Modern Spiritualism: A History and a Criticism
Abstract
Frank Podmore (1856–1910) published Modern Spiritualism in two volumes in 1902. It was the first comprehensive history of the Spiritualist movement. Podmore traces the historical development of Spiritualism from its earliest origins in animal magnetism and alchemy, to its apogee in the early nineteenth century and through to its decline from 1870 onwards, which Podmore associated with the growth of professional psychics and fraudsters. Volume 2, focusing on English and American Spiritualism, sets the movement in its cultural and intellectual context and includes a discussion of the relationship of Spiritualism to science. The volume includes invaluable accounts of scientific investigations into materialisations, spirit photographs, clairvoyance, hallucinations and automatism. It contains a summary and conclusion for the two volumes. Podmore was a leading member of the Victorian Society for Psychical Research and his work remains an indispensable source for the modern-day historian of nineteenth-century Spiritualism and occult practices.
... For the mesmerists, magnetism involved a profound alteration in experience that differed fundamentally from everyday waking consciousness. Among the most important indices of this somnambulistic state were an apparent increase in intelligence, clairvoyance, and a spontaneous and total amnesia for the events that occurred during the magnetic session (Esdaile, 1852;de Jussieu, 1784;Podmore, 1902). 3 The writings of 19th century mesmerists were studded with references to the intellectual and clairvoyant powers of their subjects and to the profound amnesia that purportedly followed a magnetic session (Binet & Fere, 1888;Deleuze, 1825Deleuze, /1879Haddock, 1849;Sandby, 1844). ...
... It was believed by many, for example, that somnambules could see their own internal organs and read without the use of their eyes (Frapart, 1850;Storer, 1846). Furthermore, it was believed that they could accurately predict the course of their own disorder, specifying the time of their next "attack," and also the time of their eventual cure (Bell, 1792;Binet & Fere, 1888;Deleuze, 1825Deleuze, /1879de Montravel, 1785;Podmore, 1902). In short, the role expectations of the magnetized subject included not only generalized convulsions and changes in cognitive functioning but also the performance of specific behaviors that were thought to transcend the capacities of nonmagnetized individuals. ...
... The animists held a teleological view of disease and interpreted convulsions and other symptoms as an attempt on the part of the body to rid itself of irritants (Temkin, 1971). 3 The utterances of somnambules were taken to indicate not only increased intelligence but also a heightened moral and religious sensitivity (Deleuze, 1825(Deleuze, /1879Podmore, 1902). The theme of the lowly uneducated peasant inspired by God to religious eloquence recurs regularly in the religious tradition of Western Europe (Cohn, 1970). ...
Provides a social psychological interpretation of the interrelations among demonic possession, mesmerism, and hysteria. It is argued that the reciprocal role relationship of mesmerist and magnetized S in the 18th and 19th centuries involved the secularization of the role relation that had existed between exorcist and demonically possessed. The commonalities between these 2 sets of social roles are delineated, some of the variables leading an individual to learn and enact the possessed role are outlined, and several lines of historical evidence pertaining to the influence of the exorcist–demoniac relationship on the mesmeric relationship are outlined. The influence of the possessed role in shaping the role of the hysterical patient is also discussed. The use of hysteria as a modern explanatory concept in histories of possession and mesmerism, however, is criticized. (198 ref)
... In fact, it cropped up almost immediately after the rise of Spiritualism. Our review will present examples from the early mesmeric and spiritualistic literature (see also Crabtree 1993, Podmore 1902. ...
... Although other authors have discussed some of these ideas of the living medium as the source of veridical information before the foundation of the SPR (see the reviews of Aksákow 1894, Crabtree 1993, Podmore 1902, or early after its foundation and independently from it (von Hartmann 1885a, 1885b), the literature we present is largely unknown among current writers. We hope that this note serves as a reminder that the concept of living agency in the interpretation of the phenomena of mediumship has a history that extends back to the middle of the 19 th century. ...
... 1 On spiritualistic mesmerism, see Crabtree (1993:196-212). See also Alvarado (2009). 2 Discussions of concepts of force in relation to mediumship include the works of Alvarado (2006Alvarado ( , 2008b, Crabtree (1993), and Podmore (1902). Later authors who discuss such forces in the 19 th century include Collyer (1871), Cox (1879), De Rochas (1897), and von Hartmann (1885aHartmann ( , 1885b. ...
