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Journal of Scientific Exploration, Volume 22, Number 1, 2008

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Journal of Scientific Exploration, Volume 22, Number 1, 2008 JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION A Publication of the Society for Scienti¢c Exploration Volume 22, Number 1 2008 Page Editorial 1 Editorial Peter A. Sturrock 5 Theme and Variations: The Life and Work of Ian Stevenson Emily Williams Kelly Carlos S. Alvarado Essays 11 Ian Stevenson: Recollections Kerr L. White 18 Reflections on the Life and Work of Ian Stevenson Alan Gauld 36 Ian Stevenson and Cases of the Reincarnation Type Jim B. Tucker 44 Ian Stevenson and the Modern Study of Spontaneous ESP Carlos S. Alvarado Experiences Nancy L. Zingrone 54 Ian Stevenson’s Contributions to Near-Death Studies Bruce Greyson 64 Ian Stevenson’s Contributions to the Study of Mediumship Erlendur Haraldsson 73 Where Science and Religion Intersect: The Work of Ian Edward F. Kelly Stevenson Emily Williams Kelly In Remembrance 81 The Gentle American Doctor Majd Muakkasah Abu-Izzeddin 83 Professor Ian Stevenson – Some Personal Reminiscences Mary Rose Barrington 85 Ian Stevenson: A Recollection and Tribute Stephen E. Braude 87 Ian Stevenson and His Impact on Foreign Shores Bernard Carr 93 Ian Stevenson: Gentleman and Scholar Lisette Coly 95 The Quest for Acceptance Stuart J. Edelstein 100 Ian Stevenson: Founder of the Scientific Investigation of Doris Kuhlmann- Human Reincarnation Wilsdorf 102 Remembering My Teacher L. David Leiter 104 Comments on Ian Stevenson, M.D., Director of the Division of Antonia Mills Personality Studies and Pioneer of Reincarnation Research 107 Ian Stevenson: Reminiscences and Observations John Palmer 110 Dr. Ian Stevenson: A Multifaceted Personality Satwant K. Pasricha 115 A Good Question Tom Shroder 117 The Fight for the Truth John Smythies 120 Ian Stevenson: A Man from Whom We Should Learn Rex Stanford 125 Ian Stevenson and the Society for Scientific Exploration Peter A. Sturrock 128 Ian Stevenson’s Early Years in Charlottesville Ruth B. Weeks 129 Tribute to a Remarkable Scholar Donald J. West 131 An Ian Stevenson Remembrance Ray Westphal Reprinted Essay 132 Scientists with Half-closed Minds Ian Stevenson 141 Erratum 142 SSE News LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 3 Ian Stevenson (1918–2007) 7 At the University of Virginia 8 In Burma (1980) 9 Traveling by bullock cart in Burma (1984) 9 Photographing a birth defect 10 Interviewing in India 10 Lecturing at SSE Conference, Charlottesville, VA (1996) Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 1–1, 2008 0892-3310/08 EDITORIAL Henry Bauer is a very hard act to follow. So hard, that I shall not even try. It will take a team of editors to reproduce what Henry could achieve single-handedly. At my urging, and responding to the entreaties of several other officers, Henry graciously agreed to take on the job of Editor in the year 2000. As I recall, he agreed to take it on for only one year, but we have been able to prevail upon him to serve much longer than that. He has served as editor with energy, efficiency, good judgment, and good nature. I shall miss reading his entertaining and enlightening editorials in each issue of the Journal. Thank you, Henry, for your extraordinary service to the Society. I now look forward to receiving from you articles, essays, and perhaps an occasional Letter to the Editor. There is no way that I could undertake to serve as editor a` la mode de Henry Bauer! I can serve only as the first among equals. I am fortunate that seven capable scholars have agreed to serve as Associate Editors, including SSE Members Stephen Braude, York Dobyns, Bernard Haisch, Roger Nelson, Dean Radin, and Mark Rodeghier. I am particularly grateful that Bernie is willing to serve an Associate Editor, since he brings with him his eleven years of experience (from 1989 to 2000) as Editor-in-Chief. I saw the need for an Associate Editor from the medical profession, and I owe it to Wayne Jonas that he steered me in the direction of John Ives, who has kindly agreed to serve as an Associate Editor. In order to make the job of Editor-in-Chief manageable to someone who does not have Henry’s abilities and stamina, the editorial duties are being shared among us all. Our policy is that each submission is assigned to an Associate Editor, who retains responsibility for the submission until it is either rejected or accepted. (Thank you all, Associate Editors.) We are all fortunate that David Moncrief has agreed to continue his invaluable service as Book Review Editor. The book review section is a greatly appreciated part of the journal. (Thank you, David.) Members and Subscribers should know and appreciate that the fine and timely production of this journal is possible due only to the