Cock Lane and Common-sense

Cock Lane and Common-sense PDF Author: Andrew Lang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Folklore
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Cock Lane and Common-Sense

Cock Lane and Common-Sense PDF Author: Andrew Lang
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
ISBN: 1465600787
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Since the first publication of Cock Lane and Common-Sense in 1894, nothing has occurred to alter greatly the authorÕs opinions. He has tried to make the Folklore Society see that such things as modern reports of wraiths, ghosts, Ôfire-walking,Õ Ôcorpse-lights,Õ Ôcrystal-gazing,Õ and so on, are within their province, and within the province of anthropology. In this attempt he has not quite succeeded. As he understands the situation, folklorists and anthropologists will hear gladly about wraiths, ghosts, corpse-candles, hauntings, crystal-gazing, and walking unharmed through fire, as long as these things are part of vague rural tradition, or of savage belief. But, as soon as there is first-hand evidence of honourable men and women for the apparent existence of any of the phenomena enumerated, then Folklore officially refuses to have anything to do with the subject. Folklore will register and compare vague savage or popular beliefs; but when educated living persons vouch for phenomena which (if truly stated) account in part for the origin of these popular or savage beliefs, then Folklore turns a deaf ear. The logic of this attitude does not commend itself to the author ofCock Lane and Common-Sense. On the other side, the Society for Psychical Research, while anxiously examining all the modern instances which Folklore rejects, has hitherto neglected, on the whole, that evidence from history, tradition, savage superstition, saintly legend, and so forth, which Folklore deigns to regard with interest. The neglect is not universal, and the historical aspect of these beliefs has been dealt with by Mr. Gurney (on Witchcraft), by Mr. Myers (on the Classical Oracles), and by Miss X. (on Crystal-Gazing). Still, the savage and traditional evidence is nearly as much eschewed by psychical research, as the living and contemporary evidence is by Folklore. The truth is that anthropology and Folklore have a ready-made theory as to the savage and illusory origin of all belief in the spiritual, from ghosts to God. The reported occurrence, therefore, of phenomena which suggest the possible existence of causes of belief not accepted by anthropology, is a distasteful thing, and is avoided. On the other hand, psychical research averts its gaze, as a rule, from tradition, because the testimony of tradition is not Ôevidential,Õ not at first hand.

Psychic Investigators

Psychic Investigators PDF Author: Efram Sera-Shriar
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
ISBN: 0822988712
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Psychic Investigators examines British anthropology’s engagement with the modern spiritualist movement during the late Victorian era. Efram Sera-Shriar argues that debates over the existence of ghosts and psychical powers were at the center of anthropological discussions on human beliefs. He focuses on the importance of establishing credible witnesses of spirit and psychic phenomena in the writings of anthropologists such as Alfred Russel Wallace, Edward Burnett Tylor, Andrew Lang, and Edward Clodd. The book draws on major themes, such as the historical relationship between science and religion, the history of scientific observation, and the emergence of the subfield of anthropology of religion in the second half of the nineteenth century. For secularists such as Tylor and Clodd, spiritualism posed a major obstacle in establishing the legitimacy of the theory of animism: a core theoretical principle of anthropology founded in the belief of “primitive cultures” that spirits animated the world, and that this belief represented the foundation of all religious paradigms. What becomes clear through this nuanced examination of Victorian anthropology is that arguments involving spirits or psychic forces usually revolved around issues of evidence, or lack of it, rather than faith or beliefs or disbeliefs.

Ghosts: 1762-1820 : Cock Lane, common sense and morality

Ghosts: 1762-1820 : Cock Lane, common sense and morality PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ghosts
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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The edition benefits from full scholarly apparatus, including a general introduction, volume introductions, headnotes, endnotes and a consolidated index in the final volume. The set is broadly interdisciplinary and will appeal to those researching Social and Cultural History, History of Science, History of Religion, Literature and History of the Supernatural, as well as Early-Modern, Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century History. It includes rare sources not available on ECCO, EBBO or Google Books. It takes a chronologically broad view of the history of the supernatural, from the Reformation to the twentieth century. The new editorial material includes a general introduction, volume introductions, headnotes, endnotes and a consolidated index in the final volume. Each facsimile page is digitally cleaned and enhanced, significantly improving on the quality and legibility of the original

