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This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR: STEVENSON, W. G TITLE: THE EVIDENCE OF THE SENSES PLACE: [S.L.] DA TE : [1 878] COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TAROFT Master Negative # Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record Restrictions on Use: Stovoiiaon, iVillian C The ovidonoo of tlie senses; inaugural addroso bj \'U G. Gtovonnon... nrosident of the Poushkeepoio ' society of natural science, October 9, 1878. 15 p. 23 en in 2dh cm. Hair tit3o. Volune of panpJilots TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: S-£^i^_ REDUCTION RATIO: / /Y IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA Ql^/ IB IIB _ DATE FILMED: 3.'^^i93 INITIALS ^^ FILMED BY: RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS. INC WOQDBRIDGE. CT c Association for information and image RAanagement 1100 Wayne Avenue. Suite 1100 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter im MymMh]^^ Inches 5 6 7 8 iiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiil I r I M^ 11 MJ 10 11 llllllllllllllll I i I 12 13 14 15 mm luuluuiuiiliuiii^ 1.0 ■^ 1 2-8 |yo "" |56 |3.2 ^ li£ 1 u 1 mutt, 1.4 2.5 22 I.I 2.0 1.8 1.6 1.25 1 MflNUFfiCTURED TO RUM STflNDflRDS BY APPLIED IMRGE, INC. '^ '*> / i-° 5 u I C (XT^^^^/LyOtX^X^^^ C<..Cy'Co f jyU^ ( THE EVIDENCE OF THE SENSES. INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY W. G. STEVENSON, M. D., PRESIDENT OP THE POl'GHKEEPSIE SOCIETY OF NATCRAl SCIENCE, • • • OCTOBER 9, 1878, I thi jvi- 8 of raar^ pature 4imoifJ ical tive 1 4«. X a b i^ THE EVIDENCE OF THE SENsf^. INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY W. G. STEVENSON, M. D., PRESIDENT OF THE POCCIEEPSIE SOCIETY Of NATURAL SCIENCE. !l!l • • • OCTOBER 9, 1878, 'A •' ' I T Original in BROWN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Not to be reproduced, published, •r placed In another institution without written peralealoxu THE EVIDENCE OF THE SENSES. INAUGURAL ADDRESS BEFORE THE POl'CIIKEEPSIE SOCIETl' OF NATtRAl SCIENCE. OCTOBER 9, 1878, BY Jf. p. ^TBVENSON, yVi. p, liADIES AND GeNTLEMEU : . ThrougboQt human history truth and error have mingled in great confusion, •nd have ch illenged the inveatigationa of the keenest minds. Conditioned by knowledge tliey have poesewed in fact relative, not absolute defiuition, though in legend and myth they have at times assumed the charac terisiics of demoustrated entities; hence, beliefs of bygone days have come down the ages robed with the dignities of established truths, until, tested by standards of advanced thought, their real nature being exposed, they have been relegated to their proper place in mythology. Myths very properly belong to prim- itive man as the legitimate products of his eflTorts to explain natural phenome- i»; they are, to the outer world, simply the projected shadows of the conceptions which ignorant minds have formed of the workings of their own mental pow- ers; rudely constructed theories, seeking to explain and harmonize the varied mysteries of life and the world around. Fancy and reason, credulity and doubt, superstition and educated com- mon sense, each and all, have appealed to evidence in su^iport of their respective ▼tews and doctrines, and the human Jenses have been called as chief wit- nesses in behalf of the most extra va- Jg*nt delusions, as well as in defense of Iho highest principles of truth. Thus do we have from evidence, thought to be both relevant and proper, given by witnesses deemed honest and competent, results which are contradic- tory and antagonistic, and witn confu- sion of mmd we turn from the teach- ings and conclusions of an ignorant past, and appeal to moilern science, as the only interpreter of the variwl phe- nomena of maltf r, energy and life, to determine the credibility of the evi- dence obtained from the senses of man« and explain the cause and nature of their seemingly disciiMant testimony. Reliance is no longer placed on the deductions from imerrogated self-con- sciousness alone, nhfiher applying to the phenomena of mind or nf the phys- ical universe, because the value of self consciousness depends largelv, if not en- tirely upon the amount and nature of knowledge possessed by the individuai. and since these differ iu different per- sons, it necessarily follows that the in- terpreiations of self consci^uaoess must present widely differ»-nt resulu, and be destitute of any pM>itive value. Neither can we aerience, ei'her wiih or wi.hout coosci< tusuesjt, impressions which are transformed into |ierceptijns a^d modes of tnought, and thu:) is built up that mentality which places hnn hi^diest iu the sci.e of li^e, and gives him the no- blest prerogatives. While duly recogoiztog the lofty po- sition occupied by man in the domain of nature, ii is well, however, to remeral)er that afier all his