Interdimensional UFO hypothesis

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The interdimensional hypothesis is a proposal that unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings are the result of experiencing other "dimensions" that coexist separately alongside our own [1] in contrast with either the extraterrestrial hypothesis that suggests UFO sightings are caused by visitations from outside the Earth or the psychosocial hypothesis that argues UFO sightings are best explained as psychological or social phenomenon.

Contents

The hypothesis has been advanced by ufologists such as Meade Layne, [2] John Keel, [3] J. Allen Hynek, and Jacques Vallée. [4] [1] Proponents of the interdimensional hypothesis argue that UFOs are a modern manifestation of a phenomenon that has occurred throughout recorded human history, which in prior ages were ascribed to mythological or supernatural creatures. [5]

Jeffrey J. Kripal, Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, writes: "this interdimensional reading, long a staple of Spiritualism through the famous 'fourth dimension', would have a very long life within ufology and is still very much with us today". [6]

History

Helena Blavatsky, founder of Theosophy Helena Blavatsky.jpg
Helena Blavatsky, founder of Theosophy

In the 19th century, various spiritualists believed in "other dimensions". During the Summer of 1947, spiritualists adapted the "other dimensions" folklore to explain recent tales of "flying discs".

Pre-modern history

Concepts similar to ”other dimensions” exist amongst various religious and mystical traditions, such as Islamic mysticism known as Sufism. In this tradition, the concept al-ghayb refers to the hidden, unseen, and invisible, and encompasses a range of important phenomena in Islam and in the everyday lives of Muslims. [7] Within this mystical tradition, there is a concept of a hidden multilayered reality or world known as 'ālam al-mithāl, or “the world of similitude” which is considered to be an intermediary realm between the physical world (‘ālam al-shahada) and the purely spiritual world (‘ālam al-malakut). It is believed within this dominion exists everything unseen including intelligent non-human entities, known in Islam as jinn and angels.

Background

In the late 19th century, the metaphysical term "planes" was popularized by H. P. Blavatsky, who propounded a complex cosmology consisting of seven "planes". [6] The term aether ("ether") was adopted from Ancient Greek via Victorian physics that would later be discredited. The term "ether" was then incorporated into the writings of 19th-century occultists.

The "etheric plane" and the "etheric body" were introduced into Theosophy by Charles Webster Leadbeater and Annie Besant to represent a hypothetical 'fourth plane', above the "planes" of solids, liquids, and gases. The term "etheric" was later used by popular occult authors such as Alice Bailey, Rudolf Steiner, and numerous others. [6]

Theorists

Meade Layne and 'Ether Ships'

On July 4, 1947, occultist Meade Layne claimed that flying discs were "etheric". [2] Layne claimed to be in telepathic communication with "people in the saucers", arguing "it is possible for objects to pass from an etheric to a dense level of matter and will then appear to materialize. They then will return to an etheric conditions". [8] [2] Layne claimed that "These visitors are not excarnate humans but are human beings living in their own world. They come with good intent. They have some idea of experimenting with earth life." [9] The prior year, it had been reported that Layne consulted a medium who relayed communications from a "space ship named Careeta" that came to Earth from 'an unidentified planet'. [9] [10] [2]

According to one scholar, Layne coined the term "interdimensional hypostasis" to describe the sightings. [11] [ additional citation(s) needed ] Layne is regarded as the earliest proponent of the interdimensional hypothesis. [2]

John Keel and 'Ultraterrestrials'

Although the extraterrestrial hypothesis has remained predominant, [12] [ additional citation(s) needed ] by the 1970s, the interdimensional hypothesis began to be embraced by some UFO enthusiasts. Paranormal author and UFO enthusiast John Keel recalled:

I abandoned the extraterrestrial hypothesis in 1967 when my own field investigations disclosed an astonishing overlap between psychic phenomena and UFOs... The objects and apparitions do not necessarily originate on another planet and may not even exist as permanent constructions of matter. It is more likely that we see what we want to see and interpret such visions according to our contemporary beliefs. [13] [14]

