Patreon Prize Draw: Win a Copy of Alison Winter’s Mesmerized. Powers of Mind in Victorian Britain

In keeping with mesmerism and hypnotism as the themes of the last prize (a copy of Adam Crabtree’s From Mesmer to Freud), I selected Alison Winter’s seminal study Mesmerized. Powers of Mind in Victorian Britain for the next draw. Published in 1998 by University of Chicago Press, Winter’s meticulously researched study continues to set the … Read more

Positivists in Wonderland: Extended Abstract of my Talk at the Conference, Science and Spiritualism, 1750-1930

As I’m preparing my presentation for the upcoming conference on the history of science and spiritualism in Leeds, I thought I’d share an extended version of my abstract with those of you who won’t be able to attend:  Scientific Naturalism and the Study of Spiritualist Phenomena by Positivist and Materialist Representatives of Science and Medicine … Read more

Coming in October: Richard Noakes’ Physics and Psychics. The Occult and the Sciences in Modern Britain (Cambridge University Press)

I’m excited to announce that the long-awaited book by Richard Noakes is now available for pre-order. Scheduled to appear in October 2019 as part of the Science in History series by Cambridge University Press, Physics and Psychics: The Occult and the Sciences in Modern Britain will provide surprising insights into the heterodox preoccupations of many … Read more

What is a Supernatural Phenomenon? Aquinas, Hume, and Alfred Russel Wallace’s ‘Naturalistic Spiritualism’

[This article continues my earlier post, “Materialism vs. Supernaturalism? ‘Scientific Naturalism’ in Context”]. Is the popular conflation of scientific naturalism with ontological materialism historically legit? Our first look at the context of Thomas H. Huxley’s first usage of ‘scientific naturalism’ in the sense in which it is deployed today suggested that it is not: Yes, … Read more

Materialism vs. Supernaturalism? “Scientific Naturalism” in Context

In my last article on William James’ heretical science I mentioned that among the many opponents of his studies of alleged psychic phenomena were representatives of “scientific naturalism”, which I stated was “not the same as ontological materialism, of which major science ‘naturalizers’ such as Thomas Huxley and John Tyndall in Britain, and Emil du … Read more

Call for Papers: Science and Spiritualism, 1750-1930 (Leeds Trinity University, 30-31 May 2019)

Disclaimer: This event is not organized by Forbidden Histories. If you have any questions regarding the conference, please contact the organizer, Dr. Efram Sera-Shriar, at e.sera-shriar@leedstrinity.ac.uk. Science and Spiritualism, 1750-1930 The Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies is pleased to announce a two-day conference, to take place at Leeds Trinity University on 30 and 31 May … Read more

From Magic to Science? An Integrated Guide to Collections at Cambridge University

The history of Cambridge University fundamentally challenges modern assumptions that science has disenchanted the world. As can be expected, this is also reflected in its archival and library holdings. Some of the most curious items held at Cambridge University Library are found in the collection of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), which includes old … Read more

Roy Porter on Science, Medicine and the ‘Decline of Magic’

Introductory remarks According to a traditional standard narrative, the ‘decline of magic’ in western intellectual elites since the Enlightenment was the direct and inevitable consequence of advances in science and medicine, which rendered belief in ‘occult’ principles obsolete. Probably the best currently available survey of historical studies casting considerable doubt on this popular view is … Read more

We’re Back – To Make it Count.

It’s been a while… …but worry not: I’m well and all my limbs are still attached. Since my last sign of life as a blogger, my time has been swallowed up by never-ending work on my book and various articles, along with research-intensive job applications and grant proposals. I covered as Director of Studies in … Read more

William James and the American Society for Psychical Research, 1884-9

Thanks to a travel grant from the British Society for the History of Science (BSHS) I was able to present a paper at this year’s British-North American Joint Meeting of the BSHS, CSHPS, and HSS in Canada. The presentation distilled a small part of a chapter in my forthcoming study on the formation of modern … Read more