seuses are coiifiued to very narrow horizon?, a>id bis brain energy is limited iu its grasp of Nature and her laws. The limitation of sense and brain power is both relative and absolute ; relative — in that individuals differ from each other, and lower forms of life in both actual and possible at- tainments, and absoiute-^because out- side of certain bounds the senses are not impressi'd, and the mind d«)eB not per- ceive. A iew vibritioiis of air and ether impress our senses, and we bear a fdw octaves of sound, and see a Fi>ectrum of seven colors, but beyond tuere are countless vibrations which cause neither sight nor hearing. The microscope reveals new worlds of beauty, wonder, life, but the molecule and atom still elude us; the telescope opens new vistas, where swing great worlds in the amplitudes of space— but onbef ond infinitude extends. We deem ourselves wise when, hav- ing observed the sequence of a few events, we call it law and formulate B(;me general ruh, and yet the essential nature of matter, life and mind, whether in their simple or complex expre8sion« is a riddle too deep for the human mind to solve. This limitation of brain power haa made it necessary, in the marveloua progress of human achievement, for some to concentrate their minds on. fewer lines of thought or work, and bj^ 80 doing, they have attained greater proficiency, an«l become the rtx^ognized authorities in their special ways; they are experts, whose special knowledge eiiables them to make a critical review of every detail ; but, aside from their special departments, their knowlclge if general and takes rank acc«>rdingly. This special or expert knowledge is recor;nizearily follows that any interpretation given to a supposed or real external fact must be subject to the modification which may come from errors of the senses or the brain — such as impressions, perceptions or ideas. Here is the point where the discord of The Evidence of iJic Senses. TJie Evidence of the Senses. testimony is greatest between the be- lievers and uoheliever.'* in modern spix- itualis!U. in its defense appeal is ever made to the evidence of the senses, or — more correctly speaking— to the con- sciousness which ascribes to some exter- nal, real cause, the power of impressing the senses ; it is declared that the sub* jective evidence comes Irom an objeciive cause, thereby making every mental vision or sound proceed trom some "spirit form." which flits before the eyes and whispers in the ears of a favored few. In contradiction to this, it is affirmed as a physiological and psychological fact, that "consciousness can never be a valid and unprejudiced witness; for although it testifies to the existence of a particular mental modification, ytt when that modification has auythinir of a morbid character, consciousness, which is a part of it, is necessarily af- fect«d by the taint, and is modified also ; accordingly the lunatic appeals to the evidence of his own consciousness fur the truth «f his balluciuaiion or delu* sion, and insists titat he has as sure evi- dence of its reality a^ ho has of the argument of a»d now these same nerves were affected— and it was natural for consciousness to ascribe the pain to the same place— fir it had not yet had time to learn, from new expe* ^j riences, its error. ■^' Tiiis is, in nervous physiology, known' asthelawof"eccentricsensatiou,*'andap«i plies to the sight as well as to thetouchi "Shall we believe that everything we*] see is moving round because our con-' sciousness, in vertigo, so sj)ei»ks?" Why,^ theo, from the evidence ofconsciousncaej- alone, should we declare that certain ofi: its phenomena are purely subjective expressions of brain action indepeudenti of any external cause or reality, while} other of its phenomena, similar in char^j acter and attested by no other witni are the effects of realities external ourselves ! Evidently, unless there arel other means or methods by which tocoi roborate the evidence of consciousnesa,^ the query is not easily solved. Let us for a moment give our attei lion to the one sense of sight, and ol serve h^w faulty vision may be,^d thi evidence dfrive in nature come Irom combinations of whrtt are known as the 'three primary colois. It is believed that there are in the retina three sets of nerves, each of which has the special property which etiables it to be impressed by vibrations differing in rapidity and wave length. From those, three distinct scnsfltions arise, and three perceptions take their place in nature as entities, although in reality they are only subjective prop- erties. This will appear evident if we reflect on the nature of vibrations which call forth such varied results. Vibrations less than four hundred and fifty -six billions of times in a second do not affect the organs of sight, but do affect ott;er organs, and heat is the re- sult ; but the moment the vibrations in- crease to this number a single set of nerves is affected, and the impression is transformed into a consi:iou3 perception of red; increase the number of vibra- tions and orange, yellow, green and blue appear, violet coming only when the vibrations have, reached six hund- redf and sixty-seven millions in a second ; marking the limits of the vi&ible spec- trum, on either side of w'lich, however, vibrations of the same kind give, as demonstrated facts, heat and actinism ; but who shall say— nothing more. We should remember that certain animals can see where all is darkness to man, and hear sounds when to the human ear all is silence, and appreciate the thought that beyond the limits of the heat, light nd chemical wa«es, vibra- tions may exist, which, it our senses could perceive, might o|)en t«) us worlds of unknown beauty a-jd glory. CerUin it is that the idea of light de- pends on the o gauizatiou of the leiiua. Change this so that it is susceptible to other velocities of etherial vibrations, and we might call that light which we Qow call heat, sound or darkness. Hence the conclusion, that color, as •ucb, has no existence outside of our own minds. Hence, no object in nature «an have color as a distinct reality, but can onjy have, by virtue of its molecular formation, the power of reflecting or transmitting a certain number of vibra- tions, which give to us impressions, which, being transformed, appear in consciousnets as color, and in the ab- sence of this internal sense substance, — thia transforming power — the muaic and beauty of the world would cease to »>•• Consciousness, subject to modifica- ^««M •■ already stated, ia, however, the one stern reality of our being, which, co-operating with some unknown power existing beyond consciousness, compels ns to modify our conceptions and defini- tions of the material universe. Some persons have a defect of sight known as color blindness, so that they are unable to distinguish certain colors. The vibrations reflected trom an external object do not impress the visual organs of ditferent persons in the same way, and hence their con^'cious sensations differ. We speak of him who is color blind as having imperfect sitrht, only because ihe experience of a large ma- jority has established a standard and as- serted its reliabi ity, but what would be the value of sense evidence in a particu- lar case if human experience was equal- ly divided^? A painter once represented "the roofa of houses red on the sunny side and green in the shadow," though to him both were alike in color. Oxen were representeil in the same way ; "wheti strongly illuminated red was perceived as such, but in diminished li^ht it ap- peared green." With advanced years comes in some persons a di.'*coloration of the lens, which changes the |>erception of external col«)rs. L'ght may be perfect exci^pt as to shade, whii;h being of a yellow cast will cause, uucotsciously, the use of ex- cess of i)lue |»igments in crder to bring the shade to their standard of quality perception. Ti> them it is now correct, but to others of normal eyes incorrect. Their sen^^atiouA and perceptions have been so gradually modified that they cannot be'ieve their own error, but are constrained to trust their own sight, since to them as to all others, "aeemg is believing." A distinguished authority in this way accounts for the inaccuracies of Tur- ner's later pictures. He painted nature as he saw it, but unhappily be paw. through eyes which were undergoing change, and hence his perceptions of nature were greatly modified; thus testi- mony is added to the unreliability of sense evidence, "We are all familiar with the 'twink- ling of the stars* — that unsteady condi- m ,"?V".,-'^Af'- '.PiMit£>^~ r a'- — fci'^^nPA*^ -iwEiHlBi 1 I if i li •I 1 \ 8 The Evidence of the Senses. tion which seemp like rays or pencils of light dartDg from them— but these beams are DOt radiations from the star ; thuy come from the conditions of our own eyes when gazing into distant space/' It were superfluous to recite the many other sources of visual error, but the i&cU presented caution us not to rely too confidently on the evidence turnished by auy one of our senses, but, in cases of doabt or dispute, to call the other senses, together with reason, to review with expert care the evidence presented, prior to rendering a verdict. "A great aberration of sight, as when a square seems oblong, may be detected by the person himself by simply meas- uring or changing the position of the body ; but where there is o ily a slight chauge in color perception the task is more difficult," because it admits of DO tests aside from those addressed to consciousness, and his own is preferred to others. Each nerve center, whether organic, spinal, sensorial or ideational, has its own special mode of action, and within the limitations of its own individualized