introducci6n a la Parapsicologia Cient ica [The New
Parapsychology: An Introduction to Scientific Parapsychology] ed-
ited by Fernandez , Briones (1981 a), a valuable introduction to the
field, and Mario Capel's La Supervivencia Despises de la Muerte: Evi-
dencia Espontdnea y Experimental [Survival after Death: Spontaneous
and Experimental Evidence] (1981) reviewing some of the research
and phenomena related to the issue of survival after death.
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...... .~
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cent times, it is important to point out that we are now witnessing a
boom in parapsychological activities in that country. Unfortunately,
even though the Society seems to be the best organized, and to have
the most resources in the Ibero-American world, its members have
not participated in the broader international parapsychological con-
ferences, such as that of the Parapsychological Association, possibly
because of the language barrier. In addition, it is unfortunate and
disheartening to find that such a large, productive, and well-orga-
nized society has no member in the PA.
At the 1990 Parapsychological Association convention, David
Hess, who has made several field trips to study Brazilian parapsy-
chology, presented a paper in which he described Brazilian para-
psychology in the following terms:
Brazil does not have a coherent community of academic parapsycholo-
gists, and there are few if any people in Brazil who research and publish
Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 181
at the standards of the Parapsychological Association. Instead, what is
called "parapsychology" in Brazil is largely defined by rival groups of
Catholic and Spiritist (Kardecist) intellectuals. (Hess, 1990)
To understand parapsychology in Brazil, we need to be familiar
with the cultural milieu from which it has evolved, one that is dom-
inated by Afro-Brazilian cults and Catholicism. On the one hand,
we have the Spiritist tradition that came from France through the
teachings of Allan Kardec; Spiritists believe that spiritual progress is
effected by a series of compulsory reincarnations. They believe that
mediumship provides opportunities to communicate with deceased
individuals. Moreover, Spiritism is strongly influenced in Brazil by
the Afro-Brazilian cults such as Umbanda and Candomble derived
from the?African religions brought to Brazil through the slave trade
(Bastide, 1971; Giesler, 1985).
This spectrum of Spiritist beliefs and Afro-Brazilian religions
has crept in and mixed in Brazilian society (Hess, 1987), creating a
variety of belief systems from which Brazilian brands of parapsy-
chology have evolved. There are many interesting combinations of
the Kardecist type of Spiritism and all sorts of Brazilian religious
movements that essentially accept possession, the influence of spirits
of deceased individuals, as well as the belief that divinities can pos-
sess individuals and can effect healing (Parra Alvarez, 1981).
On the other hand, there is the Catholic tradition that has de-
veloped a system that uses parapsychology as an ideology .with which
to fight and eventually destroy all the movements the church sees as
superstition and threats to the established Catholic dogmas (Hess,
1990). This system has been developed mainly through the work of
one of the most influential and respected "parapsychologists" in
Ibero-America, Father Oscar Gonzalez Quevedo, a Spanish-born
Jesuit priest living in Brazil. Padre Quevedo (as he is known) and
Luis Ferreira da Silva cofounded the Latin American Center of
Parapsychology, CLAP, of the Anchieta College of Sao Paulo in
1970.
The Center, which was closed down in 1982 and reopened in
1989 under reduced circumstances, used to offer clinical counseling
for people suffering from psychological problems related to reli-
gious experiences and practices (e.F., demonic possession). The
Center still has an impressive library of books on parapsychology,
which used to be housed in huge facilities that also accommodated
an experimental and clinical laboratory and a museum of objects
'One of the biggest parapsychology libraries in Latin America with approximately
4,000 volumes.
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182 The journal of Parapsychology Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World
related to parapsychological phenomena, Spiritism, miracles, and
psychic healing. In addition, the Center offers seminars and short
courses in parapsychology during the year.
The stated goal of the Center listed in a publicity leaflet' is to
disseminate scientific parapsychology in order to clarify the miscon-
ceptions and superstitions produced by the lack of understanding of
psychic phenomena. The content of their publications, however,
seems to indicate that the real objective of the Center has been to
destroy Spiritism and its belief system because it contradicts the
church's teachings. Consequently, the Center has been ruled by a
religious ideology.
