If you wish to be considered a scientific-minded person, you probably know that you really shouldn’t believe in the occurrence of events commonly referred to as ‘supernatural’. If there was something to that sort of thing, surely the greats of science such as Newton, Bacon, Boyle, the Curies and Einstein would have told us.
What may surprise you is that each of the scientific icons named above, and many others of similar standing, took reports of ‘marvellous’ phenomena quite seriously. In fact, the consensus in historical scholarship regarding the relationship between science and ‘magic’ has shifted notably during the past five decades. Even the most conservative historian of science will tell you today what previous generations ignored or denied:
- That the revolutionary scientific works of Brahe, Kepler, Newton and other early moderns were inextricably related to their committed beliefs in biblical prophecies, alchemy, astrology and other ‘occult’ ideas and practices.
- That others like Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle, and later Pierre Curie, J. J. Thomson and William James observed and rigorously tested reported ‘miraculous’ goings-on, and insisted that certain instances of distant mental influence constituted facts of nature.
- That these examples are not mere anachronisms, but that – contrary to traditional assertions of a ‘disenchantment of nature’ – interest in ‘miraculous’ phenomena has continued in elite members of scientific communities, though not necessarily pursued within curricula of professionalized sciences.
- That at least since the nineteenth century, scientific interest in these things has been marked by a pluralism of interpretations, and cannot simply be pigeon-holed as instances of a religious need to believe or ‘flight from reason’.
Depending on your personal sensibilities and experiences, such statements may provoke reactions ranging from surprise to consternation – some of the standard responses historians of science and medicine working on unorthodox topics encounter when we try to explain our work to non-historians, and which have determined the choice of this blog’s title. ‘Forbidden Histories’ may have a melodramatic ring to it, but means to implicate the existence of a certain taboo, comprised of a variety of concerns that have prevented mainstream historical research from becoming part of common knowledge.
Debates over the reality of certain supposed ‘occult’ phenomena are ongoing, yet our intent is not to validate nor debunk the ‘paranormal’. Instead, we wish to study and understand reasons for belief as well as disbelief by scientists in various extraordinary phenomena over time.
The purpose of this blog is therefore to rehearse questions and ideas concerning the historical contingency of ‘scientific naturalism‘ and other standards of Western rationality – particularly those which academics are not accustomed let alone encouraged to critically reflect upon, even though they have powerfully shaped individual and collective identities.
Aware that the subject matter of ‘Forbidden Histories’ thoroughly goes against the grain of many established ideologies and metaphysical standard positions, contributors strive to employ those principles that most would agree make good science as well as good history: contextualized evidence and differentiated analysis.
If you’re interested in new perspectives on ancient questions that are informed by the latest insights from professional historical scholarship, please visit the ‘Forbidden Histories’ Youtube channel, which will soon begin to feature bite-sized videos. To stay in the loop, subscribe to our website (simply enter your email address in the box above to receive new posts by email), and follow ‘Forbidden Histories’ on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Andreas Sommer, Ph.D.
Help me Promote Historical Literacy!
Do you know the work of Colin Wilson? While his writing is not always robust he had an open mind about the numinous! I ,myself, am writing about Blake, and he of course thought this world was a shadow of a more spiritual/divine reality.
Yes, Wilson was an interesting guy – thanks for telling me about your work on Blake!
Carl Gustav Jung would be an ideal figure to include in your list.
Thank you for your comment!
Yes, that’s why there are two posts concerning Jung so far:
https://www.forbiddenhistories.com/c-g-jung-haunted-house/
https://www.forbiddenhistories.com/jung-and-the-clairvoyant/
Jung is of course often considered the mystical black sheep of the psychological community, but it’s important to consider the wider context and acknowledge that he was in rather good company as far as his heretical research interests were concerned.
I enjoyed your first youtube installment and look forward to more entries. From reviewing your book list, I had no idea there had been so much scholarly work on this subject. We tend to reduce historical figures to oversimplified profiles that often are used for arguing something in the present. One of my favorite quotes about the historical cultures is “Visiting the past is something like visiting a foreign country: they do some things the same and some things differently, but above all else, they make us more aware of what we call ‘home.”
(John Arnold). I will be interested to see how your presentations inform us about these “foreigners” and their perspectives.
Thank you for your response! Yes, I find the travel metaphor very helpful too and always dwell on it a little in first lectures to students (I will bring it up in some of the episodes as well). The past really is like a foreign country, and if you truly want to benefit from travelling you need to make serious efforts to get your head around the specific culture you’re visiting. Understand it on its own terms rather than force our own cultural/epistemological filters upon it – try to learn the language, understand how people think, eat their food, etc. I believe a lot can be learned from a fresh historical perspective even if we don’t believe in ‘magic’ or aren’t very interested in the question whether or not some of the stuff is real.