Preternatural

The preternatural or praeternatural is that which appears outside or beside (Latin præter) the natural. In contrast to the supernatural, preternatural phenomena are presumed to have rational explanations that are unknown.

The term is often used to distinguish from the divine (supernatural) while maintaining a distinction from what is known and understood.

'For the most devout, the figure of the pope spoke with a nearly preternatural voice, vesting him with a transcending influence when, for instance, John Paul II called for the end of communism in the former Eastern bloc.' New Pope To Inherit Demystified Office By Anthony Faiola,The Washington Post Europe Online Edition, March 12 2013

In 2011, Penn State Press began publishing a learned journal entitled Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural. Edited by Kirsten Uszkalo and Richard Raiswell, the journal is dedicated to publishing articles, reviews and short editions of original texts that deal with conceptions and perceptions of the preternatural in any culture and in any historical period.

See also

• Paranormal

External links

• "What is the difference between natural, preternatural and supernatural?" Possession and Exorcism, J.A. Fortea

Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural