"This phenomenon in confounding because itseems to cross over from some realm, we know notwhere, and enter into our world," says Mack. "Ithink that this field may have some value inopening human consciousness to a larger sense ofwho we are."
At the same time Mack admits such aredefinition of reality and consciousness resultsin much public resistance.
Using a phrase coined by Michael Zimmermanprofessor of philosophy at Tulane, Mack says hiswork challenges the notion of anthropomorphichumanism ," the idea that human beings are thehighest intelligence in the universe.
Mack says. people are often reluctant to accepta notion that threatens their "world view," whichgives them a structured place in the universe.Experiences with other entities or energies causeus to reevaluate our Western, materialist outlook,says Mack.
Critics have found other ways of explainingabductions without having to radically shift theirworld views While few doubt the actual pain andtrauma abductions claim to experience, the causeand reality of these experiences are in question.
Some critics challenge the mental stability ofthe patients. But Mack says it is clear that theseindividuals are not expressing something that isthe product of some mental illness.
Mack says any psychiatric problems a patienthas could have resulted from the abduction oranother unrelated aspect of the person's life.
Mack says most of the arguments againstabduction fail to explain all five fundamentalaspects of the phenomenon: the consistency ofstories among widely separated people, the absenceof personal psychopathology that could account forthese experiences, associated physical findingssuch as scars and reports of missing people, theassociation between UFO sightings and abductionreports and the reports of the phenomena inchildren under three.
It seems as if there's little escaping thedebate and controversy surrounding Mack's currentline of work, but he's not in this alone .
"John Mack is certainly not the onlypsychiatrist investigating these type of things,"says Miller. "He's just the only one who'sup-front and out in the open."