Mysterious Psychic Forces: An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants
John Stuart Mill · en
The arrangement was consequently that of a see-saw, 36 inches in
length, the fulcrum being 1-1/2 inches from one end; were he,
therefore, to have exerted a downward pressure, it would have been in
opposition to the force which was causing the other end of the board
to move down.
The slight downward pressure shown by the balance when I stood on the
board was owing probably to my foot extending beyond this fulcrum.
I have now given a plain, unvarnished statement of the facts from
copious notes written at the time the occurrences were taking place,
and copied out in full immediately after.
Respecting the cause of these phenomena, the nature of the force to
which, to avoid periphrasis, I have ventured to give the name of
_Psychic_, and the correlation existing between that and the other
forces of nature, it would be wrong to hazard the most vague
hypothesis. Indeed, in inquiries connected so intimately with rare
physiological and psychological conditions, it is the duty of the
inquirer to abstain altogether from framing theories until he has
accumulated a sufficient number of facts to form a substantial basis
upon which to reason. In the presence of strange phenomena as yet
unexplored and unexplained following each other in such rapid
succession, I confess it is difficult to avoid clothing their record
in language of a sensational character. But, to be successful, an
inquiry of this kind must be undertaken by the philosopher without
prejudice and without sentiment. Romantic and superstitious ideas
should be entirely banished, and the steps of his investigation should
be guided by intellect as cold and passionless as the instruments he
uses.
Apropos of this Mr. Cox wrote to Mr. Crooks:
The results appear to me conclusively to establish the important fact,
that there is a force proceeding from the nerve-system capable of
imparting motion and weight to solid bodies within the sphere of its
influence.
I noticed that the force was exhibited in tremulous pulsations, and
not in the form of steady continuous pressure, the indicator rising
and falling incessantly throughout the experiment. The fact seems to
me of great significance, as tending to confirm the opinion that
assigns its source to the nerve organization, and it goes far to
establish Dr. Richardson's important discovery of a nerve atmosphere
of various intensity enveloping the human structure.
Your experiments completely confirm the conclusion at which the
Investigation Committee of the Dialectical Society arrived, after more
than forty meetings for trial and test.