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t„r Pevrhical Research
t
,
.
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t,
[Vol.58.No.825
Journal of the Society for Psychical Research
xy
Ai
others Another remarkable psychic investigated by Benson Herbert
Randt and other
.
clairvoyant whose ability in psychometry
Ted ^“i^y’o?: cSi 1700 miles away
in Moscow
In the
Paralab an experiment involved the displacement of^a P° a™e
herSX abound the collimating tube and
M
iK, ‘rUstorted ’ the light path in a consistent manner,
sucessfully
distorted
the ngm P
have included an investigation into
X™oufd be used for the biophysical measurement of subjects durmg a
X'X ImdoXTT H^XucTa XaTeX Benson Herbert should
r?i
Sv°” .““ears mucS coXpondence o„ behalf of the SPR has been taken up
by the Paralab staff.
,
Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience
University of Edinburgh
7 George Square, Edinburgh. EH8 9}L
Tony Dickinson
lO^TTE^CIENTIST ” - X T F.R'SONAL 'TRIBIftE
Professor Bender’s death-he died
in Freiburg on 7th May at the age of 84-
parapsychology in general will surely^^SctoS-NSring or Rudolf
(Xn/XS.H mo,, of thei, professional lives struggling for
^&J&S&S3SSBi
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j
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CIA-RDP96-00792R000700650004-6
Obituaries
-e psychic investigated by Benson Herbert
lairvoyant whose ability in psychometry
ler 1700 miles away
in Moscow. In the
displacement of a polarised light beam,
designer
of much
of
the
experimental
r hands around the collimating tube and
in a consistent manner,
alab
have included an investigation into
bacteria and
viruses and
the
study
of
to sense colours and writing through the
ation with Yvonne Duplessis (Paris) may
He
in
their daily
lives. Over the
last ten
-e Paralab
as a member of technical and
*g and building equipment when necessary
nysical measurement of subjects during a
lated experiments.
ich a character as Benson Herbert should
-.alist and physicist ends of the paranormal
would be
pleased perhaps to think
so.
o explain away paranormal phenomena in
or cause -and -effect relationships, but to
:ena in the hope that his findings, together
nd theoretical physics, could be combined
e Universe around us.
rnal of Paraphysics
has been published
as included
Paralab
reports
periodically.
;e on behalf of the SPR has been taken up
ce
Tony Dickinson
9JZ
SCIENTIST” - A PERSONAL TRIBUTE
t in Freiburg on 7 th May at the age of 84-
; German post-war parapsychology. In my
finds
it worthwhile to pay a closer look at
ely rank Hans Bender among the pioneers
Albert von Schrenck-Notzing or Rudolf
>st of their professional lives struggling for
f our field.
e data of Bender’s biography and then give
‘ausstrahlung’, his special ‘aura’.
in
Freiburg.
In 1987 he wrote
a short
rie Pilkington’s book, Men and Women in
in a sense his last contribution to the field
that he was able to finish. In that piece, Bender describes how
as a seventeen-
year-old boy
staying
in London with a family with
spiritualist leanings
he
took part in automatic spelling by using the Ouija board : “I was impressed,
he
wrote,
“by
the
obvious
‘intelligent’
production of the messages but
skeptical
in regard
to
their
alleged
origin, namely
‘discarnate
entities. This
primary experience influenced my life.”
...
In
the
years between
1925
and 1933 Bender studied French
literature,
philosophy and psychology
in
Paris, Heidelberg and Bonn. It was especially
after attending the lectures given by the French psychiatrist Pierre Janet at
the
College de
France
in
Paris and
after studying Janet’s
classic work on
L’Automatisme Psychologique
that Bender decided to study experimental y
the
dynamics
of
subconscious processes
at
the
Psychological
Institute
at
Bonn
University,
supported by
the head
of the Institute, the philosopher
and
psychologist Erich Rothaker. Bender was intrigued by the observation
that some
of
his
subjects were
able
to
exhibit
‘intelligent
activities on a
‘subconscious’
level
(as documented by
their automatic writing) while their
‘conscious’ self was seemingly unaware of such complicated processes. In such
a state of dissociation, some of the automatic productions included traces ot
information which
their producers appeared not to have acquired through
conventional means. In 1933 Bender obtained his Ph.D. degree with a thesis
on Psychische Automatismen [Mental Automatisms], in which he successfully
linked
subconscious
productions
with
the
problem
of
ESP. A
second
contribution
devoted
exclusively
to
the
study
of
clairvoyance
under
laboratory
conditions
followed
shortly
after
and
was
published
in
the
prestigious
Zeitschrift
fur
Psychologie
[Journal
of
Psychology] m
1935.
