A Refutation of the Dualist Perspective in Psi Research

There is a perception that the substantial data from psi (a.k.a. ESP, anomalous cognition) research is indicative of support for a dualistic worldview. In this paper, we present an overview of this perspective as discussed in the works of John Beloff, Charles Tart, David Rousseau, Ed Kelly, and Larry Dossey. Following this, we discuss the refutation of the dualist view from the point of (1) the definition of non-material, and provide a possible definition of non-material, and (2) the role of consciousness in quantum mechanics. We conclude that these criteria are sufficient to reject a dualist perspec-tive in the analysis of psi data, until the validity of all possible physicalist-reductionist views have been exhausted. In our analysis, the next question guiding a psi research programme is how psi occurs and what its mechanics are.