"Words of Healing": The Literature of Automatic Writing as Treatment and Prescription in the Victorian Age.

"The student who dives deep into the mysteries that enshrine Truth . . . will tell of her beauties, and proclaim to those who have ears to hear the words of healing." So wrote English cleric and spiritualist W. Stainton Moses in his Spirit Teachings (1883)-or, if Moses is to be believed, so wrote the spirit "Imperator," who, promising spiritual and bodily edification, enlisted Moses as his earthly amanuensis. Treating purportedly real spirit writings like those transcribed by Moses and the discourses of their reception in occultism, psychical research, and literature, this paper examines the phenomenon of automatic writing, also called spirit writing, passive writing, or psychography, as an evolving means of wellness and, later, a source of medical prescription from the 1850s through the 1890s. This essay suggests a yet-unintuited connection between the rise of automatic writing and the Spasmodic poetics alternately championed and critiqued by Sydney Dobell.

[Early attitudes to X-rays in Buenos Aires, 1896-1897: medicine, esotericism and popular fantasies]. / La temprana recepción de los rayos X en Buenos Aires, 1896-1897: medicina, esoterismo y fantasías plebeyas.

The goal of this article is to document early attitudes to X-rays in scientific culture in the city of Buenos Aires. Using various types of periodical sources, the text explores the different reactions to the novelty among different actors in the literary world. Newspapers and weekly magazines for the general public quickly broadcast the discovery, stressing its marvelous or prodigious nature. Meanwhile, physicians in the city took contrasting positions, ranging from mistrust to enthusiasm. Lastly, spiritualists in the city wrote numerous texts about the innovation, and reinterpreted it in accordance with their strategies for self-legitimation.

El objetivo de este artículo es documentar la recepción temprana de los rayos X en la cultura científica de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Haciendo uso de fuentes periódicas de diversa índole, el texto explora las diferentes reacciones despertadas por la novedad en distintos actores del mundo letrado. Los periódicos y semanarios generales difundieron rápidamente el hallazgo y se encargaron de subrayar su naturaleza maravillosa o prodigiosa. Por su parte, los médicos de la ciudad asumieron posiciones contrastantes que iban desde el recelo hasta el entusiasmo. Por último, los espiritistas de la ciudad escribieron numerosos textos sobre la innovación, y la reinterpretaron en función de sus estrategias de auto-legitimación.

La temprana recepción de los rayos X en Buenos Aires, 1896-1897: medicina, esoterismo y fantasías plebeyas / Early attitudes to X-rays in Buenos Aires, 1896-1897: medicine, esotericism and popular fantasies

Resumen El objetivo de este artículo es documentar la recepción temprana de los rayos X en la cultura científica de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Haciendo uso de fuentes periódicas de diversa índole, el texto explora las diferentes reacciones despertadas por la novedad en distintos actores del mundo letrado. Los periódicos y semanarios generales difundieron rápidamente el hallazgo y se encargaron de subrayar su naturaleza maravillosa o prodigiosa. Por su parte, los médicos de la ciudad asumieron posiciones contrastantes que iban desde el recelo hasta el entusiasmo. Por último, los espiritistas de la ciudad escribieron numerosos textos sobre la innovación, y la reinterpretaron en función de sus estrategias de auto-legitimación.

Abstract The goal of this article is to document early attitudes to X-rays in scientific culture in the city of Buenos Aires. Using various types of periodical sources, the text explores the different reactions to the novelty among different actors in the literary world. Newspapers and weekly magazines for the general public quickly broadcast the discovery, stressing its marvelous or prodigious nature. Meanwhile, physicians in the city took contrasting positions, ranging from mistrust to enthusiasm. Lastly, spiritualists in the city wrote numerous texts about the innovation, and reinterpreted it in accordance with their strategies for self-legitimation.

Combining psychiatry and spiritism: Therapies employed in a Brazilian sanatorium (1934-1948).

The purpose of this article is to present an historical account of an intersection that occurred in Brazil between popular healing treatments and conventional psychiatric practices during the first half of the 20th century. To illustrate our argument, we analyzed data retrieved from the medical records of patients admitted to the Spiritist Sanatorium of Uberaba, Brazil, between 1934 and 1948. Although the Uberaba Spiritist movement founded the institution, it was directed by a physician educated in the biomedical tradition at the Rio de Janeiro School of Medicine. Based on the theory of the circulation and appropriation of knowledge, we elucidated the adaptations and negotiations that were necessary for the reception and dissemination of the practice of the two different therapeutic methodologies on Brazilian psychiatric soil. (PsycINFO Database Record

In the shadow of the double: Psychiatry and spiritism in Cuba.