The purpose of this note is to dispel the notion that ideas of human agency to account for the veridical mental phenomena of mediums began with persons associated with the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) in England, or with certain later individuals. In fact, the appearance of these ideas preceded the founding of the Society in 1882. Examples of earlier writers who discussed these ideas include Carl Gustav Carus, Edward W. Cox, Justinus Kerner, Asa Mahan, André-Saturnin Morin, Maximilian Perty, B. W. Richmond, and Edward C. Rogers. In contrast to the speculation by later SPR authors and others, the concepts that appeared in the old literature often involved belief in physical forces.
... These initial investigations date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Spiritualism was on the rise in North America and Europe (Podmore, 1902). The social and cultural milieu was highly favourable for reports of physical mediumship and other séance phenomena. ...
The history of religious/spiritual traditions is filled with accounts of anomalous physical phenomena ranging from levitation and bilocation to stigmata. Among these is physical mediumship, the alleged manifestation of spirits of the deceased through a series of physical anomalies such as ostensible levitation or spontaneous movements of tables or other furniture. Belief in, and reporting of, such phenomena became widespread in the USA and Europe by the late 19th and early 20th centuries following the emergence and proliferation of modern Spiritualism and practices such as “table-turning” and “table-talking”. Despite a significant decline over the 20th century in reports of physical mediumship, occasional instances are still found in different parts of the world. The aims of this paper are two-fold: first, to provide a historical introduction to tableturning and similar practices and, second, to discuss their importance to psychical research/parapsychology and related fields, particularly psychology. The introduction briefly characterizes the phenomenology of table phenomena, describing the social and historical context where such practices initially emerged, and provides an overview of existing research on this topic. This is followed by a review and discussion of the main psychological explanations for table phenomena, as well as their applicability and limitations based on existing findings. The focus then shifts to reports of table phenomena observed in the presence of the Italian medium Eusapia Palladino (1854–1918), who was arguably the most investigated of all physical mediums. In concluding, the paper offers some discussion of the methodological pitfalls associated with this research and makes a number of recommendations for future studies.
... Despite its impressive volume, Chengery Pap's magnum opus remained superfi cial, and considerations of the essential questions are lacking. Given the remarkable degree of creativity, technical skills, and unscrupulousness of fraudulent physical mediums, who sometimes even betrayed "friends" and close family members for years (Braude, 2016;Gulat-Wellenburg, Klinkowstroem, & Rosenbusch, 1925;Moser, 1974;Nahm, 2014Nahm, , 2016Nahm, , 2018Podmore, 1902;Tabori, 1951Tabori, , 1968, one must consequently consider the possibility that Chengery Pap also was duped for years by his mediums and perhaps also by other circle members. Taking the conduct of many previous fraudulent mediums and my own experiences with alleged physical mediums into account, and comparing them to Lajos Pap's conduct and peculiar habits during séances, my personal perspective on the genuineness of particularly Lajos Pap's apport phenomena is, like Fodor's, pessimistic. ...
Physical mediumship is characterized by the occurrence of phenomena that seem to defy currently prevailing standard theories of physics, such as movements of objects (macro-psychokinesis) and the seemingly unexplained materialisation of objects, sometimes in closed spaces (apports). Nevertheless, systematic investigations into apport phenomena have hardly been performed. The present article introduces one of the few exceptions. The studies were conducted by Elemér Chengery Pap from 1928 to 1938 in Budapest. He summarized his research in a voluminous but little known Hungarian treatise that ranks among the largest monographs of experimental parapsychology written by a single investigator. Still, his book contains descriptions of some the most spectacular occurrences recorded in physical mediumship. One medium in particular, Lajos Pap, allegedly produced apports that ranged from solid objects, various liquids, snow, plants, ensembles of living insects, crawfish, to living vertebrates up to the size of a sparrow hawk. After presenting an overview on the book’s contents and some of the most remarkable phenomena described therein, I summarize the results of an experimental series performed with Lajos Pap by another Hungarian-born researcher, Nandor Fodor. Drawing from Fodor’s and also other observations, I demonstrate that Chengery Pap’s research approach contained remarkable loopholes that devalue his effort to leave a supposedly objective report to posterity. The authenticity of Lajos Pap’s phenomena thus remains questionable. Nevertheless, Chengery Pap’s voluminous treatise remains of historical significance in parapsychology and provides an instructive example highlighting difficulties in studying physical mediums.