functions is independent of other centers, but beyond this each center b subordi- nate to and influenced by the center im- mediately higher in the scale of nervous development. The brain, as the center of that con- scious energy which presides with such mysterious i>ower over the thoughts and actions of man, receives, registers and assimilates impressions throughout life in an automatic manner. Man may direct and determine many of the cir- cumstances under which he shall live, but is powerless to resist the unconscious asdimilati' n of the impressions which his surroundings produce. Every impression received, whether conscious or unconscious, produces in some way molecular change in the ner- vous centers of thought, leaving its trace as so much passive nerve force, which may be converted into active en- erjy when influenced by fivorable associations. The unconscious actiun of the brain and other nerve centers is responsible for much of all mental and nervous develt^ opment and expression. It shows i( in many and varied ways to every son ; at times by recalling to confcxmjl memory names which had defied alli conscious efibrt; by solving problem^ and giving opinions, during sleep, whi<~ had biiffled e^ery conscious efibrt durij waking hours. Some have even learof foreign languages by the unconscu assimilation of ideas, being themseli ignorant of the fact, and have spokeo a foreign tongue during delirium, dli er^se, or some condition of self-cent attention. It is to this unconscious cerebrate that we are indebted for many of important inventions in the arts sciences, as well as for those wondei displays of genius witnessed in a Mos a Goethe, a Shakespeare. These fi are not disputed by the spiritualist, are by him explained, not as results unconscious cerebration, but as manif tat ions of some external spirit poi acting through the brain as a passti medium. Science knows no test for spirit from organism, and therefore, haviof^ established certain facts by inductifC reasoning as a sure basis, it seeks traUi lying beyond the bounds of experimeii-^ tal research along the lines of the de-^ ductive method, and concludes thatjl when the cause or condition ot one ph6«r nomenon is known, it is more logical^ and rational to explain a similar phe« nomenon by a similar cause or condi*?^ tion, than to introduce new agendes which are not susceptible of positive^ proof. / ^ijT To show the power of th brain under certain physiological and pathological conditions to present subjective pictures of various things, let a few examples be cited : A gentleman came under my profes- sional care, having acute disease of both optic nerves, and with sight entire- ly gone. During a certain stage of the disease he saw, for several days, men and animals, some of natural and some of grotesque forms, disporting them- selves in the air and on the walls or fur- niture of hb room. There was no dela- The Evidence of the Senses. d \^■. ^ im sion in this case, because he was con- scious that the forms wera unreal; a hallucination only existed, as a product ot a diseased sensoriura, which passed away as his health and sight were re- stored. The late Dr. Edward Clark reports the following interesting cases : Mr.G., an in- telligent gentleman, was subject to light epileptic lits, during which he saw a man on horseback riding over his flowerbeds. He saw a flowing river filled with the beads of seals, and these changed to soldiers marching down a street. And again, thousands of men leaped up over a stone wall, and animals in great num- ber thronged around. Mrs. B., subject to some general dis- turbance of health, had almost invaria- bly, as a forerunner of these attacks, a vision of a female fissure, that came unbidden at any hour. Accepting an invitation to dine with a friend, she was about to take her seat at the table, when she observed the chair was occupied by another person, which, for a moment, she mistook for flesh and blood, but soon recognizing the familiar face, she thrust her fan at it and sat down. The figure oroved aside and vanished. Miss D., long an invalid from nervous disease, but of high mental qualities, bad been afflicted from childhood with visions of men, women and animals. Wearied by close attention to a sick sister, she one night retired, to be awak- ened by, as she thought, her mother entering the room and standing at the i^M)t of the bed. Thinking she had come, as was expected, to report the condition of her sister, she spoke, but received no answer. The figure walked to the side of the bed and stopped, when •he again spoke, but was again greeted "•Htb silence. A^ain the figure moved, *od with fright she asked, ** Why don't you speak to me?" At this the figure torned and showed tho face of a stran- R*fr young, though pale and sad, with wk hair, and a white shawl over her •boulders. For a moment it remained, wu fell to the floor and disappeared. Here the visions begau in infancy, but «?