Just before he finished his paper, the philosopher Gerda Walther, acting as a
clearing-house
for relevant information, had sent him the recently-published
book
Extrasensory
Perception by J. B. Rhine. Bender always stressed the
importance of that bo6k in strengthening his desire to introduce parapsychol-
ogical research into a German university in an institutionalised form
a desire
vigorously
supported by
a prominent German
professor of PhllosoPhV °
those
years,
namely
Hans
Driesch, who had published
in
1932
thc
firs
German
methodological
introduction
to
the
field,
his
well-known book
Parapsychologie : die Wissenschaft von den ‘okkulten’ Erschemungen. In order
to be as well equipped as possible to realise such an ambitious project, Bender
finished his additional studies of medicine and began training as a psychiatrist
without, however, completing that medical specialisation. After the outbreak
of war, he had to finish off his ‘habilitation’ in 1941 with experimental work
on eidetic imagery and crystal-gazing, and he was awarded a professorship a
Strasbourg
University, where he founded an ‘Institute
for Psychology and
Clinical Psychology, belonging
to
the
Philosophical
as well
as the Medical
faculty, which he directed until 1944 when Strasbourg was liberated by the
Allied forces.
.
,
j
The ‘official’ beginning of German post-war parapsychology can be traced
back with some justification to 1950. In that year. Bender was able to open in
his native town of Freiburg im Breisgau the doors of his somewhat miraculously
financed
‘Institut
fur
Grenzgebiete
der
Psychologie
und
Psychohygiene
[Institute
for
Fringe Areas
of Psychology and Mental Health], which was
124
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Vol. 58, No. 825
substantially funded in the ensuing years by a legacy from the Swiss b.ol g
and poltergeist researcher, Dr Fanny Moser, who died in 1953. One year later
there followed the establishment of a Chair for ‘Fringe Areas of Psychology
at Freiburg University. It was the first step towards the official recognition ot
parapsychology as a legitimate
field of study. In 1967 the chair was extended
to cover general psychology as well as fringe areas of psychology (parapsych-
ology), and additionally a Department for Fringe Areas of Psychology was
established
at
the Psychological Institute of Freiburg University. One year
later
in
1968, Bender hosted the eleventh PA Convention in Freiburg, and
he served as PA President for 1969. After his mandatory retirement from the
university chair in 1975, his colleague Johannes Mischo took it over, whereas
Bender remained until
his death the Director of the independent Institut at
Eichhalde 12.
,
.
,
„
In
a sense, the
‘Eichhalde-Institut’ was Benders most personal meat on
For decades
it represented in the Federal Republic of Germany an unrivalled
centre for parapsychological research, information and advice
inspired by the
tireless efforts of
its founder. Quite a number of active workers m the
field
got their
first impressions of psi research by visiting the Bender institute
endless stream of visitors from
all over the world were
full of praise for
its
beautiful location overlooking the Rhine valley
(I mean the river, of course)
and
the
hospitality of
its
director. Among the
visitors were mediums and
magicians,
astrologers
and
ufologists,
dowsers and
numerolog.sts,
witches
and healers, gurus and charlatans, spiritualists and hostile sceptics, psychotics
and serious scientists; classes of students, TV teams and hard-nosed journahsts
-they
all came to Freiburg to see and to talk to the famous professor. Hans
Bender’s university lectures, courses and seminars won legendary fame among
generations of Freiburg
students. “Wir gehen &ur Benders Marchenstunde
[We
are going to
listen to Bender’s
fairy
tales] was a proverbial saying ot
those
years.
Bender’s
regular
lectures on Tuesday afternoons between
five
and
six which he held
for decades
at
the ‘Aula’ of Freiburg University (he
invariably arrived late) were always overcrowded with hundreds of people, not
only university students, from the humanities as well as the natural sciences,
but also ‘ordinary’ people from the city of Freiburg who were interested in
the ‘occult’ or paranormal. In general, Bender’s audience was enthralled, with
mixed
feelings of amusement and fascination, as the professor, with his lace
lit only by a reading lamp and the lecture theatre in pitch darkness, began to
report on experiences, phenomena and events which seemed to transcend the
usual categories of space and time -parapsychology at its best. It was on such
public occasions that Bender’s charismatic personality could be felt with
all
its
suggestive power -nobody was able
to present his researches on certain
poltergeist phenomena or metal-benders
in such a convincing manner
and
boring questions regarding trivial details could easily be compared to a crimen
majestatis,
a lese-majeste. Many of Bender’s audience had the feeling that the
lecturer behind the reading desk was not just an ordinary professor presenting
his
usual
subject-matter, but
that, on the contrary, they were
listening to
somebody who was completely
convinced of the