In his 1970 book UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse , Keel argued that a non-human or spiritual intelligence source has staged whole events over a long period of time in order to propagate and reinforce certain erroneous belief systems. For example, monsters, ghosts and demons, the fairy faith in Middle Europe, vampire legends, mystery airships in 1897, mystery aeroplanes of the 1930s, mystery helicopters, anomalous creature sightings, poltergeist phenomena, balls of light, and UFOs; Keel conjectured that ultimately all of these anomalies are a cover for the real phenomenon. [13] [ additional citation(s) needed ] Keel used the term "ultraterrestrials" to describe UFO occupants he believed to be non-human entities capable of taking on whatever form they want.[ additional citation(s) needed ]

Hynek and Vallée

J. Allen Hynek (left) and Jacques Valee (right) Allen Hynek Jacques Vallee 1.jpg
J. Allen Hynek (left) and Jacques Valee (right)

J. Allen Hynek was an American astronomer who served as scientific advisor to the U.S. Air Force UFO studies: Project Sign, Project Grudge, and Project Blue Book. Hynek pioneered the "Close Encounter" classification system; Hynek had a cameo in Stephen Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. [15] Jacques Vallée, a student of Hynek's, served as the inspiration for the French researcher portrayed by François Truffaut in the film. [16]

In 1975's The Edge of Reality, Vallée and Hynek consider the possibility of what they call "interlocking universes":

VALLÉE: What other wild hypotheses could we make?
HYNEK: There could be other universe with different quantum rules or vibration rates if you want. Our own space-time continuum could be a cross-section through a universe with many more dimensions. ... Think what a hard time you would have convincing an aborigine that right now, through this room, TV pictures are passing! Yet they're here. You have to have a transducer to see them -- namely a TV set. Well, in the same sense there may be interlocking universes right here! We have this idea of space, we always think of another universe being someplace else. It may not. Maybe it's right here."

In his 'landmark' 1969 book Passport to Magonia: On UFOS, Folklore and Parallel Worlds, Vallee argues for a "parallel universe co-existing with our own". [4] The idea was reiterated in Vallée's subsequent writings. [17] Vallée's summarized his objection in his 1990 paper "Five Arguments Against the Extraterrestrial Origin of Unidentified Flying Objects": [18]

  1. unexplained close encounters are far more numerous than required for any physical survey of the earth;
  2. the humanoid body structure of the alleged "aliens" is not likely to have originated on another planet and is not biologically adapted to space travel;
  3. the reported behavior in thousands of abduction reports contradicts the hypothesis of genetic or scientific experimentation on humans by an advanced race;
  4. the extension of the phenomenon throughout recorded human history demonstrates that UFOs are not a contemporary phenomenon; and
  5. the apparent ability of UFOs to manipulate space and time suggests radically different and richer alternatives.

David Grusch

David Grusch, a former member of the UAP Task Force famous for claiming that the US government was covering up evidence for advanced technology, UFOs, and alien pilots, described the idea as a possible alternative explanation to the extraterrestrial UFO hypothesis for his claims, saying [19] "it could be that this is not necessarily extraterrestrial, and it’s actually coming from a higher dimensional physical space that might be co-located right here."

The 2008 action-adventure film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull utilizes the interdimensional hypothesis and describes ancient aliens not flying into space but into ”the space between the spaces". [20] [21]

The 2014 movie Interstellar employs a mix of the interdimensional and the time-traveler hypotheses. The bulk-beings [22] who built the tesseract inside the supermassive black hole Gargantua are later revealed to be future humans who have evolved to exist in five dimensions.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unidentified flying object</span> Airborne, submerged, and transmedium phenomena considered unusual and unidentified

An unidentified flying object (UFO), or unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP), is any perceived airborne, submerged or transmedium phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. Upon investigation, most UAPs are identified as known objects or atmospheric phenomena, while a small number remain unexplained.

Extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI), a subset of non-human intelligence (NHI), refers to hypothetical intelligent extraterrestrial life. No such life has ever been proven to exist in the Solar System except for humans on Earth, and its existence in other star systems is still speculative. The question of whether other inhabited worlds might exist has been debated since ancient times. The modern form of the concept emerged when the Copernican Revolution demonstrated that the Earth was a planet revolving around the Sun, and other planets were, conversely, other worlds. The question of whether other inhabited planets or moons exist was a natural consequence of this new understanding. It has become one of the most speculative questions in science and is a central theme of science fiction and popular culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Keel</span> American journalist and UFOlogist (1930–2009)

John Alva Keel, born Alva John Kiehle, was an American journalist and influential ufologist who is known best as author of The Mothman Prophecies.

