The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-01-20
Suuerstitfon and Fact.

a remark of NJ. Richet, the eminent
French psychologist. may be said to
strike the keynote of the following
essay. Arguing Gin 1880 for the genu-
inc character of hypnotic somnambu-
lism. he said: IF the phenomena are
stimulated then the skill, the perfec-
ton, the universally of the imposture,
everywhere and always, constitute one
of the most extraordinary phenomena
in the records of science" M. Richet
was thinking Of the ordinary and IA
miiiar features of hypnotism, which,
as l understand, are now denied by no
competent authority; but his remark
! is each applicable with equal force to
the alleged phenomena of ghosts,
physical movements of untouched OBJ
| jectS, unexplained noises and disturb
ances clairvoyance, the divining-rod,
crystal vision, and so forth. The &C
counts of these have not been accept
ed by science, but, granting imposture
! in all these cases, the universal SINH
larity of the imposture is a very Curl
Gus phenomenon. Further, we must
note that many of the contested and
disdained phenomena VIGOROUSLY &C
company persons subject to trance, To
IconvulSive movements, and other alb
normal nervous conditions. This is
said to be so at present, and can it be
by accident that this was always said
to be so in the past? We hear of
clairvoyance, of physical movements
of objects, of commands transferred
and obeyed from a distance, of ''tele-
pathic" Authorizations voluntarily pro-
duced, among the very people who
accept the ordinary and accepted phe-
nomena of hypnotism. Now, in the
old witch-trials. in old ghost and bogie
stories, in the reports of anthropo-
logical observers among savages, we
find the ordinary and accepted phe-
nomena of hypnotiSm occurring among
the witches, the possessed" the
ghost-seers, the savage medicine-men.
They, too, are not only subject to con-
vulsion and rigidity and trance, but
they are clairvoyant. They produce
phantasms Of themselves at a dis
lance, their presence is attended by
unexplained noises and physical move
ments of objects. Now there must be
some cause for this remarkable
coincidence-namely, the uniform
| ity of ancient and modern reports
OF phenomena still unaccepted by sci
ence-alwayS accompanying other phe-
noma which science is now content to
accept At the lowest, there must be
a traditional system of imposture, OF
luclnauon. Thinking savages, accord
ing to Mr.. Tyler, were deeply i'm
pressed by two groups of biological
phenomena They asked, what makes
the difference between a living BODY
and dead one? Again, what causes
awaking, sleeping, trance, disease
death? Next, what are the human
shapes that appear in dreams and Wis
ions: They concluded that life can &c
dead, while a phantom of the living
man can appear Gin dreams, one pre-
sumes) to people at a distance from
him. The savage philosopher then
mentally combines and Identifies the
life and the problem. The result is
life is a soul when at home, in the
body, ghost when abroad. out of the
body. Mr.. Tyler gives abundant ac-
counts of ''veridical Authorizations" and
OF 'clairvoyance, but he expressly does
not ask, are these tales true, and if
SO, what is their meaning? Now it is
evident that if clairvoyance does occur
and II the phantasm of the clairyoyant
IS actually seen in the place which he
fancleS that he visits, and if apnear r.
ances cot men at the hour of death are
verify Deheld at a distance, then the
saVage's philosophy had more to GO
/ upon than mere dreams, shadows
sleeping, waking, and the contemnIa.
ton of death. He was really in touch
with disputed, unaccepted phenomena,
and these phenomena are of high inn.
portance. They would not, indeed, JUS
| lily the savage theory that phantasm
and life are Identical, that life is soul
at home and is ghost abroad. But
! if accepted, they would demonstrate
the existence of new range of hll-
man faculties.-The Contemporary Re
view, London, December.