Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1909-10-21
Professor James Confidence.

CVOtCSSOt James Commence
Extremely significant, following upon
European ~cientists' acceptance OF the
supernatural phenomena in the seances
OF the Italian medium, Eusapia Palla
dino, as outlined in this column tina
other day, are the admissions Of Will
lam James for So years professor OF
philosophy at Harvard and recognized
as one of the greatest living phycholo-
gists. Professor James contributes
The Condolences of Psychical Re-
searcher" to the current issue of Nc
Clure's. There is something in" these
phenomena, he declares. rather unwill-
ingly, and concludes that it is in this
greatest scientific conquests of the
coming generation will be achieved
Some excerpts from Professor James
article follow:
For the 25 years 1 have been in
to, Ii with the literature of psychical
research. and have had acquaintance
with numerous researchers" I have
also spent Il good many hours though
far fewer than / ought to have SPENT
in witnessing Cor trying to witness@
phenomena. Yet am theoretically no
further" than 1 was at the beginning;
been tempted to believe that the Gre
ator has eternally intended this de-
partment of nature TO remain battling.
to prompt our curiOsities and hopes
and suspicious all in equal measure, so
that, although ghosts and clairvoyances
and raps and messages from spirits.
are always seeming to exist and can
never be fully explained away. they
| also can never be susceptible of full
confederation.
wish to go on record for the pres
ence, in the midst of all the humbug.
of really supernormal knowledge. By
this l mean knowledge that cannot be
traced to the ordinary sources Of in
! formation-the senses namely, of the
automatist. In really strong mediums
this knowledge seems to be abundant.
though 1t is usually spotty. capricious
| ulns are rarities; but when one starts
| with them and works downwards into
| less brilliant regions Of the automatic
| life, one tends to interpret many slight
but odd condolences with truth as NOS
sibly rudimentary forms Of this kind OF
| knowledge.
| Out of my experience, such as 1t Is
| (and IL is limited enough) one fixed
| conclusion dogmati:ally energies, and
that is this. that we with our lives are
\ like islands In the sea, or like trees In
the forest. The maple and the pine
may whisper to each other with their
leaves. and Conanicut and Newport
hear each others foghorns. But the
| trees also conmingle their roots in the
! darkness underground, and the Islands
also hang together through the oceans
bottom. Just so there is a continuum
of cosmic consciousness. against which
our individuality builds but ac
cidental fences. and into which our
4 several minds plunge as into q
mother sea or reservoir Our normal"
consciousness is circumscribed for
adoption to our external earthly en-
vironment, but the fence is weak in
spots. and fitf influences from beyond
leak In, showing the otherwise unveri-
fable common connection.
Vast. indeed, and difficult Is the in
quirer's prospect here. and the most
significant data for his purpose win
probably be lust these dingy little
mediumistic facts which the Huxleyan
minds Of our time find unworthy OF
their attention. But when was not tho
science of the future stirred to its con-
tuuering activities by the little rebel
lious excep ons to the science of the
present? Hardly, as yet. has the sur
face of the fscts called psychic" be-
gun to be scratched for scientific pur-
poses. 1t is through following these
facts, I am persuaded. that the great
est scientific conquests of the coming
generation will be achieved.