Apparitions and thought-transference: an examination of the evidence for telepathyPodmore, Frank
Philosophy
Apparitions and thought-transference: an examination of the evidence for telepathy
Podmore, Frank
Apparitions; Telepathy
To the onlooker the situation was rendered additionally piquant
by the fact that the boy, at the very time when he was apparently
acutely sensitive to pain inflicted upon Mr. Smith, showed no sign of
susceptibility when any part of his own person was pretty severely
maltreated. The only point in the trials which seems to call for
special notice is the failure on two occasions to indicate the seat
of pain when the agent's hair was pulled (7 and 21). Numerous trials
with the same and other percipients have shown that this particular
experiment rarely succeeds, possibly because the pain so caused is with
many people not of an acute kind.[29]
_Transference of Visual Images._
But when we leave these experiments in the transfer of the less
specialised forms of sensation we find that but few observers have paid
attention to the phenomena of telepathy in the hypnotic state. Probably
this is in some measure due to one or two initial difficulties in
conducting experiments on such subjects. Opening the eyes to permit the
subject to reproduce a diagram will in many cases have the effect of
wakening him. Again, with some persons it is a matter of difficulty to
maintain the exact stage of the hypnotic trance when they are quiescent
enough for the alien impression to meet with little risk of disturbance
from the subject's own mental activities, and yet sufficiently alert
to prevent them from relapsing, as was frequently the case with Wells,
the percipient just referred to, into a torpid sleep from which no
further response could be elicited. But, after all, these difficulties
when they occur can readily be overcome by the exercise of a little
patience. If the study of thought-transference in the hypnotic state
has been comparatively neglected, it is mainly because, as already
suggested, with most persons the more salient phenomena of the
trance--hallucination, anæsthesia, rigidity, etc.--have distracted
attention from what may ultimately prove to be a more fruitful line of
inquiry.
For the following record we are indebted to Dr. Liébeault, of Nancy,
who sent us the account in 1886.
No. 12.--By DR. LIÉBEAULT.
[The first series of experiments were made on the afternoon of
the 10th December 1885, in Dr. Liébeault's house at Nancy. There
were present, in addition, Madame S., Dr. Brullard, and Professor
Liégeois, who acted as agent, and Mademoiselle M., the subject. The
subject was hypnotised by Professor Liégeois, and experiments were
made with diagrams, and in two cases the design--a water-bottle
(_carafe_) and a table with a drawer and drawer-knob--was
reproduced with exactness. Precautions had, of course, been taken
to conceal the original design from the percipient. The account of
the seventh and last experiment is quoted in full.]
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