THE PHENOMENA OF SPIRITISM.
If a Man die, shall he live again?--The Problem not solved by
Spiritistic Phenomena.--The Phenomena admitted.--Their Supernatural
Origin denied.--Explained by the Hypothesis.--Subsidiary
Hypothesis.--An Intelligent Dynamic Force.--Its
Characteristics.--Limited by Medium's Intelligence.--It is
controlled by Suggestion.--Phenomena fail in Presence of
Scepticism.--Reasons.--Mediumistic Frauds.--The Primary
Lesson in Spiritistic Investigation.--Mediums not necessarily
dishonest.--Their Honest Belief in the Phenomena.--Suggestion
explains all.--Illustrations from Hypnotism.--Convincing Character
of Alleged Communications.--Telepathic Explanations.--General
Conclusions.
The next subject which claims our attention in connection with the
hypothesis under consideration is that of modern spiritism. It is
approached with much diffidence and some misgivings, not because of any
doubt as to the applicability of the hypothesis to the vast range of
so-called spiritual phenomena, but because of the transcendent interest
and importance of the subject to all mankind. It cannot be forgotten
that millions of human beings base their hopes of a life beyond the
grave upon their belief that in the phenomena of spiritism they have
tangible evidence of the immortality of the soul, and that by means of
such phenomena they can be put into communication with the spirits of
the loved ones who have gone before. The fact cannot be ignored that
there are millions of stricken hearts whose wounds have been healed
by the consolation afforded by that conviction. The great question,
"If a man die, shall he live again?" has been by these phenomena
satisfactorily answered for many whom revealed religion failed to
satisfy, for many whose reasoning powers have failed to grasp the logic
of the theologian. It were an unwelcome task to throw a shade of doubt
upon the validity of evidence which to many seems to be "confirmation
strong as proofs of Holy Writ;" and if in the perusal of the following
pages such doubt arises, the reader is begged to discriminate between
the question of the validity of evidence and the question of fact.
For, be it remembered, I shall not undertake to prove that the souls
of men do not live after the death of the body. That question stands
just where it has always stood. It is a problem which, outside of
revelation, is no nearer a solution than it was when Job propounded the
momentous question. Neither will I undertake to say that the spirits
of the dead do not and cannot communicate with the living. I do not
know. But I do undertake to say, and will attempt to prove, that the
phenomena of spiritism, so-called, do not constitute valid evidence
of the ability of spirits of the dead to hold intercourse with the
living. In doing so, no attempt will be made to deny the phenomena of
spiritism. On the contrary, I shall not only admit the possibility
of every phenomenon alleged by any respectable number of reputable
witnesses to have occurred, but I shall also assume the substantial
accuracy of the general statements made by spiritists regarding the
leading phenomena of spiritism. But I shall attempt to explain their
origin on other grounds than the supposition that they are caused by
the spirits of the dead. In other words, I admit the alleged phenomena,
but deny the alleged cause.
I will not waste time, however, by attempting to prove by experiments
of my own, or of others, that such phenomena do occur. It is too
late for that. The facts are too well known to the civilized world
to require proofs at this time. The man who denies the phenomena of
spiritism to-day is not entitled to be called a sceptic, he is simply
ignorant; and it would be a hopeless task to attempt to enlighten him.
I shall indulge in the hope, however, that by explaining the origin of
the phenomena on rational principles, and thus removing them from the
realm of the supernatural, those who now assume to be sceptical may be
induced to investigate for themselves. It is easy to deny the existence
of that for which we cannot account by reference to known laws, and
it is easy to believe in that which can be thus explained. This is
especially true in regard to phenomena which are popularly attributed
to a supernatural origin. Modern scientists have an easy way of
treating such phenomena, which consists in denying their existence and
refusing to investigate. Such men would plug their own ears and deny
the phenomenon of thunder if they could not account for it by reference
to laws with which they are familiar. And such a proceeding would be no
more senseless than, at this day, to deny the phenomena of spiritism.
In justice, however, to those scientists who have sought to investigate
the subject, and have failed to witness the phenomena promised, it
must be said that in many instances their failure is attributable, not
to any fault of their own, or lack of earnest purpose on their part,
but to a want of knowledge of the fundamental laws which pertain to
the production of such phenomena. The reasons for the frequent failure
to produce psychic phenomena in presence of avowed sceptics has been
fully discussed in a previous chapter of this book, to which the reader
is referred. But at the risk of repetition they will be restated in
their proper place in this chapter, as they pertain to the subject of
so-called spirit phenomena.