&' **^^' ^^^® ^^^^ appeared at times <^ bodily or brain exhaustion or mental iljoxietj. Of great interest is the record of Nico- lai, of Berlin, in 1791. While under deep emotional feelinc; from incidents disagreeable to his mind, he saw, for the first time, a figure ol a deceased person, and called his wife*8 attention to it, but hii wite could see nottiing. The vision lasted some minutes, to appear again later in the day, after a hearty meal, then took a final leave, but was replace 1 by other forms, which, under a calmer mind, were studied by Nicolai with philosophical care. They came under varied circumstances, at noonday and night, in solitude and company, appeal- ing under many forms and performing varied acts ; men and women afoot and on horseback, motionless and mov- ing, with dogs and birds, filled the miud with phantasms. Alter several weeks these silent visitors began to speak, and thus two senses testified to their presence. Medical aid was now sought, and under treatment these vis** ions disappeared forever. One other example illustrates in a remarkable manner, the power of the Drain in producing images, which the aflectfd sense alone is unable to tell whether they are real or not. Mr. A., aged 80, had su fleered some years with a brain trouble, without, however, having his intellect impaired. Being iond of music, he improved every opportunity to become familiar with its masters. . He was awakened one night about 2 o'clock by strains of music, which seemed to come from the street. He rose to see, and the music ceased, to begin again the moment he reclined, and what was his surprise to observe three persons standing at the foot of his bed. lie turned the gas on and inspect- ed the intruders, who were humming and ain^iug, as if preparing for a per- formance. He rang the bell and di- rected his servant to put them out* "T.jere is nobody here, sir," said John. "What !" he exclaimed, "do you see no one there ?'* and the servant again an* swered, "no." He was directed to go to the chairs, which were now occupied by tne strangers, and move them, which was done, the strangers stepping aside. He now thought hioiself a victim of au 4:%- •■*&►.. \: I !■ ¥. 10 The Evidence of the Senses. ha11udDatioo,and determmed to observe its pbeuomeDE, SDd the servant depart- ed. But 80 life-like and real were the forms, that he thought thej must be realities io the room, and again sum- moned John, together with the house- keeper, but their examination onlv brought forth the answer, "there is no one here." Convinced that they were but phantasms of his mind, he arranged to enjoy the music, and notinj; the hour gave it his attention. The musicians resumed their place, and sang at first a few simple airs like "Sweet Home," and then selections from Beethoven and Mozart ; between pieces they chatted in a foreign tongue. He noted the size, form, dress and faces of the performers, and thought one resembled Brignoli. At 4 o'clock the concert in his brain was ended, and the musicians had de- parted. Such examples represent to the spir- itualist well defined materializing exhibitions of spirit power ; but to the physician and physiologist they repre- sent only the downw^ard action of an unconscious idea on the sense centers, making all mere subjective phenomena, without external reality. I frankly ask uiy spiritualistic friend and "medium," if the SD-called "spirit forms" which you assert so often flit before your eyes and whisper in your ears, give any better evidence of reali- ties than did the musicians to A.? or the female figure which sat at the table to Mrs. B. ? or the stranger fiace which stood at the bedside of Miss D. ? It you answer frankly, as I doubt not you will, you will say "No ; the evidence is alike in all cases to those reported, and in all cases the evidence speaks of spirit manifestation." I reply, true, I cannot demonstrate by induction the error of your opinion, for, as already stated, science knows no test for spirit aside from organism, but if >ve reason deductively from the known to the un- known with accurate definition, it seems an easy task to negate the "spirit" theory. In these psychological phenomena the evidence is confined to individual sense perception, and consciousness, the same as in the case of him who sees phant while under the influence ofy>pit hasLish, alcfihol and disease, or, in health, under the influence of a d( inant idea with expectant attentiomyj You may call other persons ■■ nesses, as "A." did his servants, their eyes and ears cannot testify*' your c )nsciousnes8 of sights and soi any more than their feeling can to your bodily pain from a pin thi your flesh. i* Now, since we know as an indai fact that certain conditions of the substance or its blood circulation cause illusions and hallucinations of ^ senses, which