This article traces the history of Cuba's first and only Spiritist mental clinic, founded in the 1940s in the central province of Camagüey and shut down by the revolutionary government in the 1960s. It analyzes the history of the clinic with respect to the virtual absence of institutional psychiatric care outside of Havana in these decades, but also in the context of a more enduring problematic: the persistent preference shown by Cubans for religiously grounded forms of mental healing. Namely, "In the Shadow of the Double" explores the broader geography of mental care within which Spiritists defined the uniqueness of their healing practice, vis-à-vis both institutional psychiatry, to which they theorized a relationship of strategic complementarity, and other forms of religiously grounded healing, which they disparaged as "backwards" and even dangerous. It is precisely this liminal status within the psychotherapeutic marketplace, I argue, that made their healing practice uniquely appealing to some, but also vulnerable to revolutionary atheism and public health extension after 1959. (PsycINFO Database Record

El Instituto Psicológico Argentino (1892). Teosofía, hipnosis y charlatanería en los orígenes de una iniciativa olvidada / The Argentine Psychological Institute (INSTITUTO PSICOLÓGICO ARGENTINO) (1892). Theosophy, hypnotism and quackery in the origins of a forgotten enterprise

En octubre de 1892 llegó a Buenos Aires un extraño personaje, que decía ser conde y poseer título médico. De inmediato comenzó a efectuar con la ayuda de su esposa demostraciones de hipnosis, de telepatía y de clarividencia. Ofreció además conferencias sobre esos asuntos. Muy pronto, a mediados de diciembre de ese año, fundó el Instituto Psicológico Argentino, tarea para la que contó con la colaboración de espiritistas y científicos locales. Todas esas actividades fueron informadas con detalle por los periódicos de la ciudad y por una de las revistas del espiritismo porteño. Al poco tiempo el Departamento de Higiene logró la clausura del Instituto, a pesar de lo cual Sgaluppi continuó con sus demostraciones y conferencias. El objetivo de este artículo es reconstruir en detalle esa historia, sobre todo con el auxilio de fuentes periódicas de la época. Nuestro cometido es iluminar un capítulo poco conocido de la historia del hipnotismo en Buenos Aires, poniendo de relieve dos aspectos: el valor que las disciplinas esotéricas tuvieron en la cultura científica de fines de siglo, y las dificultades que tuvieron las autoridades sanitarias para hacer valer sus regulacion

In October 1892 a strange man arrived to Buenos Aires, who claimed to be a Viscount and to posses a medical degree. Immediately he began to perform with the help of his wife some demonstrations oh hypnotism, telepathy and clairvoyance. He also delivered lectures on these matters. Soon, in mid-December of that year, he founded the Argentine Psychological Institute (Instituto Psicológico Argentino), an enterprise for which he was assisted by local spiritualists and scientists. All these activities were reported in detail by local newspapers and by a spiritualist magazine. Soon the Health Office managed to close down the Institute, but nevertheless Sgaluppi continued with his performances and lectures. The aim of this paper is to explore those events, especially with the aid of primary sources. Our aim is to illuminate a tittle-known chapter in the history of Buenos Aires hypnotism, highlighting two aspects: the value that esoteric disciplines had in the fin-de-siècle scientific culture, and the difficulties experienced by health authorities to enforce their regulations

Erich Fromm's Involvement With Zen Buddhism: Psychoanalysts and the Spiritual Quest in Subsequent Decades.

The first section of this paper covers Erich Fromm's profound involvement with Zen Buddhism, culminating in his co-authoring the book Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis in 1960. It details why this was a groundbreaking endeavor, as it countered the pervasive psychoanalytic denigration of spiritual traditions, practices, and experiences. The second section describes the effect of Fromm's Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis on the author of this paper, as he came to clinical psychology and psychoanalysis from involvement in Indian philosophy. The third section is a case study of a spiritually advanced Hindu woman seen in intensive short-term psychoanalytic therapy in Bombay, describing the interface of the spiritual with psychoanalytic therapy. The fourth section explains what eventually led to a sea change in psychoanalytic attitudes toward spiritual traditions and practices, with a small but significant group of psychoanalysts becoming involved in one or another spiritual practice, and working with patients also so involved.

Cesare Lombroso on mediumship and pathology.

