Lola : $b or, The thought and speech of animalsKindermann, Henny
Science
Lola : $b or, The thought and speech of animals
Kindermann, Henny
Animal intelligence; Dogs -- Folklore
The hypothesis of a psychic automatism of a mediumistic type, as a
concomitant phenomenon, at least, in experiments of the "new
zoopsychology," offers us a point of support for a possible
interpretation of the strange uncertainty and irregularity of the
successes and failures of different observers and different animals.
With Krall two of his horses gave magnificent results; two others
negative results. In the same way, with the same dogs some
experimenters obtain wonders, others obtain nothing.... We may
therefore assume that in order to obtain favourable results there
must be a proper accord or reciprocal psychic concordance between
the animal and the person making the experiment, precisely as
happens with mediumistic phenomena.
Moreover, this hypothesis in the same way helps us to an
interpretation of the fact that the same animal, with the same
investigator, gives good results in some matters, poor or no result
in others. Taking, however, due account of the central mathematical
phenomena, on which, as it seems to me, the whole edifice is
superposed, there remains a great variety of marked psychical
idiosyncrasies in the various cases. One of the animals is
decidedly a calculator; another likes to read or to explain
figures; another detests reading but willingly taps out
"spontaneous communications."
Without possessing much intrinsic probative value of its own, it is
certain that all this fits in very badly with the supposition of a
purely mechanical automatism operated by the person making the
experiments. And on the other hand it bears a close analogy to the
mediumistic "specialities"; that is, to the well-known fact that
one "medium," for instance, is good for "physical effects" (i.e.
gives rise around it to dynamic phenomena), but is not good for
"psychography"; or produces "incarnations" but not "apports," etc.
In the same way, typtology or rapping, more or less systematic,
seems a fundamental gift, common to all the various kinds of
"mediums." And the fact is perhaps of a certain value that
precisely the same thing is true of "thinking" animals; although we
must always remember that an analogous relation may only be
apparent or extrinsic. Besides, the tone also of the
"communications" in the two fields seems to me very much akin. I
allude to the curious, angular, enigmatic, spasmodic, often playful
and bantering communications, with frequent "unexpected replies"
and philosophic platitudes. I find all these in Lola, and I
remember similar stories of Rolf and of the horses, giving me an
impression very like that which I get from the accounts of
mediumistic seances "with intellectual effects."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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