cannot be distinj^ from those psychological phenol ascribed to external "spirit" power. question seems limited to one of di^ entiation : how can it be determine two similar phenomena, which from direct "spirit" power, and wl from brain action under si>ecial tions 7 In reply we may 8>«y that conclusion already given seems justii that '^hen the cause or condition of < phenomenon is known, it is more ratu and logical to explain a similar nomenon by a similar cause or oondiiii than to introduce new Agencies wl are not susceptible of positive, sclent proof. li appeal is made from this condi because logic is made the final arbK of truth, as against the scientific mi which brings logic to the test of ex] mental demonstration, I again that there can be no experimental di onstration of purely subjective phen< ena, since consciou^ne8s is at the time both witncfs and jury. It al^ furnishes the evidence and alone the verdict. Let us now inquire as to the sign! cance of voluntary or automatic tion on the value of evidence : It ii a fact, that in proporticn as tlii' mind is concentrated on any special thing, the force of its impression is in- tensifieii in consciousness. If this con- centrated attention be fixed on 80fiiet< special thought, we may be ignorant of" passing events, although in their imm#-.; diate presence; or, if fixed on some*. E37^#- Jlie Evidence of the Senses. 11 iS^i^ Jltemal object, we may have definite Mbwledge of it alone to the exclusion « lother things. We may walk the mwded streets oblivious to passing friends or scenes, intent only on the dominating thought; or we may be surrounded by exciting circumstances of which we have no knowledge, save only the single thing on which our at- tention is fixed. Two persons were in a room from which all the furniture had been re- moved, but, unknown to one, a bu- reau bad been returned and placed in the center of the room. In a subsequent . e6nver8ation one stated that the bureau Wis m the room, which was denied by the other, and each appealed to sense evidence for proof. One believed hU eyw that it was there, and the other fte^wved hi3 eyes that it was not there, lor If there, certainly it would have been wen by him. On this unsupported tes- ttmony of either individual a just ver- gj^^mfght have been difficult to obtain, ont fortunately one appealed to another •Mse, and said, my eyes are supported ^^f^^' ^?r I felt it; and sustained r^-^^-SLS^"? ^^. ?«serting that he had or- r.' /trSf™ »' placed m the room, which gave ^' kl?I^® ?^°^^' ^^ expectancy, and that 2J»ja given it bis attention, tor he rea- ■wj«a with himself as to its use and ^»«V«; The other person was equally ""npetent and honest, but not expecting tee the article, his attention was fixed ^ other things, and he had no con- ^jJJjj*oe« of its presence. j^e eye, therefore, may be impressed *S ° o^J^cts, or the ear by certain r eiw** ^^}^^' *'^°^ ^y attention, ^n^ conscious perceptions, while the Sis' V ^™P*°r°S objects or sounds wrnwn unnoticed, or at least there is no "ions memory of them. Hence, a fiair^f I • ".?*^ com^tent and honest, ^W»ot be able to testify to everything ™«t occurs in his immediate presence ; ^ more than one is present, the same ll"f^ impress each diflerentlv, so «h will give evi lence of things a were unobserved by the others. /• * fertile source of discord and I'jwp^t between witnesses in every • w Jiwlice, and is enUtled to more ^"^S^i consideration than it receives from ju- rists. •* Under certain conditions of attention severe bodily injury is onfeit. The physical impressions productive of pain are present, but the mental stote is such that consciousness and memory have no knowledge of their existence, as is at- tested by indisputable evidence. A se- vere injury received under circumstancU of excitement and danger, may be un- noticed till afterwards, when, in a mo- ment of calmness, the pain mnaing therefrom first becomes a conscious feeling, and the injury is detected. Here, then, is a cause which must materially qualify the value of evidence pertaining • to events occurring in the presence of a witness, but of which he is ignorant be- c'ause his attention is fixed on other things. Here we have had real, external ob- jects or causes, but they have not pro- duced conscious sensation, because the impressions on the senses have been lim- ited by the application of attention to other things. But we also find that when the attention b duly localized on a special thing or thought, ideas, feel- ings and sense perceptions are mar- shalled into consciousness with as great distinctness as if they were the producU of external objects, instead of being re- sults of subjective conditions, mere ^g- mento of the brain. Tliis comes from the fact that the sensorium. as the ner- vous center of consciousness, receiving communicating nerve fibers from the higher centers of intellect, emotion and will, as well as from the organs of gen- eral and special sense, is influenced by the impressions received independent of their source. Its function is to trans- form impressions into conscious sensa- tions, and hence an idea or emotion, when directed in a special way with persistent and concentrated force, may so impress the sensorium as to cause it to project into consciousness, by acting downward on the lower organs of sense, sensations which seem to come from real objecu external to ourselves. We can- not tell how this is done, neither can we tell how it is done when impressions come from without We know only the MakMMiAMItoi atrnttmrn^mmm^n^^at^mmm ■Hai^M.