... Despite its impressive volume, Chengery Pap's magnum opus remained superfi cial, and considerations of the essential questions are lacking. Given the remarkable degree of creativity, technical skills, and unscrupulousness of fraudulent physical mediums, who sometimes even betrayed "friends" and close family members for years (Braude, 2016;Gulat-Wellenburg, Klinkowstroem, & Rosenbusch, 1925;Moser, 1974;Nahm, 2014Nahm, , 2016Nahm, , 2018Podmore, 1902;Tabori, 1951Tabori, , 1968, one must consequently consider the possibility that Chengery Pap also was duped for years by his mediums and perhaps also by other circle members. Taking the conduct of many previous fraudulent mediums and my own experiences with alleged physical mediums into account, and comparing them to Lajos Pap's conduct and peculiar habits during séances, my personal perspective on the genuineness of particularly Lajos Pap's apport phenomena is, like Fodor's, pessimistic. ...
Physical mediumship is characterized by the occurrence of phenomena that seem to defy currently prevailing standard theories of physics, such as inexplicable movements of objects (macro-psychokinesis) and the seemingly unexplained materialization of objects, sometimes in closed spaces (apports). Nevertheless, systematic investigations into apport phenomena have barely been performed. The present article introduces one of the few exceptions. The studies were conducted by Elemér Chengery Pap from 1928 to 1938 in Budapest. He summarized his research in a voluminous but little-known Hungarian treatise that ranks among the largest monographs of experimental parapsychology written by a single investigator. His book contains descriptions of some the most spectacular occurrences recorded in physical mediumship. One medium in particular, Lajos Pap, allegedly produced apports that ranged from solid objects, various liquids, snow, plants, ensembles of living insects, crawfi sh, to living vertebrates up to the size of a sparrow hawk. After presenting an overview on the book’s contents and some of the most remarkable phenomena described therein, I summarize the results of an experimental series performed with Lajos Pap by another Hungarian-born researcher, Nandor Fodor. Drawing from Fodor’s and also others’ observations, I demonstrate that Chengery Pap’s
research approach contained remarkable loopholes that devalue his eff ort to leave a supposedly objective report to posterity. The authenticity of Lajos Pap’s phenomena thus remains questionable. Nevertheless, Chengery Pap’s extensive treatise remains of historical signifi cance in parapsychology and provides an instructive example highlighting diffi culties in studying physical mediums.
... 15 There is no question that de Gasparin's tests can be considered "classic" studies. Castellan (1960:53-55) opened her chapter about "The Classic Period in Europe" in her brief history of psychical research with this work, 16 which traditionally has been included in older and more recent overviews of these topics (e.g., Podmore 1902:Volume 2:187-188, Inglis 1992. ...
The phenomena of table turning flourished during the 1850s, providing for many people a context for belief in spirit action, and for the development of explanations such as unconscious muscular movements and the exteriorization of nervous forces from the sitters. This paper consists of the presentation of excerpts from the classic study of these phenomena by Agénor de Gasparin, who reported his work on the subject in his book Des Tables Tournantes (1854, 2 volumes, translated into English in 1857). De Gasparin believed that unconscious muscular action could not explain the movements of tables, and postulated the emission of a force from the sitters around the table to account for the movements. I present a long excerpt from de Gasparin's book in which he described the phenomena he obtained, preceded by a short review of interest in table phenomena in the 1850s, and followed by critiques showing the general skepticism about these phenomena during and after de Gasparin's lifetime. © 2018 Society for Scientific Exploration. All rights reserved.
