"Between Realness and Unrealness": Anthropology, Parapsychology and the Ontology of Non-Ordinary Realities

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the fields of transpersonal anthropology, the anthropology of consciousness and, the most recent development in this lineage, paranthropology. After outlining the contributions of these fields to the development of a new approach to the investigation of so-called non-ordinary realities Hunter highlights the need for ethnographers to participate in the transpersonal practices and experiences. With link to the work of Fiona Bowie and Edith Turner, Hunter argues that one must learn to ‘see as the Native sees’ in order to truly grasp the experiential foundations of religious and spiritual belief, and escape from the hegemonic dismissal of alternative ontologies.