«ad ^aaaMi^ I I- 12 Uie Evidence of the Senses, fact ; but to explain how a sinople im- pression is transformed into a conscious sensation is a mystery which defies hu- man analysis or conception. In dreams, or under the influence ot certain drugs or diseases, visions, sounds and feelings come before the mind as plainly as if realiiies in nature, and yet all como from and are cau8e- calized and fixed, was in the mind, and acted with such force on the sensory centers as to call forth in them sensa- tions identical with what would have come from impressions received from a real, external cause. Note the following case, illustrati^ illusions and hallucinations resul from dominating ideas in a suscei organization : R. was told that on application of a magnet to various gans he would experience correspondj sensations. He was directed to xeepl eyes closed, and to apply his mioaj tentiy to the expected result. The posed magnet was passed along the^i without touching the surface, and a| a few minutes he affirmed that he warmth and little electric shocks in arm. I suggested numbness in fingers, and the result came ; I su|^_ that flashes of light would appear w] the magnet was near the eye, and metallic taste would come if near^ neck, (where a galvanic current fttrmerly been applied with such suit) and the light immediately peared to the eye and taste to toneue. A simple suggestion very brought the desired sensation, and yj all was an hallucination, the result" subjective brain action, for at no was a magnet or anything else used, suggestion was made as to the rest be attained, and the senses were ceived, the person thinking the t'ons experienced came from impi fnim without, whereas, in fact, they pressed only the action of an idea, vet to the individual the sensations w< as real as if a magnet had been used.' Here is a physiological and psy< logical fact, which, though its true dik ture and explanation may have been of but recent discovery, has always existed. •'Gravity existed prior to its discovery by Newton, and the blood circulated before the days of Harvey." So, too^ with the power of ideas in producing sensations of varied kinds ; it is a law of nervous action, and therefore belongs to the nervous mechanism at all timet, though only demonstrated within a few years Ignorant of this law, Reichenbaeh, some years ago observing the fact, thought he had discovered a new force in nature differing from all known forces, and named it "od," *'odyle," or "odic force." Certain impressible persons af- firmed that when in the presence of. •«inl The Evidence of the Senses. 13 magnets flames, odors, warmth, coolness and other sensations, as it something was pricking or creeping on the surface, were manifest to them ; voices were heard, and forms were seen and felt invariably as was buggested by the ex- perimenter, whether a magnet was pres* ent or not, which is proof positive that the sensations were not the result of an external agent, but of an internal condi- tion. Odylism is but another expression for Mesmerism, so called, from Mesmer, who in 1772 claimed to have the power to remove certain diseases by the appli- cation of what he called "Animal Mag- netism," which was said to be "a fluid QQiversally diffused ;" the "medium of a mutual influence between heavenly bodies, the earth, and animated bodies," whose virtues could be "accumulated, concentrated or transported," and ap- plied as a potent and efficient agent in the cure of all forms of disease. Again, about 1850 the same thing appeared, but was now designated by the name of "Electro-Biology." The MNrtioQ was made that by virtue of a 'lecret influence possessed by certain op- erators, "mesmerizers," or "psycholo- gists," as they were variously called, certain "subjects," by fixing their gaze on some object for a time, or by means of "passes" and other acts to fix the attention while the "occult" power wms permeating the '^subject," could be in- fluenced at will by the mesmerizer ; the *^Mibject" would hear, see, feel, taste and •meli whatever was suggested to his mind, and hb acts were obedient like- wiaeto the expressed will of the opera- tor. Mark that I say expressed will, |br at no