... (Haddock, 1851, p. 187) Mediumship, the experience and belief that an individual may be able to receive or be the medium for communications from spiritual entities, is an ancient and nearly universal phenomenon (Oesterreich, 1974(Oesterreich, /1921, and has been discussed in terms of dissociation and disruptions of an integrated identity. As argued by Podmore (1902), there seemed to be a connection between some of the manifestations of somnambulism and the performances of mediums from the movement referred to as "modern spiritualism." There was a short step from the experimental metaphysics of some magnetizers to the beginning of the spiritualist movement by the mid-nineteenth century, which proposed that discarnate entities, especially the deceased, could communicate with the living in various ways. ...
... This response can be illustrated in several ways. First of all, Universalist clergy played the leading role in developing a theology for Spiritualism (Kerr, 1972; Podmore, 1902). S.econdly, the founders of the National Spiritualist Association were Harrison D. Barrett and James M. Peebles. ...
This paper extends our recent quantitative research on cults by examining data on cult membership and on client cult practitioners in the United States during the 1920s. In so doing we demonstrate the great utility of a series of strangely neglected nation-wide census studies of religion conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau during the first four decades of this century. These data permit examination of some rather remarkable aspects of the specific historical developmentofa number of important American cult movements. They also permit for the first time an analysis of cult membership rather than use of more inferential measures of cult activity and strength. Analysis of the data suggests which of these sets of membership statistics will serve as valid measures of the receptivity of local environments to cult recruitment. Use of these measures to test elements of our theory of religious movements is deferred to other papers. Here our major concern is to discover some interesting historical generalizations about American cult movements. Finally, we find amazing stability in cult activity over the 40 years between the 1920s and the 1970s. This suggests the need for more basic theories of cult formation than those suggested by scholars who regard the rise of new religions as a new phenomenon.
... Plas, 2000; Sommer, 2013). An example, and the focus of the current paper, was a Swiss psychologist said in 1902 to have " done more than any other recent writer to elucidate the genesis of mediumship " (Podmore, 1902, Vol.2, p.313). We are referring to Théodore Flournoy (1854–1920). ...
In this paper we review the main contributions of Swiss psychologist Théodore
Flournoy (1854–1920) to psychical research. Flournoy always advocated the
scientific study of psychic phenomena as an important area that should not be
ignored. After a short discussion of Flournoy’s attitudes to psychic phenomena we
focus on his main work, his study of Hélène Smith (1861–1929) published in Des
Indes à la Planète Mars (1900), in which he summarized communications about
previous lives in France and India, as well as those coming from the planet Mars,
which Flournoy attributed to subconscious abilities involving imagination and
cryptomnesia. In addition, we review his other investigations of mental mediums,
observations of physical mediums, and writings about telepathy and precognition.
We argue that Flournoy’s work with mental mediums made him a significant
contributor to the study of the capabilities of the subconscious mind, work that was
important to the theoretical concerns of both dynamic psychology and psychical
research.
... Tais fenômenos adentraram a era moderna ocidental por meio de uma variedade de movimentos, entre eles o mesmerismo e o espiritualismo 5,6 , para não mencionar muitas outras crenças e práticas vindas do passado 7,8 . Muitos livros tratam de fenômenos psíquicos que desafiam as visões materialistas nas quais a mente (ou espírito ou alma, dependendo da abordagem de cada autor) poderia transcender o corpo físico e assim mostrar sua independência do corpo. ...
Although there is a long tradition of philosophical and historical discussions of the mind-body problem most of them make no mention of psychic phenomena as having implications for such an issue. This article is an overview of selected writings published in the XIX and XX centuries literatures of mesmerism, spiritualism, and psychical research whose authors have discussed apparitions, telepathy, clairvoyance, out-of-body experiences and other parapsychological phenomena as evidence for the existence of a principle separate from the body and responsible for consciousness. Some writers discussed here include individuals from different time periods. Among them are John Beloff, J. C. Colquhoun, Camille Flammarion, J. H. Jung-Stilling, Frederic W. H. Myers, and J. B. Rhine. Rather than defend the validity of their position, my purpose is to document the existence of an intellectual and conceptual tradition that has been neglected by philosophers and others in their discussions of the mind-body problem and aspects of its history.
