While there were several psychical research journals during the nineteenth century many interesting discussions about psychic phenomena took place as well in a variety of intellectual reviews and scholarly and scientific journals of various disciplines. One such example was the French journal Revue Philosophique de la France et de l’Étranger founded in 1876 by Théodule Ribot. Reflecting the various interests of psychologists during the nineteenth century many topics were discussed in the Revue, among them hypnotic phenomena, as well as mental (...) suggestion and mediumship. The journal provided an important forum for French discussions in psychology and in the social sciences in general that helped the development of those disciplines. The same may be said about psychic phenomena, which were discussed in the pages of the Revue by authors such as Émile Boirac, Victor Egger, Théodore Flournoy, Jules Héricourt, Pierre Janet, Léon Marillier, Julian Ochorowicz, Charles Richet, and Albert Ruault. We present summaries of some of these writings which we hope will bring some of this material to the attention of non-French readers. (shrink)

The creation of this new section of the Journal of Scientific Exploration (JSE) reflects the traditional view that one of the best ways to understand a discipline is through a study of its history. The historical perspective illuminates the intellectual and social factors leading to the development of science, including issues such as emphases on particular phenomena or topics, as well as methodology and theory. Study of the areas covered by JSE has much to gain from study of their past.

While there was much conflict during the 19th century between psychology and psychical research, the latter was occasionally discussed in psychology journals. The purpose of this paper is to provide a guide to existing discussions of psychical research and related topics in the American journal Psychological Review. Many of the discussions were authored by individuals favorably disposed to psychical research, such as William James and James H. Hyslop, but also by such skeptics as James McKeen Cattell and Joseph Jastrow. With (...) a few exceptions, the majority of the authors were critical of psychical research. This refl ected the hostility on the topic shown by many psychologists at the time. (shrink)