The Problems of Psychical Research Part 14

The facts, then; are they true or are they not? It is a question quite open to discussion, one quite capable of being solved by scientific methods. It is useless to say beforehand whether or not such and such things are or are not possible; the question is: Do they exist? We must not question their utility either, even if true, for this never enters into any scientific question of fact. Like the celebrated French philosopher whose friend had proved to him the "impossibility" of a certain happening, he replied: "My dear sir, I never said it was _possible_; I said it was a _fact_!"

So, then, we come to the evidence for this wonderful power of telepathy or thought-transference. Here I must be very brief, indicating merely a fraction of the evidence which has been acc.u.mulated in proof of this startling scientific truth.

When the Society for Psychical Research was founded, in 1882, its main energies were directed toward the investigation of this faculty, and of the reality of thought-transference. The various Committees who were engaged in this investigation soon came to the conclusion that its reality was beyond doubt. Some of the most interesting and conclusive experiments were those conducted by Mr. Guthrie, a gentleman living in Liverpool, and two of his employes. The tests were so arranged that fraud was out of the question, even had it been attempted. All the subjects were in a normal state, blindfolded, and separated some distance. Strict silence was observed. In the presence of Messrs. Myers and Gurney, the following trials in transferring the sensation of taste were attempted. Various substances were provided the "agent" (the one who was to transfer the sensation) and he placed a small quant.i.ty of one of these in his mouth; while the "percipient" (receiver of the telepathically sent message) stated what his or her impressions were. To quote one set of trials:

September 4

_Substance Tested_ _Answers Given_

Worcesters.h.i.+re sauce. Worcesters.h.i.+re sauce.

" " Vinegar.

Port wine. Between eau de Cologne and beer.

" " Raspberry vinegar.

Bitter aloes. Horrible and bitter.

Alum. A taste of ink--of iron--of vinegar. I feel it on my lips; as if I had been eating alum.

" Do. distinct impression: bitter taste persisted.

Nutmeg. Peppermint--no; what you put in puddings--nutmeg.

" Nutmeg.

Sugar. Nothing perceived.

Cayenne pepper. Mustard.

" " Cayenne pepper.

The next series of experiments concerned the transference of bodily pains. The subjects still being blindfolded, and some distance apart, the agent was p.r.i.c.ked in various parts of his body by a needle. Several physicians were present at these experiments:

Back of left ear p.r.i.c.ked. Rightly located.

Lobe of left ear p.r.i.c.ked. Rightly located.

Left wrist p.r.i.c.ked. "It is the left hand."

Third finger of left hand tightly bound round with wire. A lower joint of that finger was guessed.

Left wrist scratched with pins. "Is it the left wrist? Like being scratched."

Left ankle p.r.i.c.ked. Rightly located.

Now it would be foolish to attribute such results as these to chance.

But let us proceed.

Dr. Blair Thaw tried a number of experiments in transferring colours.

The following are samples:

Colours Chosen at Random

_Chosen_ _1st Guess_ _2nd Guess_

Bright red. Bright red. ....

Bright green. Light green. ....

Yellow. Dark blue. Yellow.

Bright yellow. Bright yellow. ....

Dark red. Blue. Dark red.

Dark blue. Orange. Dark blue.

Orange. Green. Heliotrope.

In 1895 Mr. Henry G. Rawson published a paper on the subject, in which he narrated his success in transferring the diagrams of objects. Tracings of these are given herewith. (O = original and R = reproduction.) Further comment is hardly necessary.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Diagram Ill.u.s.trative of Thought-Transference]

He also tried a number of experiments in naming cards drawn at random from the pack (where the chance is always 51 to 1 of being correct, and the chance of being correct a number of times in succession is inconceivably great) and he attained the following results, among others:

_Card Chosen_ _Card Guessed_

5 of Hearts. 7 of Hearts, Ace of Diamonds.

8 of Hearts. 8 of Hearts.

10 of Clubs. 9 of Clubs, 10 of Clubs.

Jack of Diamonds. Jack of Diamonds.

5 of Spades. 7 of Spades, 5 of Spades.