... 2 However, there was more to the founding of these spiritualist publications than the need to provide a favorable context for discussion. As Barrow (1986) and Podmore (1902) have reminded us, the journals reflected different orientations to Spiritualism as a philosophy and as a social movement. Some British publications, such as the Spiritual Magazine (founded in 1860), were conservative in that they were Christian and distanced themselves from reform movements and such political positions as socialism. ...
This paper presents brief information about the existence and ori- entation of selected journals that have published articles on psychic phenomena. Some journals emphasize particular theoretical ideas, or methodological approaches. Examples include the Journal du magnetisme and Zoist, in which animal magnetism was discussed, and the Revue Spirite, and Luce e Ombra, which focused on discar- nate agency. Nineteenth-century journals such as the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research and the Annales des Sciences Psychiques emphasized both methodology and the careful accumu- lation of data. Some publications, such as the Journal of the Amer- ican Society for Psychical Research and the Dutch Tijdschrift voor Parapsychologie, were influenced by the agenda of a single individ- ual. Other journals represented particular approaches or points of view, such as those of spiritualism (Luce e Ombra and Psychic Sci- ence), experimental parapsychology (Journal of Parapsychology), or skepticism (Skeptical Inquirer). An awareness of the differing char- acteristics of these publications illustrates aspects of the development of parapsychology as a discipline.
... This was a time when if you required surgery you would be tied down and given something to bite on. In addition, surgical mortality during this time period was commonly 40-50% (Podmore, 1909) because antiseptic methods did not begin to be used until after the discovery of bacteria by Lister in 1866. However, Esdaile (1850) reported only a 5% mortality rate in a series of 161 surgeries for the removal of scrotal tumors, and he believed that there was less blood loss. ...
Hypnosis is a well validated treatment for acute and chronic pain (Montgomery, DuHamel, & Redd, 2000). It has been found capable of reducing inflammation, altering blood flow, and producing beneficial effects when hypnotic suggestions are provided during and prior to surgery (Frederick, 2001) and other painful medical procedures. This paper quotes extensively from historical examples of the use of hypnosis (mesmerism) as the sole anesthesia for major surgeries in the 1800's. These historic examples by themselves provide powerful documentation of the ability of the mind to influence the body, but they are then followed by a review of contemporary literature and controlled research on the use in hypnosis in relation to surgery and prior to medical procedures.
In the religious movement known as Spiritualism, a medium's task is to provide evidence that there is no such thing as death. Human existence is defined by Spiritualists in terms of continual spiritual progress rather than stark beginnings and endings, although converts do tell vivid stories of the moment they realised Spiritualism's truth. The movement changed over decades as mediums turned their attention from physical to mental manifestations of spiritual presence. Mediumship has remained popular in public culture, but as an institution Spiritualism has declined in prominence to the point where many members of the movement now join it as converts and worry about the closure of churches. In this article, I juxtapose personal and institutional beginnings and endings to show their interrelation, with people's senses of radical newness and progress cultivated in the context of perceived institutional decline.
Single case studies have a long tradition in the field of parapsychology and anomalistics research. Naturally, thorough case studies do not usually provide hard evidence for the existence of paranormal effects. However, they demonstrate the dynamics of occurrence of such extraordinary phenomena and experiences in the living world. This volume is intended to give an overview of the methodological peculiarities of anomalistic field research. On the basis of historical and current case studies, certain specific psychosocial dynamics and problems in this interesting and challenging field of research are presented and discussed.
This book contains 15 chapters written by different authors on the subject of single case studies. Although the focus is on poltergeist cases, other fields of anomalistics are also addressed, such as the UFO topic, or allegedly photographic anomalies.
Argument
Eusapia Palladino (1854-1918) is remembered as one of the most famous mediums in the history of spiritualism. Renowned scientists attended her séances in Europe and in the United States. They often had to admit to being unable to understand the origin of the phenomena produced. Cesare Lombroso, for example, after meeting Eusapia, was converted first to mediumism, then spiritualism. This article will retrace the early stages of her career as a medium and shed light on the way she managed to gain the attention of scientists. It will also show why they chose her as an epistemic object.
