The Irish standard., 1919-02-15
IS SIR CONAN DOYLE IN CON-
MUNlcATloN WITH THE
SPIRITS OF THE DEAD.
Written BY J. Godfrey 'Raupert, X. s,
G., For Central Bureau Press
Service.

Al. S~'''sS'
b.
II.
The second fallacy contained in Sir
Conan Doyle's argument is his as
sumption that the spirits of the se-
ance-room are the spirits of the dead
who have proved their identity. To
the student, unacquainted with the in
tricacies of the subject, the evidence
presented in support of this claim
will seem strong; but it is neverthe-
less utterly worthless and proves moth.
ing Of the kind. It falls to the ground
entirely when it is borne in mind
that we have cases on record in which
similar striking evidence of identity
was given but in which the spirit,
caught in falsehood, finally himself
confessed that he was not what he
had claimed to be.
A single instance of this kind shows
how complex the problem is and what
sources of information must be at
the disposal of these spirits-how
difficult, if not impossible, it is to prove
their identity. All experienced spirit
lists are fully alive to this immense diff
ficulty and have striven by various de-.
vices to overcome it; but so far they
have not been successful. The ques.
tion of identity is still the bitter cross
of psychical research, and Sir Conan
Doyle must be aware of it, It is his
will to believe" which causes him
to pass over it so lightly. 1t is won
derul how this Twill to believe" blinds
the mind and perverts the judgment.
Although it is we'll known and admit.
ted that the spirits habitually imper-
senate the living, each individual ex.
perimenter tries to persuade himself
that his particular spirits are doing
nothing of the kind. 1t is often only
after many months and even years
that the deception is discovered and
that the disillusionment comes. In
one of his works the late Mr.. Stain
ton-Moses, for many years the leader
of the English spiritists and a highly
educated man, admitted that "all the
information ever given him in proof
of the presence of the departed might,
In harmony with his experience of the
Spirits, haye been first obtained and
then impaired by false intelligence"
Prof. l.. P. Jacks of Oxford, President
Of the British Psychical Research So
ciety in 1917 and personally high
authority on the subject, made this
statement in his presidential address:
Take the question of imposture.
Mediums are not the only impostors.
How about the communications? Are
they masquerading? You can have
no absolute proof that there is no i'm
posture on the other side. l think
that the whole meaning of personal
identity needs to be very carefully
thought out and considered before
we begin to produce evidence in favor
OF personal identity" l had myself
a striking experience of this kind of
spirit-impersonation many years ago.
A spirit, claiming to be departed per-
sonal friend of mine and intimately ac-
quainted with the individuals life
history, was, after many months, dis
covered in a falsehood and then freely
and boastingly admitted that he had
managed to trick us SO successfully
by drawing the information required
from our own sub-conscious memories.
Indeed, the evidence available today
fully demonstrates the fact that the
main sources Of information of these
spirits are the subconscious minds of
the living, although it cannot be
claimed that these are their only
sources of information. They have
probably access to knowledge by
methods wholly unknown to us and
quite beyond our power of imagina.
tton. l have dealt with this aspect of
the subject very fully in some of my
books. The circumstance that Sir
Conan Doyle regards the presentation
of intimate knowledge respecting
some deceased pesonality as evidence
of identity goes to prove how very
tmperfectly acquainted he is with the
subject. The cases he cites in his ar.
ticles are too briefly stated to admit
of critical examination and judg,
ment; but l am convinced that they
all find an adequate explanation in the
activities of his own subconscious
mind and in the sources of informa.
tion at the disposal of these astute
beings. I am persuaded that no in.
formed and unbiased student of the
subject would today regard any one OF
them as furnishing proof of identity.
What has probably impressed the read.
er of his articles most of all is the
evidence supposed to be furnished by