skilled, efficient, and courteous service of the Allen Press staff–in particular of the Managing Editor Joy Richmond and the former Assistant Managing Editor Lindsey Buscher. (Thank you, Joy and Lindsey.) As you will see, Volume 22, Issue 1, is a very special event. The entire issue is dedicated to the memory of Ian Stevenson, who was a member of the SSE family before there was even a society, and well before it was finally named. Ian was a member of the Founding Committee, which also included our long-time Secretary Laurence Fredrick, our long-time Treasurer and President Charlie Tolbert, and our long-serving Vice President Bob Jahn. The compilation of this issue has been in the hands of Emily Williams Kelly and Carlos S. Alvarado, to whom I am most grateful. Serving as Editor of JSE is a big responsibility, of which I am keenly aware. It would be hard to improve on what Henry has done. But if you see ways to improve on what I am doing, please let me know. 1 Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 5–6, 2008 0892-3310/08 EDITORIAL Theme and Variations: The Life and Work of Ian Stevenson EMILY WILLIAMS KELLY AND CARLOS S. ALVARADO Shortly after Ian Stevenson died on February 8, 2007, Henry Bauer asked us to guest-edit an issue of this Journal to be devoted to him – our mentor, colleague, and friend. Most readers of the Journal will probably agree that no one deserves such an honor more than Ian. He was a founding member of the Society for Scientific Exploration, but more importantly he exemplified the kind of scientist that the SSE was founded to encourage. For example, in 1957 he challenged a central tenet of psychoanalysis, then the predominant ideology in psychiatry, by publishing a paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry entitled ‘‘Is the Human Personality More Plastic in Infancy and Childhood?’’ He later said that, after this paper came out, a colleague in psychiatry asked him whether he could walk the streets unarmed (Stevenson, 1990, p. 8). Throughout his career he similarly challenged entrenched assumptions, not only in his extraordinarily well-reasoned and well-written publications but also in his painstaking inves- tigations of empirical phenomena suggesting the need for a more comprehensive understanding of personality and consciousness, particularly the spontaneous phenomena of psychical research and, more specifically, phenomena related to the question of survival after death. We are not at all certain that Ian himself would have welcomed the suggestion that an issue of this Journal be devoted to him. When he retired as Carlson Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Personality (now Perceptual) Studies at the University of Virginia, some of us told him that we wanted to hold a party to honor his nearly 50 years at the University. Ian’s reply: ‘‘Well, you can have a party if you’d like, but I won’t be there.’’ Regardless of whether Ian would have approved of an entire issue devoted to him – even in a journal that he helped found – we went ahead and gathered contributions from among his many students, colleagues, and friends. We begin with some longer pieces that focus on some (although by no means all) of the many aspects of Ian’s life and work. Among these is a piece by Kerr White, Ian’s older brother. The brothers clearly came from a remarkable family because, like Ian, Dr. White is a physician and prolific writer who tackled important issues that few others had the courage to take on – in his case, health services research, or the objective evaluation of medical treatments, a field that he was 5 6 Editorial instrumental in establishing. These longer pieces are followed by shorter reminiscences and comments from many people who worked with Ian during various periods of his career. At the end, we have reprinted an essay that Ian published 50 years ago in Harper’s Magazine entitled ‘‘Scientists with Half- Closed Minds.’’ Probably not many readers of this Journal will have encountered this essay before, but they will surely find it of great interest because – regrettably – it is as pertinent today as it was 50 years ago. Readers will see that the contributions to this issue are all variations on a theme – that an extraordinary human being put all his immense capacities and energies to work on the most important question a person can ask: Who and what are we? We hope that, just as Ian personally inspired so many of us, this tribute to him might also inspire others to study his work and continue where he had to leave off. Because the number of his publications is so enormous, we have not included his bibliography here, but much of it is available at http://www.pflyceum.org/167.html Reference Stevenson, I. (1990). Some of My Journeys in Medicine. The 1989 Flora Levy Lecture in the Humanities.
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