He
studied Philosophy and English at Oberlin College and the University
of London, and in 1971 he received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from
the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
After
publishing a number of articles in the philosophy of language, temporal
logic, and the philosophy of time, he turned his attention to several
related problems in the philosophy of science and the philosophy
of mind in particular, questions concerning causality, scientific
explanation generally, and psychological explanation specifically.
One of his overriding concerns was to demonstrate the inadequacy
of mechanistic theories in psychology and cognitive science.
Prof.
Braude also examined the evidence of parapsychology to see whether
it would provide new insights into these and other traditional philosophical
issues.
After
that, he shifted his focus to problems in philosophical psychopathology,
writing extensively on the connections between dissociation and
classic philosophical problems as well as central issues in parapsychologyfor
example, the unity of consciousness, multiple personality and moral
responsibility, and the nature of mental mediumship.
Prof.
Braude is past President of the Parapsychological Association and is the recipient of several grants and fellowships, including Research
Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the
BIAL Foundation in Portugal. He has published more than 60 philosophical
essays in such journals as Noûs; The Philosophical Review;
Philosophical Studies; Analysis; Inquiry; Philosophia; Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society; Philosophy, Psychiatry and Psychology; Social Philosophy and Policy; New Ideas in Psychology; The Journal of Scientific Exploration; and The Journal of Trauma and Dissociation.
He has written five books: ESP and Psychokinesis: A Philosophical Examination (Temple University Press, 1979; revised edition, Brown Walker Press, 2002); The Limits of Influence: Psychokinesis and the Philosophy of Science (Routledge, 1986; revised edition, University Press of America, 1997); First Person Plural: Multiple Personality and the Philosophy of Mind (Routledge, 1991; revised edition, Rowman & Littlefield, 1995); and Immortal Remains: The Evidence for Life After Death (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003); and most recently, The Gold Leaf Lady and Other Parapsychological Investigations, which describes Prof. Braude's own encounters with the paranormal. See book information below.
Click image for Skeptiko mp3 Interview: Interview with Dr. Stephen Braude reveals challenges
and opportunities of controversial psi research into mediumship and psychokinesis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click this image for the
"Ghost buster"
article:
Click image for Wisconsin Public Radio Podcast Interview about Magic:
“This book isn’t just good, it’s excellent. Stephen Braude is at the top of the intellectual food chain in the study of paranormal phenomena..."
—Fred Frohock, author of Lives of the Psychics: The Shared Worlds of Science and Mysticism
“The Gold Leaf Lady is a read not to be missed. To initiates it offers valuable updates and insights. To those inconversant with the current state of parapsychological research, it may rank as the best introduction available.”
—AntiMatters