During the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth, students of pathology such as Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909), the author of the excerpt presented here, became involved in observing, investigating and theorizing about the phenomena of Spiritualism, and mediumship in particular. The Classic Text presented here consists of an excerpt from Lombroso's writings which focus on the Italian medium Eusapia Palladino (1854-1918), who greatly influenced Lombroso's beliefs. Lombroso illustrates neglected theoretical ideas combining the interaction of pathology and what seem to be real psychic phenomena that have not received much attention in historical studies.

As investigações dos fenômenos psíquicos/espirituais no século XIX: sonambulismo e espiritualismo, 1811-1860 / Investigations of psychic/spiritual phenomena in the nineteenth century: somnambulism and spiritualism, 1811-1860

Resumo No início do século XIX, investigações sobre a natureza de fenômenos psíquicos/espirituais como transes e supostas aquisições de informações indisponíveis aos canais sensoriais normais geraram grande debate no meio científico. Este artigo discute as principais explicações oferecidas pelos pesquisadores dos fenômenos psíquicos entre 1811 e 1860, concentrando-se nos dois movimentos principais no período: sonambulismo magnético e espiritualismo moderno. As investigações desses fenômenos geraram diversas teorias, sem que se chegasse a consenso, mas trouxeram implicações para a compreensão da mente e de seus transtornos, notadamente na área do inconsciente e da dissociação, constituindo-se como parte importante da história da psicologia e da psiquiatria.

Abstract In the early nineteenth century, investigations into the nature of psychic/spiritual phenomena, like trances and the supposed acquisition of information unattainable using normal sensory channels, prompted much debate in the scientific arena. This article discusses the main explanations offered by the researchers of psychic phenomena reported between 1811 and 1860, concentrating on the two main movements in the period: magnetic somnambulism and modern spiritualism. While the investigations of these phenomena gave rise to multiple theories, they did not yield any consensus. However, they did have implications for the understanding of the mind and its disorders, especially in the areas of the unconscious and dissociation, constituting an important part of the history of psychology and psychiatry.

Joseph Maxwell on mediumistic personifications.

The study of mediumship received much impetus from the work of psychical researchers. This included ideas about the phenomena of personation, or changes in attitudes, dispositions and behaviours shown by some mediums that supposedly indicated discarnate action. The aim of this Classic Text is to reprint passages about this topic from the writings of French psychical researcher Joseph Maxwell (1858-1938), which were part of the contributions of some psychical researchers to reconceptualize the manifestations in psychological terms. Maxwell suggested these changes in mediums were a production of their subconscious mind. His ideas are a reflection of previous theorization about secondary personalities and a particular example of the contributions of psychical researchers to understand the psychology of mediumship.

[Investigations of psychic/spiritual phenomena in the nineteenth century: somnambulism and spiritualism, 1811-1860]. / As investigações dos fenômenos psíquicos/espirituais no século XIX: sonambulismo e espiritualismo, 1811-1860.

In the early nineteenth century, investigations into the nature of psychic/spiritual phenomena, like trances and the supposed acquisition of information unattainable using normal sensory channels, prompted much debate in the scientific arena. This article discusses the main explanations offered by the researchers of psychic phenomena reported between 1811 and 1860, concentrating on the two main movements in the period: magnetic somnambulism and modern spiritualism. While the investigations of these phenomena gave rise to multiple theories, they did not yield any consensus. However, they did have implications for the understanding of the mind and its disorders, especially in the areas of the unconscious and dissociation, constituting an important part of the history of psychology and psychiatry.

'Report of the Committee on Mediumistic Phenomena', by William James (1886): With an introduction by.

Mediumship was a topic of great interest to some nineteenth-century students of mental phenomena. Together with the phenomena of hypnosis and other manifestations, mediumship was seen by many as a dissociative phenomenon. The purpose of this Classic Text is to present an excerpt of an article about the topic that William James (1842-1910) published in 1886 in the Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research about American medium Leonora E. Piper (1857-1950). The article, an indication of late nineteenth-century interactions between dissociation studies and psychical research, was the first report of research with Mrs Piper, a widely investigated medium of great importance for the development of mediumship studies. In addition to studying the case as a dissociative experience, James explored the possibility that Piper's mentation contained verifiable information suggestive of 'supernormal' knowledge. Consequently, James provides an example of a topic neglected in historical studies, the ideas of those who combined conventional dissociation studies with psychical research.

Why 'spiritism'?