The Science of Religion in Britain, 1860-1915

The Science of Religion in Britain, 1860-1915 PDF Author: Marjorie Wheeler-Barclay
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 0813930510
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Marjorie Wheeler-Barclay argues that, although the existence and significance of the science of religion has been barely visible to modern scholars of the Victorian period, it was a subject of lively and extensive debate among nineteenth-century readers and audiences. She shows how an earlier generation of scholars in Victorian Britain attempted to arrive at a dispassionate understanding of the psychological and social meanings of religious beliefs and practices—a topic not without contemporary resonance in a time when so many people feel both empowered and threatened by religious passion—and provides the kind of history she feels has been neglected. Wheeler-Barclay examines the lives and work of six scholars: Friedrich Max Müller, Edward B. Tylor, Andrew Lang, William Robertson Smith, James G. Frazer, and Jane Ellen Harrison. She illuminates their attempts to create a scholarly, non-apologetic study of religion and religions that drew upon several different disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, the classics, and Oriental studies, and relied upon contributions from those outside as well as within the universities. This intellectual enterprise—variously known as comparative religion, the history of religions, or the science of religion—was primarily focused on non-Christian religions. Yet in Wheeler-Barclay’s study of the history of this field within the broad contexts of Victorian cultural, intellectual, social, and political history, she traces the links between the emergence of the science of religion to debates about Christianity and to the history of British imperialism, the latter of which made possible the collection of so much of the ethnographic data on which the scholars relied and which legitimized exploration and conquest. Far from promoting an anti-religious or materialistic agenda, the science of religion opened up cultural space for an exploration of religion that was not constricted by the terms of contemporary conflicts over Darwin and the Bible and that made it possible to think in new and more flexible ways about the very definition of religion.

The New Prometheans

The New Prometheans PDF Author: Courtenay Raia
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022663549X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 443

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The Society for Psychical Research was established in 1882 to further the scientific study of consciousness, but it arose in the surf of a larger cultural need. Victorians were on the hunt for self-understanding. Mesmerists, spiritualists, and other romantic seekers roamed sunken landscapes of entrancement, and when psychology was finally ready to confront these altered states, psychical research was adopted as an experimental vanguard. Far from a rejected science, it was a necessary heterodoxy, probing mysteries as diverse as telepathy, hypnosis, and even séance phenomena. Its investigators sought facts far afield of physical laws: evidence of a transcendent, irreducible mind. The New Prometheans traces the evolution of psychical research through the intertwining biographies of four men: chemist Sir William Crookes, depth psychologist Frederic Myers, ether physicist Sir Oliver Lodge, and anthropologist Andrew Lang. All past presidents of the society, these men brought psychical research beyond academic circles and into the public square, making it part of a shared, far-reaching examination of science and society. By layering their papers, textbooks, and lectures with more intimate texts like diaries, letters, and literary compositions, Courtenay Raia returns us to a critical juncture in the history of secularization, the last great gesture of reconciliation between science and sacred truths.

London Town Past and Present

London Town Past and Present PDF Author: W. W. Hutchings
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : London (England)
Languages : en
Pages : 622

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Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson PDF Author: James James Lowry Clifford
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 9781452911564
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 704

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and 2

and 2 PDF Author: W. W. Hutchings
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : London (England)
Languages : en
Pages : 626

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Borderland

Borderland PDF Author: William Thomas Stead
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Parapsychology
Languages : en
Pages : 608

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The Hindu Book of Astrology

The Hindu Book of Astrology PDF Author: Bhakti Seva
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 71

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Book Description
In 'The Hindu Book of Astrology' by Bhakti Seva, readers are provided with a comprehensive guide to the ancient practice of Hindu astrology. This text explores the significance of astrology in Hindu culture, delving into the complex relationship between celestial bodies and human destiny. Seva's writing style is authoritative and informative, drawing from classical Hindu texts and teachings to illuminate the principles of Hindu astrology. The book is a valuable resource for both beginners and seasoned practitioners, offering insights into the mystical tradition of astrology as it is understood in Hindu philosophy. The prose is clear and accessible, making this book essential reading for anyone interested in the intersections of spirituality, cosmology, and the human experience.