The laws which govern the production of the phenomena under
consideration are precisely the same as those which pertain to all
the other phenomena which have been discussed; and the fundamental
propositions of our hypothesis apply with equal force to them all.
Again, the reader is asked to recall those propositions, in order that
their force and logical sequence may remain clear to his mind in this
connection. They are:--
1. The mind of man is dual in its nature,--objective and subjective.
2. The subjective mind is constantly controlled by suggestion.
These two propositions would seem to have been so well established
as to need no further elucidation at this time. The subsidiary
proposition, which applies to the phenomena under consideration, is
that,--
3. The subjective mind, or entity, possesses physical power; that is,
the power to make itself heard and felt, and to move ponderable objects.
This may seem at first glance to be begging the question; but its truth
must be assumed provisionally, for the sake of the argument which
follows. It will readily be seen that if those three propositions
can be established, all the physical phenomena of spiritism can be
accounted for on the ground that living man possesses inherently the
power to produce them. And this is the position which we must assume,
for it appears to be the truth.
It must be acknowledged by all who have witnessed, under test
conditions, any of the physical phenomena, that there is a dynamic
force residing somewhere that is capable of moving ponderable objects
without physical contact, and that this force, whatever it is, or
from whatever source it emanates, possesses intelligence, oftentimes
to a remarkable degree. Now, this intelligent force either emanates
from the spirits of the dead, or it does not. If it does not, it
necessarily follows that it emanates from the living. That this last
supposition is the true one is evidenced by many of the characteristics
of the intelligence which it manifests, among which the following are
prominent:--
It is essentially a human intelligence, and neither rises above nor
sinks below the ordinary intelligence of humanity.
The intelligence is always on a level with that of the medium through
whom it manifests itself. That is, it never rises so far above that
of the medium as to preclude the possibility of its having its origin
in the medium's subjective mind. That it often rises above the
medium's known objective intelligence, is well known and admitted.
But we have already seen what remarkable powers the subjective mind
possesses in certain lines of intellectual activity, and with what
limitations it is hedged about; and we find that the intellectual feats
of mediums possess all the characteristics belonging to subjective
intelligence,--the same wonderful powers, and the same limitations.
That so-called spirit communications always correspond to the nature
of the medium's mind and character, and are limited by his capacity,
is admitted by all the ablest writers on spiritism; and their greatest
ingenuity is taxed to account for the fact. Alleged communications from
the greatest philosophers who have gone before, amount to the merest
twaddle when filtered through an ignorant medium.
Again, we find that the intelligence is controllable by the power of
suggestion. This is shown in the readiness with which "spirits" can be
made to respond to calls made upon them, whether they have any real
existence or not. It is well known that any one can as readily obtain
a communication from an imaginary person as from a real one, from a
living person as from the dead, providing the medium does not happen
to know the facts. The writer has had frequent and very affectionate
communications from an imaginary dead sister, and has occasionally had
a very touching communication from himself, the medium believing the
name to represent a dead brother. The fact that he never had either
brother or sister made the communication all the more convincing.
This perfect amenability to control by suggestion is evinced in another
most remarkable way. It is well known to every person who has been
in the habit of attending spiritual séances how necessary it is that
"harmonious conditions" should prevail. The very presence of an avowed
sceptic will often prevent any manifestations. It frequently happens
that some one present remarks, in a despairing tone, that he does not
expect any manifestations, "because it always happens that when I am
present no communications can be had." When such a remark is made, the
chances are ten to one that the "spirits" will refuse to respond. Why
this happens, spiritists have laboriously attempted to explain, but
never satisfactorily, except to themselves. The fact that a spirit,
possessing sufficient power to move a table, raise a piano to the
ceiling, or levitate the medium, should be paralyzed in presence of
one who does not believe in spirits, is simply inexplicable, except
upon the one hypothesis, namely, that the power evoked is that of the
subjective mind of the medium, which is amenable to control by the
mysterious power of suggestion. It is inconceivable that the spirit
of Napoleon Bonaparte, who, when living, swayed the destinies of
nations, used kings and popes as his puppets, and led his hosts to
successful battle against the combined armies of Europe, should, when
dead, shrink, abashed and powerless, in presence of some one man who
happens not to believe in spiritism. But it can be readily understood
how a séance should prove a failure when we assume that the power
that moves the table or writes the communications is exercised by the
subjective intelligence of the medium, and that the presence of an
avowed sceptic operates as an ever-present and all-potent suggestion