Discussion of Brazilian parapsychology must focus essentially on
the work of Quevedo, because his work and publications have been
the major source of scientific parapsychology not only for Brazil but
also for other Ibero-American countries since the 1960s. It is nec-
essary also to emphasize his publications because they are well re-
spected and are considered by many to be representative of the
Catholic school in Brazilian parapsychology!
Father Quevedo has published several books on parapsychology,
some of which have become best sellers in the Spanish language as
well as in Portuguese, reaching a surprising number of editions.'
Among his books are a general introduction to parapsychology
(1969/1973), a discussion of ESP and other mental phenomena
(I 9694V'19714), and auvuter auvui puysicai uicuiuuisrup ti iuyni 7i I).
He has also authored other polemical books on healing (1976/1977)
and possession (1989).
According to a well-known Spanish parapsychology journal,
Quevedo has offered numerous seminars and courses throughout
Ibero-America, often drawing audiences of more than 200,000 peo-
ple. He has also appeared in over 200 hours of television. Quevedo's
impact, spreading what is his version of parapsychology, has been
astonishing in its education of the lay person (Fernandez Briones,
Jimenez Visedo, & Capel, 1975).
Unfortunately, however, what could have been one of the most
important contributions to scientific parapsychology in Ibero-Amer-
ica is overshadowed by Quevedo's zealous campaign against Spirit-
7
A promotional leaflet published by CLAP entitled "0 porque do CLAP."
' For further discussions of Brazilian parapsychology, see Hess (1990) and Play-
fair (1975).
9 In Portuguese alone, 90 editions of 30,000 copies each, and more than 20 edi-
tions in Spanish and Italian (Parra & Pedroza, 1991).
ism, in which he explains Spiritist findings as fraud or psi by living
organisms, and his equally strong defense of Catholic beliefs. Not
only has Quevedo separated himself from the real goals and objec-
tives of the CLAP, but he has also used parapsychology as an ideo-
logical weapon in a fight to further his particular conceptual per-
spective. As Hess (1987) pointed out:
Oscar Gonzalez Quevedo reinterpreted the parapsychology of the
United States and Europe in light of Catholic Church doctrine ... to
challenge the scientific basis of claims of Spiritism, Umbanda, and the
Afro-Brazilian religions. (p. 26)
In fact, to accomplish his goals, Father Quevedo has distorted
parapsychology in his books, seeking most of the time to accom-
modate church dogmas. He sometimes goes to the extreme of mak-
ing subtle changes in the content of classical writings on parapsy-
chology so as to support his own views (Martinez Taboas, 1978) and
to deny any possible explanation that may be close to the Spiritist
point of view. In doing this, Quevedo has used investigations con-
ducted for many years by centers around the world, together with
numerous references from classical works, including those con-
ducted by the Rhines and others at the Duke Parapsychology Lab-
oratory. As David Hess (1990) has further pointed out:
Both Spiritists and Catholics will still appropriate PA parapsychology
and the older studies of psychical research for their own purpose. T hey
like to have the foreigners do the empirical research (the "dirty work"),
while they sit back and put it into their own philosophical or theological
framework. (p. 110)
The system of parapsychology Quevedo developed has an en-
tirely different conceptualization of the field and completely differ-
ent goals from those of the parapsychological research done in
other parts of the world. For Quevedo, parapsychology helps to es-
tablish a dichotomy between what he considers natural phenomena
and the supernatural, or phenomena that cannot be explained by
any paranormal mechanisms (e.g., the miracles of Lourdes and of
various saints). Quevedo divides the causes of parapsychological
phenomena into three types. The natural ESP abilities, classified as
paranormal, are manifestations of the soul, which was created per-
fect and possessed unlimited psychic abilities but was restricted
when the first man sinned. Such abilities, Quevedo says, are occa-
sionally manifested by people during mental disturbances such as a
trance. Another category is those phenomena that are beyond such
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J ?J r Ps5c g3' Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 185
human abilities, that is, the phenomena are supernatural. According
to Quevedo, when a parapsychological explanation cannot account
for the manifestation of certain psychic phenomena, the explanation
should be left to the theologian. Quevedo also includes another in-
teresting category that for many would not be considered parapsy-
chology-what he calls "extraordinary normal phenomena," phe-
nomena that can be explained by normal or unusual psychological
and physiological processes. For example, Quevedo uses the term
pantomnesia (unlimited unconscious memory) as a mechanism that
can explain some types of xenoglossy phenomena. When someone
manifests this phenomenon, Quevedo believes it means that the per-
son once heard the language and is merely repeating previously
learned phrases. Another phenomenon classified under this cate-
gory is indirect hyperesthesia. According to Quevedo, all our
thoughts have an equivalent physiological reaction and are reflected
in our bodies. For example, if I am thinking about something, I
produce very subtle physical movements or signals that other per-
sons near me can decode unconsciously. The information obtained
unconsciously can then be transformed into actual knowledge.