Some of the early representatives of psychoanalysis had a lifelong interest in certain 'occult' phenomena. Although several theories were born for the purpose of understanding the interest of Sigmund Freud, Carl Gustav Jung or Sándor Ferenczi in spiritualism and related phenomena, interpreters usually ignore the changing cultural meaning and significance of modern occult practices like spiritualism. The aim of the present essay is to outline the cultural and historical aspects of spiritualism and spiritism in Hungary, and thus to shed new light on the involvement of Ferenczi - and other Hungarian psychoanalysts like Géza Róheim, István Hollós, and Mihály Bálint - in spiritualism and spiritism. The connections between spiritualism and the Budapest School of Psychoanalysis will be discussed, highlighting the cultural and scientific significance of Hungarian spiritualism and spiritism in the evolution of psychoanalysis. Taking into account the relative lack of the scientific research in the field of spiritism in Hungary, it can be pointed out that Ferenczi undertook a pioneering role in Hungarian psychical research.

Treatment of singultus by sexual stimulation: Who was George T Dexter, MD (c1812-?)?

This short report attempts to shed light on the interesting but controversial personality of George T Dexter (ca1812 -?), the physician who first described manipulation of the female genitalia in a hysterical impressionable girl as being associated with the termination of singultus. Although his interaction with the young female patient would not meet today's ethical standards, his medical observation was valid and contributes to our understanding of the pathophysiology of singultus. He was well ahead of his colleagues who presented hiccup therapy case reports with similar or related pathophysiology mechanisms some 150 years later.

'S.W.' and C.G. Jung: mediumship, psychiatry and serial exemplarity.

On the basis of unpublished materials, this essay reconstructs Jung's seances with his cousin, Helene Preiswerk, which formed the basis of his 1902 medical dissertation, The Psychology and Pathology of so-called Occult Phenomena. It separates out Jung's contemporaneous approach to the mediumistic phenomena she exhibited from his subsequent sceptical psychological reworking of the case. It traces the reception of the work and its significance for his own self-experimentation from 1913 onwards. Finally, it reconstructs the manner in which Jung continually returned to his first model and reframed it as an exemplar of his developing theories.

[The marvels of the incarnated man. Victor Melcior and the redefinition of mediumship (1901)]. / Los prodigios del hombre encarnado. Victor Melcior y la redefinición de la mediumnidad (1901).

Towards the end of the 19th century, new medico-psychological approaches were applied to mediumship through the scientific study of spiritualist phenomena. The spiritualist idea of the medium was replaced with the notion of the medium as an unstable human being capable of emanating psychic forces unconsciously. This paper analyses the redefinition of mediumship through the polemical articles of the Catalan physician Victor Melcior. On one hand, this microhistory allows the local debate to be placed within the scientific international context, describing the relationships among spiritualism, medicine and psychopathology at that time. On the other hand, it permits analysis of the reactions of some spiritualists to Melcior's theories and of the consequences of this debate for spiritualism in general.

Suicidio y crítica cultural en la medicina española del siglo XIX / Suicide and cultural criticism in 19th century Spanish medicine

El presente trabajo explora el destacado papel del suicidio en la crítica cultural desplegada por los médicos españoles del siglo XIX a través de un análisis de los principales modelos teóricos que inspiraron sus aportaciones en torno a la causación del mismo. En la primera mitad del siglo, el factor etiológico más discutido fueron las pasiones, las cuales, de acuerdo con el espiritualismo dominante, actuaban en tensión permanente con un yo reflexivo, consciente y dueño de su libre albedrío. Posteriormente, y en el contexto de una progresiva somatización de los fenómenos morales e intelectuales, la concepción del suicidio como un acto libre del individuo fue modificándose hasta considerarlo como una consecuencia más o menos directa de ciertas alteraciones orgánicas. Pero este proceso no anuló el lugar central de las conductas suicidas en el marco de la crítica cultural decimonónica, pues, con la introducción de la teoría de la degeneración, los médicos dispusieron de una doctrina que les permitía conciliar el determinismo biológico con la muy extendida percepción de una crisis moral y social que amenazaba la estabilidad y los logros de la sociedad burguesa (AU)

This paper explores the major role of suicide in the cultural criticism deployed by 19th century Spanish doctors by analysing the most important theoretical models that inspired their contributions to its aetiology. In the first half of the century, the most commonly debated causal factor was the passions, which were thought to stand in a permanent tension with a free, reflexive and conscious self, in accordance with the spiritualist doctrine that was then dominant. In the context of a growing somatisation of moral and intellectual phenomena, the notion of suicide as an act of free will was later modified, and it became considered the consequence of certain organic disturbances. However, this process did not alter the central role of suicidal behaviour within 19th-century cultural criticism, because the advent of degeneration theory meant that doctors finally had a doctrine that allowed them to combine biological determinism with the extended perception of a moral and social crisis threatening the stability and achievements of bourgeois society (AU)