Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-12-27
Magnetic Dreams.

Many eccentric philosophers have beer
| disposed to think, says the London 81. James
GozetLe, that there is something 10 be saic
| for the popular faith in ghosts, and among
these philosophers perhaps the foremos
| place is due 10 Schopenhauer, who took such
| high rank among the original thinkers OF
| his age that he earned the right to be heard
about any matter regarding which he chose
| 10 express decided opinions. As q rule he
was by no means easily duped, but when he
approached the subject of "visions" he
| seemed almost to lose the faculty of testing
| evidence. Hardly any story relating 10 the
border-l land between the natural and super
natural, whether recorded by ancient OF
modern writers, was condemned by him az
extravagant, and in one of his essays he re-
buked Englishmen (whom in other
respects he considered TO be far
ahead of Germans and Frenchmen
for their scepticism as to the mysterious
affiuities and capacities OF the human mind.
Curiously enough, he attributes our back.
wardness in this department of philosophi-
cal inquiry TO the malign influence of the
clergy Of the National Church, who, he
thought, denounced animal magnetism and
all other "isms" of a similar tendency, be-
cause they perceived the perils to which these
sciences would expose their superstitious re-
ligious belieis.
Ooe OF the fundamental doctrines OF Scho-
penhauer's philosophy is that the world as
we know it has not an independent existence.
Like Berkeley, he held that it is merely an
appearance" The only real existence, he
maintained, is "the thing in ITSELF" and "the
thing in itself" he identified with the will.
In ordinary circumstances we know the will
only as it manifesis itself under the forms of
space, time, and causality; but he contended
that there are states of the brain in which
we penetrate behind these forms, and come
into contact with the will as it is in its own
nature. At such times we escape from the
system of intellectual illusions which it is
the business of science to investigate; we are
in the realm of absolute truth, which copsti-
tutes the proper domain OF philosophy.
Even members of the Society for Psychical
Research are not likely TO take up
higher ground than this, and they will
certainly not surpass Schopenhauer in the
confidence with which he drew conclusions
from his uliin ate principles. The states of
the brain which lead TO such surprising re-
suits occur when We are in "a magnetic
sieep,r and m ssnsiie sseep may be pro-
duced when we are asieep 10 the ordinary
vay. III does not folIcxthat II We fail into
a magnetic sleep we shall have magnetic
dreams; and, if we dream magneticaily, il
does not follow that we shall remember what
we have dreamt. A magnetic sleep ia far
deeper than an ordinary sleep, and, in the
allow process OF awakening from it we may
forget the spectacle which il has enabled US
to see. Sometimes, however, the impression
which the vision has produced on our feel
ing remains; and on these occasions, II the
vision has been one of coming disaster las it
commonly is in the worst of possible worlds.
according to Schopenhauer), we have what Is
called a presentment of evil, and our present.
ment is sure TO be realized sooner or later.
AT other times our magnetic dream-that
is, our perception OF realltIes-may be
transformed into sort OF allegory which is
capable of different interpretations. OF this
kind were the predictions of the Delphic
oracle. which frequently could not be under
stood until they were fulfilled. Schopen-
bauer was not of opinion, however, that our
mysterious visions in their original fern in
yariabIy pass from the memory; and he
gives an example Of one which he himself
had an opportunity OF studying. This in-
stance seemed to him all the more remarka-
BILE because il related TO matter of little i'm
portance. One day he was writing letter
in great haste, and when he had fnished the
third page he intended TO strew writing-sand
over what be had written. In his hurry ne
ssiz.d the inkstand instead of the vessel con-
tanning sand, and dashed the contents over
his letter As the ink poured from his desk
he rang for the maid to wipe il from
the floor When che was engaged in doing
so, she said, "I.ast night 1 dreamt that
I should be wiping ink-spots from
the floor here" That is not
true" answered Schopenhauer sit il true"
she replied, sand when awoke / mentioned
il to the other maid who sleeps with me-"
lust then the other maid happened 10 enter
the room in order TO call away her fellow
servant. Schopenhauer, advancing to meet
her. at once asked, "What did this girl
dream last night?" 81 don't know" "Yes,
you do; she told you when she awoke."
-Oh, 10 be sure" the maid then said, 'she
dreamt that sbe would be wiping ink-spots
from the floor here" Schopenhsuer gravely
points out that this anecdote is not only
sufficient evidence for msgnetc dreaming,
but that it establishes the truth of the doc
Irine that everything happens in accordance
with q fixed and necessary order.