Spiritualists in the 19th century have endeavored to prove their assessments by using science itself which tried to debunk their field’s phenomena. The most principal claims of spiritualism have been the possibility of communicating with spirits through the agency of mediums and visioning a close person who has been in the moment of dying or far away. Scientific studies have not only been used to prove these assessments but to create new concepts and perceptions about psychic experiences. The aim of this article is to determine that spiritualists have assimilated themselves into society by using science apart from being denounced as superstitious. Hereby, what spiritualists have suggested in terms of science will be documented within a historical process and the terms which they have coined will be examined. It will be clarified that the people who have evaluated these phenomena consisted of scientists, scholars and literary figures. SPR (The Society for Psychical Research), which was completely formed by scientists and scholars, investigated the mediums and put them under multiple psychical experiments. These researches were published in their anthology named as Phantasms of The Living and their periodicals named as “The Proceedings”. The terms which were coined in order to scientificate spiritualism have been “psychic force”, “telepathy”, “hallucination” and “ectoplasm”. It will be concluded that these terms have enabled to categorize the assessments of spiritualism which were communicating and visioning spirits, and also accommodated the psychic researchers and mediums to express themselves subjectively by assimilation into society.
This chapter examines Oliphant’s second wife, Rosamond Dale Owen. Owen was the daughter of the famous commune leader Robert Dale Owen and was the granddaughter of Robert Owen both of whom were leaders of New Harmony in Indiana. This section focuses on her brief marriage to Oliphant which occurred just before he passed away in 1888. Special focus is placed on her early interpretation of the sympneumata (or her “misunderstanding” of it) as well as her later move away from it toward a more abstinence approach to sexuality (at least anything outside of traditional marriage).
In the movement known as Spiritualism, successful performances of “mental mediumship” are rarely smooth. At services held by the Canberra Spiritualist Association, mediums attempt to provide evidence of life after death by describing a deceased person's character in ways recognizable to audience members. A medium's verbal performance de‐emphasizes heteroglossia while developing vivid spirit characters. Audience members sometimes do not understand or accept what the medium says, but small “failures” in performance help build a larger sense that mediums and audiences are working to gather evidence. As they work, mediums foreground and background their agency at the same time, displaying their fluency in spirit communication while identifying spirits as ultimately responsible for being present, and offering messages to the living. [ritual, dialogue, Spiritualism, mediumship, voice, evidence, Australia]
Algunos de los primeros representantes del psicoanálisis se interesaron durante toda su vida en ciertos fenómenos del ocultismo. Aunque surgieron varias teorías para entender el interés de Sigmund Freud, Carl Gustav Jung o Sándor Ferenczi en el espiritualismo y fenómenos relacionados con él, los estudiosos habitualmente ignoran el significado cultural cambiante y la importancia de las prácticas ocultistas modernas como el espiritismo. El propósito del presente ensayo es esbozar los aspectos culturales e históricos del espiritualismo y el espiritismo en Hungría y de esta manera arrojar nueva luz sobre la participación de Ferenczi –y otros psicoanalistas húngaros como Géza Róheim, István Hollós y MIhály Bálint – en el espiritualismo y el espiritismo. Se analizarán las conexiones entre el espiritismo y la Escuela de Psicoanálisis de Budapest, y se destacará la importancia cultural y científica del espiritualismo y espiritismo húngaros en la evolución del psicoanálisis. Teniendo en cuenta la relativa falta de investigación científica en el campo del espiritismo en Hungría, puede afirmarse que Ferenczi fue un pionero de la investigación sobre el psiquismo en dicho país.
Among the many attempts to explain mediumship psychologically at the turn of the century were the efforts of Swiss psychologist Théodore Flournoy (1854–1920). In his well-known book Des Indes à la Planète Mars (1900), translated as From India to the Planet Mars (1900), Flournoy analysed the mediumistic productions of medium Hélène Smith (1861–1929), consisting of accounts of previous lives in France and in India, and material about planet Mars. Flournoy explained the phenomena as a function of cryptomnesia, suggestive influences, and subconscious creativity, analyses that influenced both psychology and psychical research. The purpose of this Classic Text is to reprint the conclusion of Flournoy’s study, whose ideas were developed in the context of psychological attention to mediumship and secondary personalities.
