Normal, abnormal, paranormal : philosophical determination of a ufological lexicon

This article aims to reflect on ufological questions based on the concept of “normality” and abnormality. Aiming to delineate the field of ufology, it seeks to distinguish what is abnormal from what is impossible, while questioning the criteria by which a phenomenon can be deemed “abnormal.” Introducing etymology of many terms and the notion of “perception,” the article shows that human perception has its own norms, which are therefore relative to it ; but these norms are not absolute in the sense that they can be violated, which invites us not to confuse the normative structure of human perception with impossibilities in themselves. Moreover, the reflection on perception is combined with the scientific norms conveyed by the “laws of Nature.” If the UAPs exhibit deviations from the laws of nature, it is necessary to characterize these deviations and determine whether they are “abnormal” or “anomic”; Leibniz’s conceptual framework is then invoked to clarify what a deviation from the laws of nature means, and what the possibility of such a deviation entails.