Pint of View Lecture 6: The Science of Paranormal Activities

Pint of View London presents

The Science of Paranormal Activities

Ghosts, alien abductions, reincarnation and other paranormal claims: what do they say about the human mind?

Have you ever seen a ghost? Felt a presence in the room? Wondered if the dead can speak to us, or whether some people truly have psychic powers?

Ghostly encounters, alien abductions, reincarnation, talking to the dead, UFO sightings, inexplicable coincidences, out-of-body and near-death experiences — paranormal claims have fascinated humanity for centuries. And remarkably, across every culture, every continent, and every era of human history, these same experiences recur. Why?

What is it about the human mind that conjures these phenomena so universally? And what does science actually say about them?

In this talk, Emeritus Professor Chris French, one of the UK's leading experts in the psychology of paranormal belief, takes us on a rigorous, surprising and at times unsettling journey through the science behind the unexplained. Not to dismiss. Not to confirm. But to ask a far more interesting question: what do these experiences tell us about our minds?

Tickets include a free pint. Expect 45 minutes of lecture followed by a Q&A. Then we open it up for mixing, conversations, and meeting people who are just as curious as you.  

About The Speaker

Emeritus Professor Chris French is the former Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London, one of the few academic centres in the world dedicated to the scientific study of paranormal beliefs and experiences.

He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Patron of Humanists UK. Dr French has published well over 200 articles and chapters covering a wide range of topics. His main current area of research is the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences.

He frequently appears on radio and television, casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims. His most recent book is The Science of weird shit: Why Our Minds Conjure the paranormal, published by MIT Press in 2024.

We are delighted to welcome Dr French to Pint of View!

Information on us and tickets can be found on our main page here.