A serious conversation about UFOs

Jun 11, 2020

Diana Walsh Pasulka, a professor of religious studies and author of "American Cosmic," dives into the intriguing world of UFOs. She discusses the societal implications of recent Navy video confirmations and how historical beliefs influence modern interpretations of the unknown. The conversation navigates the stigma that surrounds UFO research, revealing unseen networks of scholars. Pasulka also examines the dichotomy between seeing UFOs as extraterrestrial versus mystical, urging a humility in understanding these phenomena while acknowledging their cultural significance.

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ANECDOTE

From Purgatory to UFOs

Diana Walsh-Pasulka's research on Catholic purgatory unexpectedly led her to UFOs.
Archival research revealed disc-like objects, prompting her to attend a UFO conference and shift her research.

INSIGHT

Purgatory's Evolution

Purgatory was initially a physical place in Ireland, later becoming a concept.
Physical locations hold significance in religious beliefs, influencing interpretations of experiences.

INSIGHT

Seeing and Believing

What we expect to see shapes our interpretations of reality.
Preconceived frameworks influence beliefs, demonstrated by differing interpretations of voices and visions.

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You may have been following — I hope you are following — the New York Times's recent UFO reporting. Videos that the Navy confirms are real show pilots seeing and marveling over craft they can't explain. And as former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid put it, those videos “only scratch the surface” of the Pentagon's UFO research.

UFOs are one of those topics that it’s hard to take seriously because they’re covered in kitsch and conspiracy. But there are those who take them seriously, which means approaching the question with humility. The history, frequency, and consistency of these events point toward something that merits study. But the explanations we force onto them — from religious visitations to aliens — confuse us further. We’re working backward from beliefs we already have, not forward from phenomena we don’t understand.

Diana Walsh Pasulka is a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion. In 2019, she published a fascinating book called American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology, in which she embeds in the world of UFO research and tries to understand it using the tools of religious scholarship. The results are revelatory in terms of theory but also in terms of the things she sees, learns, and is forced to confront.

Sometimes it's healthy — and, to be honest, fun — to train our attention on what we can't explain, not just what we can. In this episode, we do just that.

Book recommendations:

Passport to Magonia by Jacques Vallee

Authors of the Impossible by Jeffrey J. Kripal

UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record by Leslie Kean

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Credits:

Producer/Editor - Jeff Geld

Researcher - Roge Karma

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