CONTENTS
INTRODUCTORY PAGE
[1]
Position of the subject—Founding of the Society for Psychical Research—Definition of telepathy—General difficulties of the inquiry—Special sources of error—Fraud—Hyperæsthesia—Muscle-reading—Thought-forms and number-habit.
EXPERIMENTAL TRANSFERENCE OF SIMPLE SENSATIONS IN THE NORMAL STATE [18]
Transference of Tastes—Of pain, by Mr. M. Guthrie and others—Of sounds—Of ideas not definitely classed, by Professor Richet, the American Society for Psychical Research, Dr. Ochorowicz—Transference of visual images, by Dr. Blair Thaw, Mr. Guthrie, Professor Oliver Lodge, Herr Max Dessoir, Herr Schmoll, Dr. von Schrenck-Notzing, and others.
EXPERIMENTAL TRANSFERENCE OF SIMPLE SENSATIONS WITH HYPNOTISED PERCIPIENTS [58]
Transference of tastes, by Dr. Azam—Of pain, by Edmund Gurney—Of visual images, by Dr. Liébeault, Professor and Mrs. Henry Sidgwick, Dr. Gibotteau, Dr. Blair Thaw.
EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTION OF MOVEMENTS AND OTHER EFFECTS [82]
Inhibition of action by silent willing, by Edmund Gurney, Professor Barrett, and others—Origination of action by silent willing, by Dr. Blair Thaw, M. J. H. P., and others—Planchette-writing, by Rev. P. H. Newnham, Mr. R. H. Buttemer—Table-tilting, by the Author, by Professor Richet—Production of local anæsthesia, by Edmund Gurney, Mrs. H. Sidgwick.
EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTION OF TELEPATHIC EFFECTS AT A DISTANCE [105]
Induction of sleep, by Dr. Gibert and Professor Janet, Professor Richet, Dr. Dufay—Of hysteria and other effects, by Dr. Tolosa-Latour, M. J. H. P.—Transference of ideas of sound, by Miss X., M. J. Ch. Roux—Of visual images, by Miss Campbell, M. Léon Hennique, Mr. Kirk, Dr. Gibotteau.
GENERAL CRITICISM OF THE EVIDENCE FOR SPONTANEOUS THOUGHT-TRANSFERENCE [143]
On chance coincidence—Misrepresentation—Errors of observation—Errors of inference—Errors of narration—Errors of memory—"Pseudo-presentiment"—Precautions against error—"Where are the letters?"—The spontaneous cases as a true natural group.
TRANSFERENCE OF IDEAS AND EMOTIONS [161]
Transference of pain, Mr. Arthur Severn—Of smell, Miss X.—Of ideas, Miss X., Mrs. Barber—Of visual images, Mr. Haynes, Professor Richet, Dr. Dupré—Of emotion, Mr. F. H. Krebs, Dr. N., Miss Y.—Of motor impulses, Archdeacon Bruce, Professor Venturi.
COINCIDENT DREAMS [185]
Discussion of the evidence for telepathy derivable from dreams—Chance-coincidence—Simultaneous dreams, the Misses Bidder—Transference of sensation in dreams, Professor Royce, Mrs. Harrison—Dreams conveying news of death, etc., Mr. J. T., Mr. R. V. Boyle, Captain Campbell, Mr. E. W. Hamilton, Mr. Edward A. Goodall—Clairvoyant dream, Mrs. E. J.
ON HALLUCINATION IN GENERAL [207]
Common misconceptions—Hypnotic hallucinations, experiments by MM. Binet and Féré, Mr. Myers—Point de repère—Post-hypnotic hallucinations, Professor Liégeois, Edmund Gurney—Spontaneous hallucinations, Professor Sidgwick's census—Table showing classification of spontaneous hallucinations—Origin of hallucinations, sometimes telepathic—Proof of this, calculation of chance-coincidence, allowance for defects of memory—Conclusion.
INDUCED TELEPATHIC HALLUCINATIONS [226]
Possible misconceptions—Accounts of experiments, by Rev. Clarence Godfrey, Herr Wesermann, Mr. H. P. Sparks, and A. H. W. Cleave, Mrs B——, Dr. von Schrenck-Notzing, Dr. Wiltse, Mr. Kirk.
SPONTANEOUS TELEPATHIC HALLUCINATIONS [247]
Auditory hallucinations, Miss Clark, Mr. William Tudor—Visual hallucinations—Incompletely developed, Countess Eugenie Kapnist, Miss L. Caldecott, Dr. Carat—Completely developed, Miss Berta Hurly, Mrs. McAlpine, Miss Mabel Gore Booth—Hallucinations affecting two senses, Rev. Matthew Frost, M. A——.
COLLECTIVE HALLUCINATIONS [268]
Illusions, epidemic hallucinations, illusions of memory—Explanations of collective hallucination—Auditory hallucinations, Mr. C. H. Cary, Miss Newbold—Visual hallucinations, Mrs. Greiffenberg, Mrs. Milman and Miss Campbell, Mr. and Mrs. C——, Mr. Falkinburg, Dr. W. O. S., Rev. C. H. Jupp—Collective hallucinations with percipients apart, Sister Martha and Madame Houdaille, Sir Lawrence Jones and Mr. Herbert Jones.
SOME LESS COMMON TYPES OF TELEPATHIC HALLUCINATION [297]
Reciprocal cases, Rev. C. L. Evans and Miss —— —A misinterpreted message, Miss C. L. Hawkins-Dempster—Heteroplastic hallucination, Mrs. G——, Frances Reddell, Mr. John Husbands, Mr. J—— —"Haunted houses," Mrs. Knott and others, Surgeon-Major W. and others.
ON CLAIRVOYANCE IN TRANCE [326]
Definition of clairvoyance—Accounts of phenomena observed with Mrs. Piper, by Professor Lodge, Professor W. James, and others—Accounts of experiments by Mr. A. W. Dobbie, Dr. Wiltse, Mr. W. Boyd, Dr. F——, Dr. Backman.
ON CLAIRVOYANCE IN THE NORMAL STATE [351]
Observations of M. Keulemans—Crystal-visions, Miss X., Dr. Backman, Miss A. and Sir Joseph Barnby—Spontaneous clairvoyance, Mrs. Paquet, Mr. F. A. Marks, Mrs. L. Z.—Clairvoyance in dream, Mrs. Freese—Clairvoyant perceptivity in an experiment, Dr. Gibotteau.
THEORIES AND CONCLUSIONS [371]
Resumé, the proof apparent—The proof presumptive—The alleged influence of magnets and metals—The alleged marvels of spiritualism—Usage of the word telepathy—On various theories of telepathy—Difficulties of a physical explanation—Value of theory as a guide to investigation—Is telepathy a rudimentary or a vestigial faculty?—Our ignorance stands in the way of a conclusive answer—Imperative need for more facts.