David Michael Jacobs

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Ufologist
Biography
Name: Dr David M. Jacobs
Resume
Field:
Paranormal Area: ufologist

David Michael Jacobs is a historian who is prominently known in the field of Ufology for his research into alien abductions and UFOs.

Contents

[edit] Full Time Member of Faculty at Temple University

David M. Jacobs, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of History at Temple University[1] specializing in twentieth century American history and culture.

[edit] Public Profile

Dr. Jacobs has a high public profile in the field of Ufology. He has lectured widely, and he has been interviewed and participated in numerous television and radio shows on the subject of alien abductions.[2]

[edit] Alien Abduction Research

Dr Jacobs was awarded his PhD in 1973 and a revised edition of his dissertation, The UFO Controversy in America, was published by Indiana University Press in 1975. Since then a number of other UFO related publications have been published by the same author. In his research into abductions he predominantly uses the controversial technique of hypnotic regression and has been conducting his research into UFOs and abductions for over 40 years. In that time he has conducted over 1000 hypnotic regressions with individuals from around world. Dr David Jacobs is considered to be one of the foremost alien abduction researchers worldwide alongside other researchers such as Budd Hopkins, John Mack and John Carpenter.

[edit] Criticism

Professional scientists such as Carl Sagan and Susan Clancy have criticised the methods used by Jacobs and other abduction researchers. In October 2005 Susan Clancy published Abducted: How People Come to Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliens in which she highlights problems associated with abduction research such as memory retrieval using hypnosis with regard to 'leading' the patient and other issues such as sleep paralysis. In his book, The Demon-Haunted World, Sagan criticised the UFO and abduction phenomenon, proposing that sightings and experiences can be attributed to mistaken identity and faulty memory.

[edit] Jacobs On Debunkers

When it comes to abductions, scientists become unscientific with speeds approaching that of light. Of course, abductions are not in the normal scientific milieu. They are so far out of the norm that it leads to a line of reasoning as follows: “It does not matter how I get to my Explanation. Doing careful research is a waste of my precious time. Everyone knows that UFO abductions cannot and do not exist. Therefore, even though a UFO fanatic out there might take issue with petty factual problems, I am not required to get everything right because my Explanation will, in the end, be correct.” Thus, when it comes to abduction debunking, careful research and academic and/or scientific justification or rationale is not necessary. The ends justify the means.[3]

[edit] Publications

Dr. Jacobs' publications include the following:[4]

  • The UFO Controversy in America (1973).
  • UFOs and the Search for Scientific Legitimacy, in The Occult in America: New Historical Perspectives, ed. Howard Kerr and Charles Crow (1983).
  • The UFO Phenomenon in American Society, in MUFON Symposium Proceedings (1987).
  • Secret Life: Firsthand Accounts of UFO Abductions (1992).
  • The Threat (1998)
  • UFOs and Abductions: Challenging the Borders of Knowledge (2000) [5]

[edit] See also

[edit] Website

http://www.ufoabduction.com/

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The Department of History". Temple University. Retrieved on 2008-09-08.
  2. ^ "Dr. David Jacobs". Jerry Pippin Productions. Retrieved on 2008-09-10.
  3. ^ http://www.ufoabduction.com/clancyreview.htm
  4. ^ "David M. Jacobs - The Department of History". Temple University. Retrieved on 2008-09-02.
  5. ^ "UFOs and Abductions". University Press of Kansas. Retrieved on 2008-09-10.
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