In ufology, a close encounter is an event in which a person witnesses an unidentified flying object (UFO). This terminology and the system of classification behind it were first suggested in astronomer and UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek's 1972 book The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry. Categories beyond Hynek's original three have been added by others but have not gained universal acceptance, mainly because they lack the scientific rigor that Hynek aimed to bring to ufology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ufology</span> Study of UFOs

Ufology is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary origins. While there are instances of government, private, and fringe science investigations of UFOs, ufology is generally regarded by skeptics and science educators as an example of pseudoscience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Blue Book</span> American systematic study of unidentified flying objects

Project Blue Book was the code name for the systematic study of unidentified flying objects by the United States Air Force from March 1952 to its termination on December 17, 1969. The project, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, was initially directed by Captain Edward J. Ruppelt and followed projects of a similar nature such as Project Sign established in 1947, and Project Grudge in 1949. Project Blue Book had two goals, namely, to determine if UFOs were a threat to national security, and to scientifically analyze UFO-related data.

The extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH) proposes that some unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are best explained as being physical spacecraft occupied by extraterrestrial intelligence or non-human aliens, or non-occupied alien probes from other planets visiting Earth.

In ufology, the psychosocial hypothesis, abbreviated PSH, argues that at least some UFO reports are best explained by psychological or social means. It is often contrasted with the better-known extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH), and is particularly popular among UFO researchers in the United Kingdom, such as David Clarke, Hilary Evans, the editors of Magonia magazine, and many of the contributors to Fortean Times magazine. It has also been popular in France since the publication in 1977 of a book written by Michel Monnerie, Et si les ovnis n'existaient pas?.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Allen Hynek</span> American astronomer and ufologist (1910–1986)

Josef Allen Hynek was an American astronomer, professor, and ufologist. He is perhaps best remembered for his UFO research. Hynek acted as scientific advisor to UFO studies undertaken by the U.S. Air Force under three projects: Project Sign (1947–1949), Project Grudge (1949–1951) and Project Blue Book (1952–1969).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Vallée</span> Computer scientist, ufologist

Jacques Fabrice Vallée is an Internet pioneer, computer scientist, venture capitalist, author, ufologist and astronomer currently residing in San Francisco, California and Paris, France.

Contactees are persons who claim to have experienced contact with extraterrestrials. Some claimed ongoing encounters, while others claimed to have had as few as a single encounter. Evidence is anecdotal in all cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Grudge</span> U.S. Air Force investigation of UFOs (1949-51)

Project Grudge was a short-lived project by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to investigate unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Grudge succeeded Project Sign in February, 1949, and was then followed by Project Blue Book. The project formally ended in December 1949, but continued in a minimal capacity until late 1999.

A UFO religion is any religion in which the existence of extraterrestrial (ET) entities operating unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is an element of belief. Typically, adherents of such religions believe the ETs to be interested in the welfare of humanity which either already is, or eventually will become, part of a pre-existing ET civilization. Other religions predate the UFO era of the mid 20th century, but incorporate ETs into a more supernatural worldview in which the UFO occupants are more akin to angels than physical aliens, but this distinction may be blurred within the overall subculture. These religions have their roots in the tropes of early science fiction and weird fiction writings, in ufology, and in the subculture of UFO sightings and alien abduction stories. Historians have considered the Aetherius Society, founded by George King, to be the first UFO religion.

Identifying unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is a difficult task due to the normally poor quality of the evidence provided by those who report sighting the unknown object. Observations and subsequent reporting are often made by those untrained in astronomy, atmospheric phenomena, aeronautics, physics, and perception. Nevertheless, most officially investigated UFO sightings, such as from the U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book, have been identified as being due to honest misidentifications of natural phenomena, aircraft, or other prosaic explanations. In early U.S. Air Force attempts to explain UFO sightings, unexplained sightings routinely numbered over one in five reports. However, in early 1953, right after the CIA's Robertson Panel, percentages of unexplained sightings dropped precipitously, usually being only a few percent in any given year. When Project Blue Book closed down in 1970, only 6% of all cases were classified as being truly unidentified.

