A History of Scientific Approaches to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Time to Rethink their Relegation to the Paranormal and Engage Seriously?

Abstract

The topic of “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena” (UAP) has historically been regarded with skepticism by the scientific community. After a period of relative openness and ambivalence in the 1950s and 60s, it eventually became generally categorized as a “paranormal” concern and dismissed as a legitimate focus of inquiry. However, the issue has risen to public prominence over recent years. As such, this paper argues UAP should be redeemed as a scientific topic and given the scrutiny that such a potentially important phenomenon merits. The focus here is not assessing the nature of UAP per se but simply to argue this is a valid topic that the scientific community has shied away from which deserves real consideration.