Karl Ludwig von Reichenbach was a well-known and controversial personality in the 19th century. The controversies largely centered on his theories concerning a universal and all-permeating force he claimed to have discovered—the “Od.” In this article, I highlight important events in von Reichenbach’s life and his explorations into the frontiers of science. Subsequently, I present an overview on lines of experimentation that have addressed two of his propositions, namely (a) that the effects of Od can be directly detected by macroscopic (...) movements of objects such as compass needles, and (b) that (electro-)magnets can be detected visually in the dark due to the emission of odlight. Keywords: Reichenbach—Od—magnet—compass—light—visual perception. (shrink)

Michael Nahm’s (2012) recent article about Reichenbach and his concept of Od, in JSE 26:2, Summer 2012, reminds us of important work done in the past that has been forgotten by many current students of psychic phenomena and related topics. I find particularly interesting how the concept of Od influenced a variety of conceptual developments, something I would like to briefly discuss in this Commentary. While Nahm is aware of this, and addresses the issue briefly, he appropriately in my view (...) did not make this the focus of this paper because his purpose was a general overview of Reichenbach for the modern reader. One of the main influences of Reichenbach was how his work was used by others to develop and support the development of unorthodox concepts of force in relation to psychic phenomena, a model that existed before in the mesmeric movement and in other contexts. A prominent example of this was how Reichenbach’s Od was one of the inspiring factors behind the development of ideas of forces to explain physical manifestations such as those associated with mediums during the beginnings of spiritualism. This is clearly seen in American books published during the 1850s in which various authors speculated on the powers of the living medium to explain various mediumistic manifestations. A prominent one was Edward C. Rogers’ Philosophy of Mysterious Agents, Human and Mundane (1853). Reichenbach’s work was used by Rogers repeatedly throughout the book to justify his acceptance of the existence of a new force associated with the nervous system. This was basically a biophysical force coming from the bodies of mediums and others, an idea that allowed him to apply the concept of a non-spirit–based agency to explain spiritualistic manifestations such as movement of objects, raps, and luminous effects. He wrote in his Introduction: In our researches with regard to the phenomena treated in the following pages, we have found so many of the characteristics of an agent differing so essentially from those of Electricity and Magnetism proper, and bearing so many of the characteristics of identity with the Odyle of Reichenbach, that we feel forced to admit this identity. (Rogers 1853:20–21). (shrink)

This paper is an overview of aspects of the French journal Annales des Sciences Psychiques (ASP, 1891-1919) with emphasis on nineteenth century developments. The ASP was founded by Charles Richet and Xavier Dariex. The development of the journal was assisted both by the prestige and influence of Richet as a scientist and of Félix Alcan as a publisher. For the nineteenth-century period the journal emphasized cases and experiments over theories. Much of this was about spontaneous telepathy and physical mediumship. Some (...) of the authors included in the pages of the ASP were Émile Boirac, Ernesto Bozzano, Albert de Rochas, Giovanni Battista Ermacora, Paul Joire, and Julian Ochorowicz. There were translations of the work of members of the Society for Psychical Research, such as Frederic W. H. Myers. In 1908 the ASP was affiliated with the Sociétè Universelle d’Études Psychiques, becoming its official publication. The ASP was important in establishing standards and in providing a forum for the development of psychical research in France. (shrink)

While no view of past parapsychological developments is free of problems, it is worthwhile to discuss how our accounts can be distorted, if only to be more aware of our working assumptions. In this address I will focus on the writings of parapsychologists, and particularly on some problems in these writings producing a distorted view of the past of the discipline. I argue that the past is distorted when we neglect the work of specific groups and individuals (such as lesser-known (...) figures and women); when we see the past as a function of the present (neglect of unpopular ideas today, justification of research programs); and when we focus mainly on positive aspects of the study of psychic phenomena (neglect of critics and of examples of the rejection of the field). It is my hope that a consideration of these issues will assist us in expanding the reach of such writings. Keywords: history of parapsychology—history of psychical research—great men history—justification history—presentism. (shrink)