apparently
unbelievable
that most of
his fellow
scientists would mock
at. So, Hans Bender was the
prototype of a ‘frontier scientist’. It
is impossible to separate the man trom
C4
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Approved For
[Vol.58, No. 825
grs by a legacy from the Swiss biologist
loser, who died in 1953. One year later
Chair for ‘Fringe Areas of Psychology’
step towards the official recognition of
' study. In 1967 the chair was extended
fringe areas of psychology (parapsych-
t
for Fringe Areas of Psychology was
:ute of
Freiburg University. One year
venth PA Convention in Freiburg, and
fter his mandatory retirement from the
Johannes Mischo took
it over, whereas
Director of the independent Institut
at
was Bender’s most personal creation,
jral Republic of Germany an unrivalled
information and advice, inspired by the
_ number of active workers in the
field
ch by visiting the Bender institute. An
er the world were lull of praise tor
its
inc valley
(I mean the river, of course)
\mong the visitors were mediums and
,
dowsers and
numerologists,
witches
itualists and hostile sceptics, psychotics
ts, TV teams and hard-nosed journalists
1 to talk to the famous professor. Hans
aid seminars won legendary fame among
~ir gehen zur Benders Marchenstunde”
fairy
tales] was a proverbial saying of
s on Tuesday afternoons between
five
t the ‘Aula.’ of Freiburg University (he
_-rcrowded with hundreds of people; not
inanities as well as the natural sciences,
ity of Freiburg who were interested in
, Bender’s audience was enthralled, with
;ination, as the professor, with his face
ture theatre in pitch darkness, began to
d events which seemed to transcend the
arapsychology at its best. It was on such
matic personality could be felt with
all
>le
to present his researches on certain
_ers
in such a convincing manner— and
ils could easily be compared to a crimen
mder’s audience had the feeling that the
lot just an ordinary professor presenting
-n the contrary, they were
listening to
vinced
of
the
apparently
unbelievable
»uld mock
at. So, Hans Bender was the
is impossible to separate the man from
Rejease 2000/08/11
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CIA-RDP96-00792R000700650004-6Obituaries
his work. His personal style of life determined his style of work and vice versa
Hans Bender’s ‘search for psi’ was not only a search for ‘objective’ data and
records,
it was also a personal ‘quest for the
grail’, a deep-seated curiosity
for phenomena and experiences beyond the visible horizon or conventional
boundaries. He
was
a
scientific
adventurer always
in
search
of new and
surprising
facts.
It
was
impossible
for him
to
separate
the
paranormal
phenomenon he was
after from the persons who were experiencing
it, and
so, time and again, he was prepared
for new encounters to learn about the
paranormal. One of Bender’s basic convictions in dealing with the elusiveness
of
psi was
the
importance of an
‘affektives
Feld’
[emotional or affective
field]. Without such
a positive ‘catalyst’, he often maintained, there was no
psychic functioning, let alone successful psi-experimentation.
Bender’s contributions to the
field are multi-faceted, but foremost among
his research
interests was qualitative and
field work.
I hardly need mention
that he was the
investigator of dozens of RSPK cases — the topic of his PA
Presidential Address - among them the famous Rosenheim
poltergeist case;
another important area was empirical work on the problem of precognition,
need only point to the so-called ‘chair experiments’ with the Dutch paragnost
Gerard
Croiset, developed and performed frequently
in collaboration with
his
friend Wilhelm Temhaeff, or the study of the precognitive dreams of the
Hamburg actress Mrs Mylius.
.
In 1981, in an obituary to his friend Tenhaeff, Bender wrote:
He tried to
make
visible
the paranormal
in
its entirety to a scientific community which
was, with
a few exceptions,
struck with blindness with regard to a
hidden
reality’ ”. May I say that that is also Hans Bender’s legacy which he left for his
friends and colleagues who are missing him.
Romerstrasse 17
D-7814 Breisach 3, GERMANY,
Eberhard Bauer
Books Received
Altman, Nathaniel
Discover Palmistry
Aquarian Press
1991
(first published 1984).
Ashcroft-Nowicki, Dolores The Servants of Light Aquarian Press 1991
(with Tarot pack)
Aziz, Robert
C. G. Jung's Psychology of Religion and Synchronicity
State University of
New York Press, Albany
1990.
Church, Dawson and Sherr, Alan The Heart of the Healer Arkana, London
1991.
Cowan James
Letters from a Wild State
Element Books, Shaftesbury
1991.
Deunov, Peter
(ed. David Lorimer)
The Circle of Sacred Dance Element Books, Shaftes-
bury
1991.
Fenton, Sasha Super Tarot
Aquarian Press, London
1991.
Gilchrist, Cherry
The Circle of Nine
Arkana, London
1991
(first published 1984).
Griffin, David Ray
The Re-Enchantment of Science
State University of New York Press,
Albany
1988.
.
.
Gullan-Whur, Margaret
Discover Graphology
Aquarian Press, London
1991
(tirst
published 1986).
Hastings, Arthur
With the Tongues of Men and Angels
Holt, Rhmehart & Winston, Fort
Worth
1991.
127
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