Examining the rise of spiritualism alongside the beginnings of modern anthropology, Richardson reveals the similarities and continuities between these seemingly distinct discourses. This chapter considers how second sight was pressed as a kind of inheritance: whether written into the biographies of famous mediums, as an example of where civilisation has progressed from or alternatively might journey to, or as a part of an archaeology record uncovered in the remote regions of Britain, second sight was written into a common evolutionary narrative. Key to this chapter are the figures of Edward B. Tylor, the founder of comparative anthropology and a vocal opponent of spiritualism, and William Howitt, a Quaker reformer and early convert to the new religion.
The present research addresses historically the construction and development
of practical and theoretical holistic theology of Ellen White bequeathed to the
Seventh Day Adventist Church. Ellen White lived at the time in which her
country, the United States of America, were firmed while nation and died
precisely when it sought the world hegemony. Thus, passing through turbulent
years of Secession and incorporating the spirit pragmatic American she grew
and lean on with her homeland. Self-taught, she helped to found one of the
original churches of this country, the fruit of the union of heterogeneous thought
of various protestant congregations. Her work stands for affirmation and
experience of biblical beliefs that comprise the Adventist brazen faith. However,
her compendium, extracted from thousands of pages produced over the course
of seven decades devoted to church, stands out clearly the inseparable
intercorrelation between body and spirit. From this paradigm, for her, these two
bodies form the soul, that having body portion is deadly. This is then what is the
human being: a mortal soul in search of immortality, only achieved by
redeemed after the coming of Jesus, a literal event to be soon perceived - the
greatest hope of the Adventist still today. In Ellen White, as should be perceived
along the work, since the serene and balanced relationship between body and
spirit, there is a fervent defense and at the same time thrilled attack to those
who unlike this perspective taken by her Christian, call for classical philosophy.
It is in the scope of this carnal theology dictated by her biblical that it must be
the human being aligned. Thus, to maintain a healthy diet, doing regular
physical exercises, ensure the integral education and experience the nature,
configure exercises in search of full spirituality which allied to the life of piety
and prayer lead to sanctification - central theme of her writings. The first chapter
of the thesis analyzes historically the United States and Europe at the time of
Ellen White; the second deals with the historical and social construction of the
belief in the mortality of the soul - center of this work, while the third and last is
the holistic whitean approach of body and spirit with views to the fullness of
soul.
The discussion may be opened with passing mention of the fact that the reverberations of Crookes’ involvement in the realm of the so-called spiritualistic have continued right down to the present with the claim of one contemporary writer that Crookes was, in some way, coerced into betraying his scientific probity through his (putatively) illicit liaison with a young medium, one, Florence Cooke, of Hackney.1 The plausibility of this contention — and whatever the details of Crookes’ love life — must be left for the judgement of the reader. More for the immediate purpose is the scope of the ad hominem attack which took place within the context of Crookes’ own time.
Mediumship was a topic of great interest to some nineteenth-century students of mental phenomena. Together with the phenomena of hypnosis and other manifestations, mediumship was seen by many as a dissociative phenomenon. The purpose of this Classic Text is to present an excerpt of an article about the topic that William James (1842–1910) published in 1886 in the Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research about American medium Leonora E. Piper (1857–1950). The article, an indication of late nineteenth-century interactions between dissociation studies and psychical research, was the first report of research with Mrs Piper, a widely investigated medium of great importance for the development of mediumship studies. In addition to studying the case as a dissociative experience, James explored the possibility that Piper’s mentation contained verifiable information suggestive of ‘supernormal’ knowledge. Consequently, James provides an example of a topic neglected in historical studies, the ideas of those who combined conventional dissociation studies with psychical research.
The present paper describes the development and the phenomena of a circle for physical mediumship, based predominantly on my own observations. Over the course of four and a half years, I have participated in 21 sittings. Typical phenomena include unusual movements of a table, raps on the room walls and the ceiling, various luminous and psychokinetic phenomena, the generation of supposed ectoplasm, and apports. I will describe the controls applied during the sittings and my personal involvement in accompanying the development of the phenomena, and explain why I finally arrived at the conclusion that considerable parts of the phenomena were produced by fraudulent means.
