More On John Mack's Abduction
A review by Andrea Pritchard

Bulletin of Anomalous Experiences
Vol. 5, No. 5, October 1994, p.7

“DO ALIENS EXIST?” This is a standard question for abduction books, but it is not the question addressed by John Mack in his book Abduction. He considers a question with more far-reaching consequences: “WHAT IF ALIENS EXIST?” The answers he gets from speaking with a number of experiencers is a positive, energetic portrayal of hope, spiritually fulfilling goals, and an indication that the individual and his or her choices may matter in the grand scheme.

John has been much faulted for not being more scientific in his book, but many of his extraordinary findings are not easily studied. A first step in scientific verification is to note that others independently and prior to John's book have made similar observations. Joe Nyman also notices that some experiencers feel that they were once aliens. Leo Sprinkle, Gilda Moura and Maralyn Teare note that the experiences seem to be designed for the experiencer's growth or enlightenment. Substantiating this further requires other therapists and investigators to look for evidence of these claims among their experiencers. It is not scientific to claim these things don't exist without looking for them. If or when others find it, hopefully some clever psychological researcher will figure out how to do a critical experiment. We are not at that stage yet. John and others are still at the beginning of these studies.

To complicate matters further, the topic of abductions does not neatly fit into what is “scientific,” but strays into philosophy and realms of the spirit, even the goal or meaning of life. John can hardly be faulted for following this subject wherever it leads, and where it is appropriate to speak as a philosopher rather than a psychiatrist. Experiencers who have never heard of John Mack, speak of striving for balance or harmony with our planet and one another, of creating beauty and seeking peace. They feel called to be healers, ecologists, helpers and they become frustrated when their contributions, which seem so manifestly important and needed, are declared fringy and New Age. Science, which could be their ally in making vital contributions to the health and welfare of the people of the world, becomes perverted when it is used so unthinkingly to discredit them and discard their values. It is important to note that science does not and cannot make values and the goals which come from them. But as John Mack notes science makes conditions for what is believed and Western science is built on dualism and materialism. As well as taking Dr Mack to task, critics should join him in discussing whether these percepts are really taking us where we want to go.

To me no review of an abduction book is adequate without taking into consideration the observations of those people who think they may have experienced the phenomena. Not being an experiencer myself I've spoken to many experiencers, and potential experiencers about Abduction. So far the most positive ratings have come from potential experiencers, people who are considering exploring their experiences. The confirmed experiencers say that there is a lot of doubt, indecision and confusion which also comes from exploring memories. The meaning is not so clear as John's book indicates it is with the experiencers he sees. I hope that experiencers will discuss Abduction in BAE, for one thing John Mack's book does is to give experiencers a larger ground for discussion than has previously been laid out. Surely this is one of its important features.

© 1994 Andrea Pritchard