The Decline and Fall of Science

by Celia Green

Inside "In her latest book, The Decline and Fall of Science, Celia Green has married the brilliant and caustic style of The Human Evasion to the subject-matter of her scientific books on lucid dreams, out-of-the-body experiences and apparitions. The book is first and foremost a blistering and highly amusing attack on the attitudes of the contemporary scientific and intellectual establishment to psychical phenomena and their investigation. ('"What have lucid dreams to do with science?" they ask, in an attitude of witless openmindedness, expressive of their perfect willingness to allow you to talk yourself into exhaustion'); and it contains many highly dramatic first-hand case-histories of the kind currently ignored by out-of-the-body experiences, apparitions, telepathy and psychokinesis."

184 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1989

Reviews

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sullen Objectivist / parapsychologist rant, aimed at convincing someone to give her £10m (“Considering how much there is to be done in this subject, that much would be reasonable”). Somehow this blared forth from elite trappings, Hamish Hamilton. Behold her ancient sneer:

In the early days of psychical research, that is to say, during the short period before the volume of activity in the subject petered out on account of the decline of civilisation...

Chapter 1 is “The Decline and Fall of Civilisation”. 6 and 7 get the declines of physics and medicine out of the way in 22 pages. Chapter 14: “Psychokinesis”. Chapter 17: “Conclusion, for the Particular Attention of Millionaires”. So I admit I picked this up to laugh at it: the first page has Green declare herself an unappreciated genius, followed by pages of mostly inapt aphorisms:

When people talk about ‘the sanctity of the individual’ they mean ‘the sanctity of the statistical norm’.

Women are the last people to entrust with children. Those who have repressed their own aspirations will scarcely be tolerant of the aspirations of others.

‘Social justice’ – the expression of universal hatred.

(Though I like ‘Democracy: the idea that everyone should have an equal opportunity to obstruct everybody else.’)

Extra point for entertaining sheer aristocratic woo.