Quevedo (1964/1974) uses this concept to explain most of the phe-
nomena exhibited by mental mediums.
Moreover, according to his system, Quevedo (1969/1973) views
the excessive manifestation of psychic phenomena in individuals as
a pathological problem that should be treated with psychotherapy.
Although he considers such manifestations to be natural, an excess
of them denotes pathology. Consequently, the manifestation of ESP
abilities should never be encouraged or developed. That sets his tra-
dition completely apart from the one that seeks to develop psi and
to understand conditions that enhance its manifestation.
Quevedo's conclusions, however interesting, are not derived
from empirical research. Rather, his procedure is to review the writ-
ings of different authors, especially those from the classical works,
and use the material to develop his own conclusions. In a thorough
review of three of Quevedo's books, the Puerto Rican psychologist
Alfonso Martinez Taboas (1978) identified numerous contradictions,
omissions, distortions of the evidence, and dogmatic statements by
Quevedo. Quevedo's book Las Fuerzas F#sicas de la Mente alone had
70 problems of this sort. One example of his exaggerated statements
appears on page 289 of his book El Rostro Oculto de la Mente. In this
passage Quevedo concludes the following about precognition:
Very few established facts about Chemistry and Physics and other
branches of science have been so well established as precognition in
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parapsychology.... And the most important thing is that thousands of
laboratory experiments have scientifically proved without any doubt that
man posseses this ability. (1964/1974, p. 289)
Without any empirical evidence to support his theory, Quevedo
limits the operative range of precognition to two centuries. He does
this to prove that man possesses limited temporal abilities, a conclu-
sion supporting the Church dogma that only biblical prophecy is un-
limited by time, for it is divine in nature and is the result of God's
intervention; that is, it is a miracle.
The CLAP also used to publish a magazine called Revista de
Parapsicologia, which summarized the activities of the Center and
contained mostly theoretical articles. More recently, however, the
Center closed down, apparently because of a prohibition imposed
by the Church as a result of a polemical book published by Quevedo
(1989) entitled Antes Que Os Demonios Voltem [Before the Demons Re-
turn]. In this book Quevedo, ironically, uses parapsychology to
make skeptical commentaries on Catholic dogmas concerning de-
monic possession; he also tries to explain demonic possession
through parapsychological mechanisms. He criticizes the traditional
Church use of the Rituale Romanum in determining the causes of
demonic possession. Essentially, Quevedo points out the shortcom-
ings of the Rituale Romanum, which does not include psychic phe-
nomena as an alternative explanation that might account for most
of the cases of demonic possession.
There is no doubt that in developing his system Quevedo has
extensively surveyed the whole field of parapsychology. In a review
of some of his books, George Zorab (1971) states:
These three volumes, comprising nearly 1000 pages, fully inform the
reader about all the various aspects of modern parapsychology. It is at
the same time a fair and reliable guide. In a sense it is unique in the
present day literature of the subject, for since Richet's Traite de Metapsy-
chique (1922) and F. Moser's Okkultismus (1935) no such comprehensive
work covering the whole extensive field of modern parapsychology has
been put on the market. (p. 142)
I certainly would agree with Zorab's opinion on the astonishing
amount of work carried out by Quevedo, work that certainly de-
serves recognition. I would not, however, characterize his work as
fair and reliable as far as the handling of the evidence is concerned.
To a certain extent, Quevedo's position is justified when he tries to
fight superstition such as that spread by the psychic healers, who are
very popular in Brazil. In a sense he is a minority in a society with
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186 The Journal of Parapsychology
a high concentration of Spiritists whose beliefs threaten the estab-
lished Catholic dogmas. However, when he uses parapsychological
evidence of certain phenomena as a scientific backup to establish
facts, when this same evidence is still very controversial for many
parapsychologists, his position is untenable. Nonetheless, ' his work
has to be seen in the cultural and ideological background from
which he has worked (Alvarado, 1991).
