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Common Phantoms: An American History of Psychic Science - Ingram Academic — Occult Philosophy

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Common Phantoms: An American History of Psychic Science - Ingram Academic

Name: Common Phantoms: An American History of Psychic Science - Ingram Academic
Price: 30.00 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9781503612778

✍️ Puglionesi, Alicia

Reader Score

4.5

(1 review)

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📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

Alicia Puglionesi masterfully resurrects the vibrant era when America was captivated by psychic phenomena, from séances to telepathy. This volume explores how, between the 1850s and the early 20th century, a diverse group of investigators sought scientific explanations for experiences often dismissed as illusion. As innovations like the telegraph blurred the lines of reality, the boundaries of human consciousness themselves seemed to shift. Puglionesi illuminates these forgotten experiments, revealing psychical research as a significant, albeit ultimately disowned, chapter in the history of psychology and the mind sciences, challenging our understanding of what constitutes scientific inquiry.

Puglionesi, Alicia

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Praise for this book

“A fresh perspective on the goals and failures, friendships and rivalries, methods and dreams of those who investigated the interconnected powers of the human mind.”

— Pamela Klassen

🏛 Stanford University Press 📅 2020 📖 336 pages 📔 Paperback ISBN: 9781503612778

Fun Fact

Puglionesi's 'Common Phantoms' is an essential, meticulously researched volume that reclaims a vital, often-misunderstood chapter of American intellectual history. It excels at showing how everyday Americans engaged with profound questions of mind and reality. While not a defense of psychic abilities, those seeking validation of the paranormal might be disappointed; instead, it offers a rigorous academic exploration. This book is a significant contribution to the history of science, particularly the mind sciences, illustrating the complex interplay between popular culture, nascent scientific inquiry, and the enduring human fascination with the unknown.

📝 Description: Common Phantoms: An American History of Psychic Science - Ingram Academic

Séances, clairvoyance, and telepathy captivated public imagination in the United States from the 1850s well into the twentieth century. Though skeptics dismissed these experiences as delusions, a new kind of investigator emerged to seek the science behind such phenomena. With new technologies like the telegraph collapsing the boundaries of time and space, an explanation seemed within reach. As Americans took up psychical experiments in their homes, the boundaries of the mind began to waver. Common Phantoms brings these experiments back to life while modeling a new approach to the history of psychology and the mind sciences. Drawing on previously untapped archives of participant-reported data, Alicia Puglionesi recounts how an eclectic group of investigators tried to capture the most elusive dimensions of human consciousness. A vast though flawed experiment in democratic science, psychical research gave participants valuable tools with which to study their experiences on their own terms. Academic psychology would ultimately disown this effort as both a scientific failure and a remnant of magical thinking, but its challenge to the limits of science, the mind, and the soul still reverberates today.

💎 Expert review

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Esoterica Books editorial team

Occult literature desk

Puglionesi provides a rigorous academic resurrection of a vibrant, forgotten era in American intellectual life. The text successfully argues for the significance of psychical research within the broader history of psychology. However, readers seeking popular ghost stories or practical occult instruction will find little satisfaction here. This is a scholarly examination of historical inquiry, not a guide to paranormal practice. It may feel dry to those uninterested in the epistemological shifts of the late nineteenth century. The dense academic tone and focus on institutional history might alienate casual readers looking for entertainment rather than historical analysis of scientific methodology.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

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Why this book is worth reading

Readers fascinated by the hidden undercurrents of American intellectual history will find this volume indispensable. It offers a compelling look at a time when the boundaries between science and the supernatural were fluid, revealing how innovations like the telegraph influenced our understanding of consciousness. Those interested in the genealogy of modern psychology will appreciate seeing psychical research as a vital, albeit disowned, chapter in that development. It challenges contemporary assumptions about scientific inquiry by showcasing diverse investigators who sought empirical explanations for psychic phenomena. This book is essential for anyone wanting to understand how America grappled with the mysteries of the mind before dismissing them entirely.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —

⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.5/5

★★★★★

If you're captivated by the untold stories of American intellectual history, the intricate dance between science and belief, or the evolving understanding of the human mind, this book offers a fascinating, meticulously researched journey into an often-overlooked past. It's for those who appreciate…

Reader rating

4.5

Based on 1 reviews

Esoterica Books editorial team

Puglionesi provides a rigorous academic resurrection of a vibrant, forgotten era in American intellectual life. The text successfully argues for the significance of psychical research within the broader history of psychology. However, readers seeking popular ghost stories or practical occult instruction will find little satisfaction here. This is a scholarly examination of historical inquiry, not a guide to paranormal practice. It may feel dry to those uninterested in the epistemological shifts of the late nineteenth century. The dense academic tone and focus on institutional history might alienate casual readers looking for entertainment rather than historical analysis of scientific methodology.

❓ Frequently asked questions

No, rather than validating or debunking psychic abilities, the book offers a historical analysis of how Americans attempted to understand these experiences through a scientific lens, focusing on the methods, motivations, and cultural impact of psychical research itself.

The author draws extensively from previously unexamined archives that contain participant-reported data, offering a unique 'bottom-up' perspective on psychical experiments conducted by ordinary individuals in their own homes.

📖 Who should read this

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Democratic Science Unveiled

This work uncovers how psychical research became a widespread, participatory endeavor, allowing everyday Americans to engage in scientific exploration of their own experiences. It highlights the democratic, hands-on approach to understanding the 'unseen,' contrasting sharply with the specialized, institutionalized science that would later emerge and dismiss these efforts.

Redefining Mind's Frontiers

Puglionesi delves into how emerging technologies and the pursuit of psychic phenomena prompted a re-evaluation of the mind's capabilities and limits. The book explores the profound implications these investigations had for understanding human consciousness, challenging conventional notions of reality and the very nature of human perception in an evolving world.

Science Versus Spirituality

The text meticulously traces the divergence of psychical research from nascent academic psychology. It examines the intellectual battle between those seeking empirical proof for spiritual experiences and the scientific establishment's eventual rejection of such inquiries as 'magical thinking,' despite the deep questions these endeavors raised about human experience.

📜 Historical context

Emerging from the spiritualist movements of the mid-19th century, psychical research in America flourished during a period of rapid technological change and shifting cultural paradigms. This book places the phenomena of séances and clairvoyance within their rightful historical context, revealing how they were not merely fringe activities but a serious, if ultimately contentious, attempt to reconcile a spiritual worldview with scientific inquiry, predating the formalization of academic psychology.

📚 Glossary

Psychical Research
Clairvoyance
Séance

📔 Questions to reflect on

Considering the historical context, how might modern technologies (like AI or virtual reality) similarly influence our perception of consciousness or 'unseen' phenomena today?
Reflect on a time you encountered something seemingly unexplainable. How did you attempt to rationalize or understand it, and what does that say about our human need for explanation?
If psychical research had been integrated rather than disowned by academic psychology, how might our understanding of the mind and human potential differ today?