Mac Tonnies was an American author and blogger whose work focused on futurology, transhumanism and paranormal topics.

Meade Layne was an American academic and early researcher of ufology and parapsychology, best known for proposing an early version of the interdimensional hypothesis to explain flying saucer sightings.

In ufology, cultural tracking is the tendency of UFO reports through time to change their content in line with cultural changes.

The time-traveler hypothesis, also known as chrononaut UFO, future humans, extratempestrial model and Terminator theory is the proposal that unidentified flying objects are humans traveling from the future using advanced technology. Some notable people have given recent public exposure to the hypothesis, such as retired NASA aerospace engineer Larry Lemke, Wisconsin congressman Mike Gallagher, and American filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

References

  1. 1 2 Laycock, Joseph P. (2021). "Unmasking the Alien Deception: Why Evangelicals Are Studying Ufology". In Zeller, Ben (ed.). Handbook of UFO Religions. Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion. Vol. 20. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 103–115. doi:10.1163/9789004435537_006. ISBN   978-90-04-43437-0. ISSN   1874-6691. S2CID   236696101. Archived from the original on 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Reece, Gregory L. (15 August 2007). UFO Religion: Inside Flying Saucer Cults and Culture - Gregory L. Reece - Google Books. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN   9781845114510.
  3. ↑ Boyle, Tanner F. (December 9, 2020). The Fortean Influence on Science Fiction: Charles Fort and the Evolution of the Genre. McFarland. ISBN   9781476677408. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2022– via Google Books.
  4. 1 2 Kline, Jim (9 April 2019). The Otherworld in Myth, Folklore, Cinema, and Brain Science. Cambridge Scholars. ISBN   9781527532908. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "History of UFOs". Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. World Almanac Education Group. 2006.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. 1 2 3 Kripal, Jeffrey J. (15 November 2011). Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal. University of Chicago Press. ISBN   9780226453835. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  7. ↑ Suhr, Christian (Dec 12, 2013). "AL-GHAYB THE POETICS AND POLITICS OF THE UNSEEN IN ISLAM" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "5 Jul 1947, 1 - The Herald-Sun at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  9. 1 2 "5 Jul 1947, 2 - The Herald-Sun at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  10. ↑ "15 Oct 1946, 1 - Hanford Morning Journal at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  11. ↑ Laos, Nicolas (May 19, 2016). Methexiology: Philosophical Theology and Theological Philosophy for the Deification of Humanity. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN   9781498233866. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022– via Google Books.
  12. ↑ Jacques Vallee (1980). Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults. New York: Bantam Books.
  13. 1 2 Keel, John A. (1973). "Operation Trojan Horse: An Exhaustive Study of Unidentified Flying Objects - Revealing Their Source and the Forces that Control Them". Archived from the original on 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  14. ↑ "John Keel". 10 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2022-08-10. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  15. ↑ Daugherty, Greg. "Meet J. Allen Hynek, the Astronomer Who First Classified UFO 'Close Encounters'". History.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  16. ↑ Tattoli, Chantel. "Jacques Vallée Still Doesn't Know What UFOs Are". Wired. Archived from the original on 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  17. ↑ Steven J. Dick (1999). The Biological Universe. Cambridge University Press. pp. 313–320. ISBN   9780521663618.
  18. ↑ Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1990:
  19. ↑ "We are not alone: The UFO whistleblower speaks". NewsNation. 2023-06-12. Archived from the original on 2023-06-12. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  20. ↑ December 20, Lisa Schwarzbaum Updated; EST, 2019 at 06:03 AM. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2023-06-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ↑ Child, Ben (2022-07-15). "Why there's no way back for George Lucas' alien-contact Indiana Jones storyline". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  22. ↑ Thorne, Kip (3 October 2017). "An 'Interstellar' Explainer: What Are Bulk Beings?". Medium. W. W. Norton & Company. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
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