Another dimension of Brazilian psychical research is the work by
researchers with Spiritist orientation. One example is that con-
ducted by the engineer and psychical researcher Hernani Guimar-
aes Andrade, who in 1963 founded the Brazilian Institute of Psy-
chobiophysical Research (IBPP). The name was chosen to make it
clear that the Institute intended to explore biological and physical
as well as purely psychical phenomena. One of the most significant
things about this Institute is that it emerged from within the Spiritist
movement (Playfair, 1975). Andrade, a Spiritist himself, has con-
ducted well-planned and detailed investigations of reincarnation
cases along the lines of Ian Stevenson's work. His poltergeist cases
are particularly interesting-for example, the one published in a
monograph entitled 0 Poltergeist de Guarulhos (1984). These cases in-
volve very dramatic phenomena: apports, damage to furniture and
persons, apparitions of strange creatures, and spontaneous fires. In
_,.. .:...,.,a interpreting the cases. Andrade leans toward the dis-
carnate agencies hypothesis, sometimes with possible witchcraft com-
ponents (Alvarado, 1984b; Andrade, 1984). Also, as Michel-Ange
Amorim (1990) has remarked about Andrade's interpretation of the
cases:
Andrade interprets the different types of occurrences present in this
case [the Guarulhos's case] as supportive of a Spiritist world view in the
Umbanda tradition. The Umbanda tradition has several million adher-
ents especially in the bigger cities. It combines African, Catholic, Indian,
and Spiritist elements and may be characterized as a relatively extra-
ecclesiastic of popular Catholicism with ancient Afro-Brazilian sects. (p.
199)
According to Amorim, not only does Andrade interpret his cases
along the Spiritist lines but he also accepts the central beliefs of this
religion, such as the existence of all sorts of spirits, like Exus and
Umulums. He also believes that the sorcerer is able to practice
magic within the terreiros (a place specialized in these procedures)
to harass victims according to Quimbanda laws (the black magic side
f the Umbanda religion).
0
Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 187
Thus, he rejects the usual attributions of RSPK outbreaks to a living
agency. In defense of his position he points to the fact that a psycho-
logical examination of Noemia [a participant in the case], the most prob-
able RSPK agent, was conducted by two psychologists belonging to the
IBPP team. He states, "Mrs. Noemia didn't display any form of psychi-
cal abnormality that could justify viewing her as belonging to the `psy-
chokinetic agent of a poltergeist' category in conformity with the theo-
retical patterns suggested by the current hypothesis." ... He adds that
his macro-PK tests ... of her capacities were also negative. (p. 199)
It is important, however, to point out that to some extent the
cases investigated by Andrade and his associates seem to reflect the
influence of the beliefs and culture of Brazilian society (Hess, 1990).
Andrade has also published one of the first systematic treatises of
parapsychology in Portuguese entitled Parapsicologia Experimental
(1967). A basic introductory manual of the quantitative method
used in parapsychology, it includes a detailed description of the sta-
tistical model used in experiments with ESP cards.
There are other groups in Brazil who are interested in a more
scientific approach to psychical research. One of these groups is the
recently established ECLIPSY-Institute de Investigacoes Cientificas
em Parapsicologia. This group aims to pursue a different approach,
one separate from the more traditional approaches associated with
Spiritist or Catholic orientations typical of most Brazilian research
centers. It received support from the University U1 Sdo FFlancisco to
organize its first conference in parapsychology, held in 1990, which
included participants from the University as well as researchers
from Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. The group plans to conduct
experimental research that will be reported in its new journal, called
Revista Brasileira de Parapsicologia. According to its president, Wel-
lington Zangari, it will include abstracts in English as well as in
Spanish. The journal will also include translations from major ex-
perimental and theoretical articles published in the English-lan-
guage journals.
There are also other groups involved in parapsychology in Brazil
that are beyond the scope of this paper because of limitations of
space and because of our initial goal of evaluating Brazilian para-
psychology from the perspective of its impact on the Ibero-Ameri-
can countries.
Che aforementioned oncerning Andrade's interpretation rtRelease 2000/08/11 SeCIA-RDP96-007928000
of Guarulhos, Amorim (199? eFs.
anking country in
rimental parapsychological research.