2 of Clubs. 2 of Diamonds, 2 of Clubs.

Queen of Hearts. Queen of Hearts.

5 of Diamonds. 9 of Diamonds, 5 of Diamonds.

Ace of Diamonds. Ace of Diamonds.

Ace of Hearts. Ace of Hearts.

Ace of Clubs. Ace of Clubs.

King of Spades. King of Diamonds, King of Spades.

Again, it is useless to say that such results are attributable to chance. The good standing of the partic.i.p.ants places their good faith beyond question; all normal means of communication were prevented. How are we to account for such facts--short of invoking some sort of mental interaction, through other than the ordinary channels of sense?

But these were experiments conducted in the normal state. Equally and even more interesting and conclusive results were obtained when the subject was placed under hypnotism. Of these, the most conclusive experiments were those conducted by Mrs. Sidgwick and Miss Alice Johnson. Put to the law of chance, it was shown that such coincidences were many hundreds, not to say thousands, of times more numerous than chance could account for. Then, again, we have the experiments at a great distance, in which Dr. Pierre Janet willed a patient of his to come through the streets, and she almost invariably came when he willed it. We have, too, a number of most interesting experiments in which _dreams_ have been induced in others--by trying to influence the sleeping thoughts of the dreamer. Here is a fruitful field, as yet hardly touched, for an experimenter in this line of research.[40]

Among the most interesting and dramatic cases of the kind are those experiments in which one person has voluntarily caused a figure of himself to appear to another at a distance. Thus, A sits down and wills intently that he shall appear to B that night--in sleep or waking, as the case may be. The next morning A receives a letter from B, stating that he has seen an apparition of him, and asking him if he is well. The following is an example of a case of this character:

"One certain Sunday evening in November, 1881, having been reading of the great power which the human will is capable of exercising, I determined with the whole force of my being that I would be present in spirit in the front bedroom of the second floor of a house situated at 22 Hogarth Road, Kensington, in which room slept two young ladies of my acquaintance, viz. Miss L. S. V. and Miss E. C.

V., aged respectively twenty-five and eleven years. I was living at this time at 23 Kildare Gardens, at a distance of about three miles from Hogarth Road, and I had not in any way mentioned my intention of trying this experiment to either of the above ladies, for the simple reason that it was only on retiring to rest upon this particular Sunday night that I made up my mind to do so. The time at which I determined to be there was one o'clock in the morning, and I also had a strong intention of making my presence perceptible.

"On the following Thursday I went to see the ladies in question, and in the course of conversation (without any allusion to the subject on my part) the elder one told me that on the previous Sunday night she had been much terrified by perceiving me standing by her bedside and that she screamed when the apparition advanced toward her, and awoke her little sister who saw me also...."

(Corroborative evidence was obtained from the two ladies mentioned.)

Such a case is called a "telepathically induced hallucination" or an "experimental apparition," for the reason that the figure seen is doubtless hallucinatory in character and was induced by means of telepathy. Such cases (and there are plenty of them) are very striking proof of the direct action of mind on mind; and at the same time form a sort of bridge across the gulf which otherwise seems to exist between the experimental cases we have just quoted and the spontaneous cases to which we must now refer.

Soon after the Society began its work it was noticed that numbers of cases were sent in, in which apparitions were seen at the very moment of the death of the person symbolized by the apparition. In many such cases, no other experience such as this has happened to the percipient throughout his or her life; but on the very occasion when such a figure _was_ seen, the individual was found to have died at that particular time! Can so many cases of so remarkable a character be attributed to chance?

The answer at first sight is: No. But here we must be cautious. In scientific research such as this, we must not be guided by impressions, but by facts and figures. Accordingly it was decided to put this matter to the test, and an "International Census of Hallucinations" was inaugurated, which extended throughout several countries (America being represented by Professor William James), and the taking of which lasted several years. As the result of this laborious undertaking, 30,000 answers were received--the percentage of coincidental apparitions being calculated. After making allowances for all possible sources of error, it was ascertained that the number of coincidences received were several hundred times too numerous to be attributed to chance; and the following statement was signed by Professor Sidgwick's Committee[41]: