Mind-body relationship: a study about the presumed communication between the living and the dead, through the psychographic letters channeled by Francisco Candido Xavier

• Grant number: 10/11047-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: February 01, 2011
• End date: January 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: Francisco Lotufo Neto
• Grantee: Alexandre Caroli Rocha
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

For centuries the study of the mind-body relationship has been stirring uncountable controversies. The debate about this issue is based on two main hypotheses: the hypothesis that the mind is a product of the cerebral activity and, on the other hand, the hypothesis that the brain acts as a filter through which the mind manifests itself. The research of experiences believed to be spiritual ones may assume an important role in the mind-body relationship knowledge (Moreira-Almeida, 2008). In Brazil there is a religious practice that occurs through the writing of letters supposedly delivered by the "sprits" of the deceased through "mediums" - people who claim to be able to communicate with the "spiritual world". These missives were made popular by Francisco Cândido Xavier (1910-2002), more widely known as Chico Xavier. They are also the subject of extensive layman literature. However, the academic researches on this issue, so significant for the study of the mind-body relationship, are very scarce. This project objective is to investigate whether the psychographic letters offer evidence of anomalous information gathering, in this way collaborating towards a better understanding of the mind-body relationship. The research will be based on the missives textual analysis and on semi-structured interviews with their addressees and the deceased's close relatives. This is a collaborative interdisciplinary project proposed by two researchers: Alexandre Caroli Rocha, who will be in charge of the textual studies, and Denise Paraná, that will conduct the interviews. Based on the texts and interviews findings we intend to check the information specificities enclosed in the letters, which were their more significant characteristics and through what means the medium could have had access to these information. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

PARANA, DENISE; ROCHA, ALEXANDRE CAROLI; FREIRE, ELIZABETH SCHMITT; NETO, FRANCISCO LOTUFO; MOREIRA-ALMEIDA, ALEXANDER. An Empirical Investigation of Alleged Mediumistic Writing A Case Study of Chico Xavier's Letters. JOURNAL OF NERVOUS AND MENTAL DISEASE, v. 207, n. 6, p. 497-504, JUN 2019. (10/11047-0)

ROCHA, ALEXANDRE CAROLI; PARANA, DENISE; FREIRE, ELIZABETH SCHMITT; NETO, FRANCISCO LOTUFO; MOREIRA-ALMEIDA, ALEXANDER. INVESTIGATING THE FIT AND ACCURACY OF ALLEGED MEDIUMISTIC WRITING: A CASE STUDY OF CHICO XAVIER'S LETTERS. EXPLORE-THE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND HEALING, v. 10, n. 5, p. 300-308, SEP-OCT 2014. (10/11047-0)