Any scientist who wants to study ‘heretical’ research areas such as parapsychology knows the risk that doing so poses to their reputation, and thus future career. Dr Stanley Krippner is one who, from the 1970s, has forged ahead down that dicey career path – and in doing so, has actually gone on to hold down a long-term academic position and gain the respect of nearly all other scientists who have studied his work (even the famously cantankerous skeptic James Randi holds Krippner’s work in high regard).
From dream telepathy experiments, through anthropological investigation of psychic claimants in cultures around the world, to researching links between LSD and psi experiences, the 86-year-old psychologist has studied the gamut of consciousness ‘anomalies’ (see, for example, the documentary Transmitting Thought, on his famous Maimonides dream telepathy experiments.)
Unfortunately, however, Krippner’s interest in these areas has not translated into a lucractive career, and after four decades of employment with Saybrook University, they have now terminated his employment as they move from the Bay Area to Southern California. So he’s now in a bit of a financial jam.
So a GoFundme account has been set-up to allow anyone who appreciates the fantastic research and integrity of the man to chip in a few dollars:
Stanley has not accumulated the nest egg that you might expect for one of his stature. He has never taken the most lucrative positions his intellectual prowess would allow, instead pioneering fields such as parapsychology, shamanic studies, and dream work, often at his own expense and primarily within non-conventional institutions. Still, at 86, he is determined to continue contributing in ways that make this a smarter and more compassionate society. But at this juncture, he is in a time of substantial financial straits at both the personal and professional levels…
…We know few people who have been more kind, more generous, and more effective in enhancing the lives of so many others than Stanley Krippner. Now is the time for that kindness to come back to him.
To learn more about Stanley Krippner, see this profile in SF Weekly from back in 2012.
