The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-11

New York, April 10.-(Special. )-Several
members of the American Society for
Psyohical Research have written me
to ask that l reply to the statements OF
Professor Muensterberg made in the Met
ropolitan Magazine for February of this
year. I have uniformly replied to such
requests that I did not wish TO dignify
Professor Muensterberg's statements
even by critieising them. 1t had been
my intention not to notice them and put
for the peculiar temper of the American
public I would not now concede anything
to that request
The only reason for making tnat CON
cesson is that he Is the only university
man in this country who seems "iiii"s
to discuss the phenomena OF psschic re-
search publicly. He Is entltled 70 tae
credit OF taking sides, even II l. pc .ne
safe side of the question. 80 nuch can
rot be said of our other Philistines as yet.
In discussing him, however, shaii De
Obliged to speak of the American pup
lie generally in the same manner as l
have to criticise Professor Muensterperg'
and in doing so it may be well 10 give a
brief history of the whole affair which
has SO strangely excited the public.
THE article of Mr.. Darlington in the
Journal of the American Society OF Psy-
chical Research of October, last year, MI
dicated what had been done in Europe Tor
The last % or 30 years, and also the more
recent phenomena which has impressed
hin, with others. need not detail these.
suffice 1t to say that the Institute Psy-
cnologioue investigated Eusapia Pailadino
carefully and published bulletin on the
results. Professor Lombroso published a
report that was translated, and PROFESSOR
Norselli published two volumes on tie
one volume of records made by Mr. Field
ing and Mr.. Baggaly, members OF It's
council and Mr.. Darlington
BEFORE the latter report was published
Mr.. Darlington arranged to bring Eusapa
to this country. 1 was asked TO nave we
socitey subscribe TO me luha l eo, t WIS
society subscribe to the FUND Tor TINS
The society had no funds for the proper
Investigation of the case and the money
was obtained from other sources, With Tue
pledge in many cases that the case woulo
be properly investigated by scientinc men.
Some subscribers made it a condition OF
their donation that the case be seen only
by scientific men. This pledge was not
kept.
The first vital mistake in the manage
ment of the case was the mode Oh APP
preaching il. The appeal was TO the con,
iurer's standards of Judgment instead
of the student of abnormal psychology
All the leading Europeans had peen
conscioDs OF the fact that the case was
one of hysteria, whatever else It was
and they Investigated 1t as such.
Mr.. Darlington was an amateur cu ui
3urer and had prosecuted his investi-
cations in Italy with Mr. Folding and
Mr.. Bagally with his point of view IN
mind.
He entirely ignored the advantages
cf treating the hysterical side OF the
case at first, But approaching II as
coniurer and challenging the seieh'ihe
man by asking the newspapers TO pass
Judgment upon it first, he produced the
sefect of making q jury which had no
Qualifications for estimating the phe-
nomena at all, and the only course
, which the scientific man could take
was one in defense of conservative
methods.
But the effect of the popular appeal
was to establish an entirely faise con-
ception of the problem to be investl-
gated. This was that we were dealing
with physical miracles, il we so de-
fscribe the phenomena alleged, and TINS
jp,j tied all the legitimate prejudiees OF
science against their occurrence.
The scientific man had to take the
position of the public as the point OF
view for adjudieating its claims. He
could not assume the correct position,
that of hysteria, because this was not
the apparent thing to be studied hrst,
and which, when once understood,
would explain the stimulation or triok-
ery in the phenomena. People were
asked to believe in miracles, so to
sneak. instead of unconscious auto
mutisms with possible transcedenee OF
this, To have admitted at the outset
that the case was one for the student
Of morbid psychology, and not For the
conjurer, was to have purchased
Ao1l; ind n
would have gained attention. For the
rrestfgttator has no more qualifications
for pronouneng Judgment upon the
really important phenomena in the
case than has the ordinary layman.
He may be an expert in tricks, but
the se-ealled tricks of Eusapia Palla-
dino are not one-tenth SO clever as the
most ordinary conjurer can perform.
. They are very simple in comparison.
The man who thinks them clever Is as
badly fooled as the supplemented man
who would take Herman's perform
ances for real miracles To judge them
as hysterical phenomena, whatever else
may accompany them, is to place them
in Very different category from con-
scious jugglery, even though they sim
eulate this more or less.
The second mistake in the manage
ment Of the case was the failure to
have the scientific man investigate 1t
thoroughly from his point of view, or
from what ought to have been his point
Of view. confess, however. that my
conversation with several of them pro-
Tossing to be scientific convinced me
that they were as little qualified to
approach it rightly as others with less
pretensions They did not realize
either their opportunities or their
duties. and fell into line with the vau-
deville methods which had been
adopted, namely of going to see a show
instead of investigating hysteric.
Before the affair had progressed far it
degenerated into something like the
rich mans monkey dinner, and even
for men who might have claimed the
rank of scientists it never got above
this level.
It will be apparent from these remarks
Why l have not been disposed to take
seriously anything that Professor Muen-
sterberg has said upon the subject. Popu-
lar magazine articles on psychis research
are not generally worth of the slightest
attention on the part of scientific men,
except to correct the illusions which
they produce. The public is generally to
blame for the necessity of noticing them
for this purpose. Unfortunately people
In this country do their thinking through
the papers and the popular periodicals.
, 1T VIII not read and reread careful works
On phenoma OF any kind. 1t suffices to
take a snatch at the papers and femem-
Der a few sentences and then to proceed
to talk about the subject at social teas
and receptions.
Such a thing as studying the problem
after q thorough knowledge of psychol-