that the promised manifestations are impossible in his presence. It
is in strict accordance with the universal law of suggestion that
such should be the result. It is this constant amenability to control
by suggestion which always hampers mediums when they are giving test
séances in the presence of sceptical investigators; and I undertake
to say that no medium ever was, or ever can be, powerful enough to
produce his phenomena under test conditions in presence of a hostile
and aggressively sceptical investigating committee. It is no fault of
the medium that this is the case, and it is no test whatever of the
genuineness of his phenomena. But it is presumptive, if not conclusive,
evidence that the source of his phenomena resides within himself, and
hence is amenable to the universal law which governs the action of
all subjective intelligence and power. Neither is it any reflection
upon the sincerity of the investigator that he fails to witness the
phenomena that have been promised. His ignorance of the law which
governs the subject-matter, together with his desire to be frank and
honest enough with the medium to put him in possession of a knowledge
of his sentiments and prejudices, leads him unwittingly to place an
insuperable barrier in the way of success. It unfortunately happens
that many professional mediums, despairing of success in producing
the genuine phenomena, and more than ordinarily anxious to earn the
reward of success, will, under such circumstances, resort to fraud
and legerdemain. The temptation to do so is great when he reflects
upon how much is at stake, the immediate monetary reward promised
being the least consideration. His professional pride, his love of
approbation, his hope of future fame and emolument in case he succeeds
in convincing a sceptical scientific investigator,--all operate to
constitute a temptation too great to be always successfully withstood.
Besides, he knows that, under favorable conditions, he can produce the
genuine phenomena, that he has produced them again and again, and he
quiets his conscience by reflecting that it can do no harm to resort to
legerdemain to simulate that which he knows to have a genuine existence.
In this connection it may be well to state what must already be obvious
to the intelligent reader; namely, that the only way to secure the
production of genuine phenomena is, first, to secure the confidence of
the medium by assuming to be in hearty sympathy with him, and by giving
him to understand that you thoroughly believe in his honesty and his
power to produce genuine phenomena. Give him all the time he wants,
and assure him that you are in no hurry; remembering always that quiet
passivity and undisturbed serenity of mind on the part of a medium is
an indispensable prerequisite to success, not only in producing the
phenomena, but in entering the subjective condition. It is precisely
the same in this respect as it is in hypnotism. The condition of the
medium, when in a trance or partial trance, is precisely the condition
of a hypnotized person, and he is subject to the same laws, and the
same conditions are necessary and indispensable to his success. Every
hypnotist knows that it would be madness to antagonize a hypnotic
subject by suggesting to him in advance that he is an impostor, or
that hypnotic phenomena are mere humbug, and then expect to hypnotize
him and produce the phenomena. When investigators realize this one fact
they will have taken the primary lesson in spiritistic investigation.
Every one who understands the first principles of hypnotism knows
what folly it would be to subject the science to the test of allowing
a sceptical investigator to take a subject in hand and begin the
operation of trying to hypnotize him by assuring him that hypnotism
is imposture, and all subjects are mere pretenders. And yet one who
investigates hypnotism in that way does, in effect, precisely what the
sceptical investigator of spiritistic phenomena does when he avows his
scepticism to the medium in advance. If investigators would observe
the rule here suggested, and always endeavor to put the medium at his
ease and accede to all the conditions prescribed by him, instead of
insisting upon test conditions of their own devising, they would soon
find that they would witness all the phenomena desired, and under
conditions that preclude the possibility of fraud or legerdemain. Any
other course almost of necessity defeats the object sought.
It will be seen, therefore, that a failure to produce phenomena at
a given time does not necessarily indicate fraud on the part of the
medium; and in strict justice to professional mediums, who as a class
have been brought into disrepute by the fraudulent practices of some
of their number, it must be said that the detection of a medium in
fraudulent practices does not _per se_ prove that he was consciously
guilty; for it is an undoubted fact that when a medium is unconscious,
and his subjective mind is in control, it often acts capriciously,
and presumably fraudulent practices might be indulged in without the
objective knowledge or consent of the medium. Therefore, until the
laws governing the subject-matter are better understood, we should
extend the broadest charity over the professional medium, except in
cases where it is discovered that the paraphernalia necessary for the
perpetration of fraud have been prepared by the medium in advance.
At this point the question will naturally be asked, "How can a medium,
professional or otherwise, be entitled to credit for honesty, who
represents himself as being able to hold communion with the spirits
of the dead, or to be an instrument through which communications
from spirits of the dead can be obtained, if, in point of fact, such
communications have their origin wholly within his own personality?"
