Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death
Penguin Press HC, The - Penguin Press HC, The
Release date: 2006-08-03
Hardcover
Author: Deborah Blum
James, William, Parapsychology, Medical, New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit, Supernatural, Body, Mind & Spirit / Supernatural, History, 19th century, Ghosts, Spiritualism
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Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death
Date undefinedI have to admit this book excited my interests in the studies performed by the Society for Psychical Research (The SPR's former presidents' list reads like the Who's Who in Science). One reason may have been my enormous respect for the works of the father of American psychology William James who presided over the SPR from 1894 to 1895.
Anyone who read my second book on the meaning of existence will understand the my current dilemma. For the longest time I found support for my existential convictions in the works of Camus, Sartre and Nietzsche. Their foundation was further fortified by my believe in the theories of evolution and the development of human societies as defined by the works of Darwin and Diamond.
I don't tend to accept theories lightly, but this book exposed me to a double-blind study done by SPR in the early part of the twentieth century that still occupies my mind. I still yearn to uncover the reasons behind its results. Done by a few prominent scientists (and without going into the details) the study sowed in me if not doubt then some very good reasons to reevaluate my knowledge and understanding of human consciousness and brain physiology. I feel thrown back into the race for facts that can help me integrate the results with my perceptions of life and existence.
I recommend this book to you if you are firmly established in your existential beliefs as it will offer some overwhelming facts to the contrary. You will need a very full bucket of scientific proof to quench the fire it'll start.
Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death
Date undefinedThis book provides a unique glimpse into a fascinating chapter in the history and philosophy of science. It details the work of a small circle of scientists who tried to apply the scientific method to the question of the afterlife. I was impressed by this group's relentless skepticism of individual "paranormal" events. The only precept that they left up to faith was their belief that the scientific method provided appropriate tools with which to approach the question. They formulated and tested hypotheses, attempted to do repeated experiments with appropriate controls, and statistically analyzed their data. Despite this meticulous approach, their critics dismissed them out of hand, usually without reading their papers. Regardless of your stance on the afterlife, this book is an enjoyable and informative read.
Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death
Date undefinedA book of this magnitude was long overdue. Filling in a wide historiographical gap, Deborah Blum has masterfully retold the story of the birth of spiritualism and the scientific pursuit of "psychical research." Along with Raymond Moody's The Last Laugh, this book is required reading for any aspiring investigator of the paranormal.
The cast of characters in Ghost Hunters reads like a who's who of late nineteenth and early twentieth century luminaries. Blum, however, leaves no one out of her narrative. Scientists, theologians, performers, mediums, lovers, poets, working class families, and con men all share the same stage. Biographic surprises lurk behind every page. Even those familiar with the renowned father of pragmatism, William James, are usually ignorant of his role in the investigation of paranormal phenomenon at the turn of the previous century.
Other names crop up to startle the reader. Alfred Russel Wallace, the forgotten coauthor of Darwin's theory of natural selection, the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, Charles L. Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland), and even Samuel Clemens were all members of the British Society for Psychical Research.
Blum was very adept at laying bare long forgotten antidotes of history. In Ghost Hunters, she approached her brilliant and influential subjects as they were; as human beings who experimented with narcotics, believed they had attained enlightenment under the influence of nitrous oxide, fell in love with their test subjects, and traveled to other continents to interview and test mediums and self-professed psychics of all shapes and colors.
She also weaved a detailed picture of a field of research constantly under siege by fellow scientists, journalists, and subjected to unending embarrassment caused by fraud and suspect conclusions at a time when England was ground zero in the battle between science and faith.
In the United States, William James led the charge at the helm of the American Society for Psychical Research, but his investigations seemed no more fruitful than those of his British counterparts. By 1886, Blum wrote, "their annual report... had degenerated into a list of exposures of professional practitioners." (pg.117) Their experiments dismantled spiritualist claims one after another, and many members began to conclude that mental illness lay at the heart of ghost sightings.
Finally, one medium, who claimed to have received messages from deceased British Society for Psychical Research member Richard Hodgson, ultimately boosted their morale. In one message, the spirit of Hodgson revealed the name of a woman who he had proposed to years earlier, but who had spurned his advances. William James contacted the woman, who, to his surprise, confirmed the story. This new phenomenon, known as cross-correspondence, continued to yield remarkable results, results that were not easy to dismiss as mere coincidence. James hesitantly concluded that, as evidence of an afterlife, that was as close as they were likely to get.
As a journalist, Deborah Blum failed to document her sources as thoroughly as a historian would demand. Never-the-less, her years of experience writing about science has given her the ability to weave a wonderful narrative without getting bogged down in technicalities and jargon. When it comes down to it, Ghost Hunters is both entertaining and informative, which is a rare combination these days!
(This review originally appeared in the July 2008 issue of the Legends and Lore of Illinois, located at www.blackoakmedia.org/legendsandlore.html)
