A reflection on Whitley Strieber’s The Fourth Mind

[Laird]

A reflection on Whitley Strieber’s The Fourth Mind

By our own @Aussie Mike on his Aspiring Animist blog on July 6, 2025.

In The Fourth Mind Whitley makes two compelling arguments:

• The Visitors’ primary state of existence is non-material
  
• They come here in what seem to be engineered organic forms.
  

Re the former claim, Mike says that "Whitley reminds us that so is ours", and asserts of the latter that it is "more problematic", and is in turn based on Whitley's claim that "he has access to confidential or highly restricted material that includes autopsy reports". However, Mike continues:

My willingness to allow this position may have merit rests some long held reservations that the apparent physicality of some ET doesn’t appear to have any biological sense behind it. I suspected that maybe they were more metaphor than form.

Whitley observes that the autopsy reports say the bodies examined appear not to be well-designed. Maybe flawed but still fit for a limited purpose, I guess. There’s a difference between guided evolution and bio-engineering to create a single purpose vehicle. He says that Visitor bodies are more akin to diving suits. Perhaps if they are something you put on and then take off soon after its like a distinction between off the rack clothing and tailored outfits? Some don’t have to be finely crafted.

The conclusion of this blog post begins with:

Whitley is speculating, which suggests that his Visitors haven’t told him anything directly about their nature, origin and purpose.