This is perhaps the most pertinent and the most far-reaching
question that could be formulated in regard to the hypothesis under
consideration. If it could not be fairly answered from a purely
scientific standpoint, our hypothesis would not be worthy of further
discussion; for it is simply impossible to presuppose that all the
immense number of mediums, professional and private, who may be
found in all ranks of society throughout the civilized world, are
deliberately and consciously perpetrating a fraud upon mankind. On
the contrary, I here take occasion to say that there is no system of
religious belief which is so thoroughly fortified by facts as that of
spiritism, when its phenomena are viewed from the standpoint of the
investigator who is unacquainted with the latest scientific discoveries
in the domain of experimental psychology. But with that knowledge in
possession, the evidential value of the phenomena of spiritism is
vastly depreciated, and the high character of the medium for truth and
sincerity loses all its weight as a factor in the case.
The intelligent reader has already anticipated the answer to the
foregoing question. It is simply this: that the subjective mind of
the medium, being controlled by suggestion, believes itself to be the
spirit of any deceased person whose name is suggested. It has been
educated to that belief through the objective education and environment
of the individual. It is, by the laws of its being, absolutely
controlled by the objective belief of the medium, and the suggestions
embraced in that belief. It is true that it often acts capriciously and
independently, but it is always in pursuance of the auto-suggestion
or belief of the medium that it is an extraneous and, therefore, an
independent power.
No one who has witnessed even the stage exhibitions of the phenomena
of hypnotism will doubt the substantial truth of this proposition. An
intelligent subject can be made to assume any number of characters,
diverse as the antipodes, and in each one he will imitate the original
in thought, word, and action with perfect fidelity, so far as he knows
the character, habits, and idiosyncrasies of the individual personated,
firmly believing himself to be the individual he represents. He may,
with the same facility, be transformed into an angel or a devil or an
animal; and he will never doubt the truth of the suggestion, or fail to
act the character suggested, so far as it is physically possible. These
facts are well known to all hypnotists, as well as to all who witness
the common stage exhibitions of the phenomena. Some stage hypnotists
have much difficulty in preventing their subjects from exhibiting
spiritistic phenomena on the platform. This was a common experience of
Professor Cadwell, an American performer, who was himself a spiritist.
When it became known to his audiences and subjects that the latter were
liable to be "controlled by spirits," the trouble became very marked,
and the professor was greatly annoyed by the frequency with which his
subjects were seized upon by "passing spirits," and made to receive
communications and perform other antics in the name of the spirits
of their dead acquaintances. The phenomena exhibited through these
subjects were identical with those shown through ordinary mediums,
and indeed some of his best subjects afterwards became successful
professional mediums. That the liability of the professor's subjects to
lapse into mediumship was the result of suggestion is shown by the fact
that Professor Carpenter, who was Cadwell's pupil, and operated by his
methods, and was in every sense his peer as an operator, never had any
trouble with mediumistic phenomena, for the simple reason that he was
careful to avoid suggesting the idea to his subjects that such a thing
was possible. In point of fact it is well known to many hypnotists
that all the phenomena of spiritism can be reproduced through their
subjects by simply suggesting to them that they are under the control
of spirits. Of course it may be said that the spirits do actually take
possession of a hypnotic subject when permitted to do so, and that it
is the genuine control of spirits after all. The answer to this is that
it is also just as easy to obtain communications from a living person
through a hypnotic subject as from a dead one, and from an imaginary
person as from a real one, by merely making the proper suggestion. The
same is true of any medium, for that matter, as will presently be shown.
It is obvious, therefore, that the universal law of suggestion operates
upon the subjective mind of a medium with the same force and certainty
as upon all others. He is in the subjective, or hypnotic, condition.
The suggestion that he is about to be controlled by the spirits of the
dead is ever present to his mind, and is all potent. It is a part of
his education. It is his religious belief. No other explanation of the
mysterious phenomena is known to him. He knows only that he is moved by
a power, an intelligence, over which he exerts no conscious control.
It gives utterance to thoughts beyond his comprehension, and possesses
knowledge of matters of which he consciously knows nothing. His
conclusion is, first that the intelligence is something extraneous to
his personality, and secondly that it must be that of an inhabitant of
another world. From his standpoint it is the only rational conclusion.
His hereditary belief in the immortality of the soul confirms it. His
reading of the Bible sanctions the belief in the power of spirits to
hold communion with the living. His hope of a life beyond the grave,
and his longing to hold communion with the loved and lost, combine to
give his conclusions a welcome reception in the chambers of his mind.