Keywords: Physical mediumship - raps - psychokinesis - ectoplasm - apports - circle - fraud
While no view of past parapsychological developments is free of problems, it is worthwhile to discuss how our accounts can be distorted, if only to be more aware of our working assumptions. In this address I will focus on the writings of parapsychologists, and particularly on some problems in these writings producing a distorted view of the past of the discipline. I argue that the past is distorted when we neglect the work of specific groups and individuals (such as lesser-known figures and women); when we see the past as a function of the present (neglect of unpopular ideas today, justification of research programs); and when we focus mainly on positive aspects of the study of psychic phenomena (neglect of critics and of examples of the rejection of the field). It is my hope that a consideration of these issues will assist us in expanding the reach of such writings.
Keywords: history of parapsychology—history of psychical research—great men history—justification history—presentism
G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924) was one the most prominent of the early American psychologists and an outspoken skeptic about the existence of psychic phenomena. This article presents a reprint of one of his critiques on the topic, a little-known paper entitled "Mystic or Borderline Phenomena" published in 1909 in the Proceedings of the Southern California Teacher's Association. Hall commented on some phenomena of physical mediumship, as well as on apparitions, telepathy, and mental healing. In his view all could be explained via conventional ways such as trickery and the workings of the unconscious mind. The paper is reprinted with an introduction and annotations providing biographical information about Hall and additional information and clarification of the points he made in the paper. It is argued that Hall's paper represents an instance of boundary-work common at the beginning of organized psychology, representing an attempt to give authority to the discipline over fields such as psychical research.
This article explores the relationship between percipient and the narrative purpose in Poe’s “Mesmeric Revelation”, arguing ultimately that the various questions raised by this relationship have a great deal in common with altered-state theories of hypnosis. It challenges predictable interpretations of this short story in an effort to open up a new avenue for exploring not only the art of fiction, but, by logical extension, all other branches of creative activity as well. Primary emphasis is given to the nature of the percipient's reduced peripheral awareness as (s)he appreciates a work of art, in this case, “Mesmeric Revelation”, and how, according to Poe’s “The Philosophy of Composition”, the cultivation of this focused attention lies at the heart of the most effective artistic products.
Some of the early representatives of psychoanalysis had a lifelong interest in certain 'occult' phenomena. Although several theories were born for the purpose of understanding the interest of Sigmund Freud, Carl Gustav Jung or Sándor Ferenczi in spiritualism and related phenomena, interpreters usually ignore the changing cultural meaning and significance of modern occult practices like spiritualism. The aim of the present essay is to outline the cultural and historical aspects of spiritualism and spiritism in Hungary, and thus to shed new light on the involvement of Ferenczi - and other Hungarian psychoanalysts like Géza Róheim, István Hollós, and Mihály Bálint - in spiritualism and spiritism. The connections between spiritualism and the Budapest School of Psychoanalysis will be discussed, highlighting the cultural and scientific significance of Hungarian spiritualism and spiritism in the evolution of psychoanalysis. Taking into account the relative lack of the scientific research in the field of spiritism in Hungary, it can be pointed out that Ferenczi undertook a pioneering role in Hungarian psychical research.
Copyright © 2015 Institute of Psychoanalysis.
This article uses frame analysis to examine the performances of the Victorian mediums, Charles Foster, Henry Slade and the Davenport brothers. Frame analysis is concerned with how individuals define and organize their experience, and describes how actions are recognized as, for example, ‘serious’ or ‘play’. It is particularly relevant to the performance of magic and other deception‐related interactions such as psychic fraud. Foster, Slade and the Davenports presented themselves both privately and publicly as genuine mediums, and their performances as manifestations of departed spirits. Nevertheless, all of them were denounced as tricksters by most of the public. While each of them pioneered a new kind of conjuring effect, all of these effects were copied by stage conjurors and later became staple tricks of stage magicians. Furthermore, all of these mediums were caught cheating during performances. In spite of this, spiritualists continued to claim that they were genuine mediums. It would be easy to dismiss spiritualists as gullible fools, as many Victorians did, but a frame analysis of their performances shows that there was a great deal more to how these performances were made to seem real, rather than trickery.
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