A more potent suggestion was never forced upon the subjective
mind of man than this; and in obedience to the universal law, it
must be believed by the medium's subjective mind, and acted upon
accordingly. And the subjective mind _does_ believe the suggestion
most implicitly. If it did not, the law of suggestion would have no
place in experimental psychology, and all the conclusions deducible
therefrom would have to be revised. So believing, it follows that,
when questioned, it will unhesitatingly affirm that it is the spirit
of whatever person is suggested; and so far as the medium knows the
character or antecedents of the spirit invoked, that spirit will
be personated with all the preternatural acumen characteristic of
subjective mental activity.
If the chain of reasoning by which the medium and his friends have
arrived at the conclusion that the phenomena must proceed from
disembodied spirits seems to them to be perfect, their conviction rises
to the dignity of a certainty, in their estimation, when the supposed
spirit begins to forward alleged communications from the hypothetical
border-land of another world. They find that his alleged "control" is
able to tell them secrets which they supposed to be safe in their own
custody, or perhaps only known to themselves and the deceased whose
spirit has been invoked. He will describe the character and personal
appearance of deceased persons whom it was impossible that he should
have known in life, sometimes even giving their names and ages; he will
tell of incidents in their career known only to the person for whose
benefit the communication is given.
If the sitter is sceptical, and has learned something of telepathy,
his ready objection is that all this is "mind-reading." But presently
the medium will describe some one of whom the sitter has not thought
for years, who was utterly unknown to the medium, and of whom he
never heard. It is then that the sitter is confounded. His telepathic
explanation is exploded, for he "was not thinking of the deceased at
all; it could not, therefore, be mind-reading," he declares, with all
the enthusiasm of a new convert whose last objection has been answered.
There is no more common or popular explanation of certain phases of
spiritistic phenomena than attributing them to mind-reading. When a
medium relates to you incidents of your life of which you know he
has no previous knowledge, the most obvious explanation is that he
reads your mind,--that is, if you do not believe that he is controlled
by spirits; and you are undoubtedly right. But when he tells you of
things that you had forgotten, and describes persons of whom you are
not thinking, you jump to the conclusion that thought-reading does not
explain that particular phenomenon. And it is just here that you make a
mistake, for the reason that you do not understand the first principles
of mind-reading. But when it is once understood that mind-reading
is the communion of two subjective minds, and that the objective or
conscious thoughts of the sitter have no necessary effect upon the
character of the communications, it will be seen that the fact that the
sitter was not consciously thinking of the person described, or had
forgotten the incident recalled, has no evidential value whatever. The
sitter may or may not be thinking consciously of the subject of the
communication; he may even be endeavoring to cause the medium to speak
of some particular one with whom he earnestly desires to communicate.
It makes no difference whatever, for it is the uppermost thought of
the subjective mind that is read, and of that the sitter has neither
knowledge nor conscious control. That the medium relates incidents of
the sitter's life which he had forgotten until reminded of them, is not
at all strange or unaccountable, when we remember that the memory of
the subjective mind is perfect. Neither is there any evidential value
in the fact that the sitter cannot remember an incident related by the
medium; for he must remember that objective memory retains little,
comparatively, of the incidents of life, while the subjective mind
retains all.
It will thus be seen that in order to explain the phenomena of
spiritism on the hypothesis that it has its origin wholly within the
sub-conscious mind of the medium, it is not necessary to presuppose
that he is dishonest or insincere when he attributes it to disembodied
spirits. In the absence of knowledge on his part of the recent
discoveries in psychological science, he has the best of reasons for
so believing, for up to the present time no other hypothesis has
been advanced which will account for all the phenomena on any other
rational supposition. But the two great laws--duality of mind and
suggestion--clear away the greatest stumbling-block in the way of
scientific investigation of this, the greatest problem of the ages.
It is now no longer necessary to deny the phenomena, since they can
all be accounted for on scientific principles, outside the domain of
the supernatural. It is no longer necessary to consider the spiritual
medium either a fool or an impostor, since the phenomena are genuine,
and their explanation on scientific principles is impossible, except in
the light of very recent discoveries in psychic science.
Having set forth the fundamental principles underlying the production
of so-called spirit phenomena, we will now proceed briefly to examine
their various phases and leading characteristics, and to show how the
hypothesis under consideration applies to each of them with the same
force and pertinency as in the case of the other psychic phenomena
which have been considered.
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