time has silent will been able to control the senses, thoughts or actitms of any "subject." In all these cases, whether under the Mm^ of "Odylbm," "Mesmerism," 'An- mul Magnetbm," "Electro- Biology," [ypnotism," or "Psychology." the es- itial factor is the concentration of ition on an idea, with an expec* fllilioy of certain results. This makes idea dominant, and by a downward ion it so impresses the sense centers motor centers at to call forth their respective functional expressions, the same as if affected by a real external force or a^^ent. It is an easy task to furnish proof in support of this state- ment, and to demonstrate that at no time does the so-called "mesmerizer" himself possess any direct power over the subject; he only suggests ideas, which immediately become dominant, and rule the mind, senses and action of the individual. There is no "occult" force exerted by one individual over another; no "animal magnetism," but only a subjective mental state, a simple trau9e condition, which deceives the senses and leads astray the reason. Here, too, is found the explanation of the bending oi the "hazel twig," which some consider so reliable in locating water or minerals. In reality water and minerals have no influence over it, but it moves only because of unconscious muscular force, called forth directly by the action of an expectant idea on the motor nerve centers, the same as in the phenomena of the so-called "mind read- ing." In all such examples what value can be ascribed to the siuiple evidence of the senses ? None whatever. In all such cases expert evidence alone is of value, because it alone can view the phenomena equally from varied sides, and detect the errors which may exert such strong influence over the senses, and through them the mind. The subjective conditions named are also the essential factors in the produc- tion of nearly all the so-called spiritual- istic manifestations, whether under the form of "physical, hearing, speaking, seeing, curing, writing, possessed or obsessed" mcdiumistic phenomena. It vi not the purpose of this paper to enter into the details of spiritualism, or to attempt an analysis of the many things reputed to belong to spirit power and action through the varied kinds of "mediums" named, but the object of this paper is served by simply stating in a general way some physiological facts, which must be oliserved before we can justly ascribe to unknown ''spirit" pow- er that which may be explained by caoses and conditions already known. i[ I *ti^«i'i i> - I I Ui 14 The Evidence of the Senses. ?r^ The Evidence of the Senses, 15x I J I i A table moves while haodj touch it, and luauy aifirni that the moveraeut results Irom external power actioi; through, but iDdepeodeot of, the per- •oua whose hands rest oo the table. Sumo peisoos are able of themselves to pass luto a couditioo of transe, aud it is asserted that it is because they are cobtrolled by their "spirit guide;*' while in this truDse coodition they speak, and it is affirmed that the words are dictated by ^'spirit?/' that will at times appear iu bodily form ("materialize," as ic is called) so as to be recognized by friends and acq'iaintances. These spirits also come laden with flowers, or to show their presence they will hurl rocks into rooms with closed doors and windows, toss tables in the air, and even lifr. men a^rainst gravity action, and hold them suspended, or let them float as if they were lighler than air; they reveal the secret history of past personal expe- rience, read through opaque substances, and reveal the thoughts of the mind. These statements call on our credu- lity, and we hesilate to believe till sat* isfactory evidence is presented to attest their reality. At first we disbelieve alt statements of this character because they are without foundation in our per- sonal experience, the liruiis of which closely determine the powers of our con- cepti.*us, so that we dismiss the subject because its terms are unthinkable, iiut this is not satistactory, because we cog- nize OS real other things which are also unthinkable, as the existence of con 8ciousne:>s itself. Hence we are not jus- tified iu passing over occult phenomena simply because wo cannot conceive of the methods of their causation. £x(>erience aiuhorizes belief in the attributes of mind only when related to material brain substance, and yet, since we cannot have any definite conception of this relation, nor of the nature of mind or consciousness, we are not trans gressing legitimate thought if we accept OS a fact of our belief that an unseen world, ''consisting of psychial qualities or apiritual phenomena," might "be demarcated by an absolute gulf from what we call the material universe, but not necessarily be discontinuous with the psychial phenomena which we find manifested in connection with the world of Inatter." Our experience it finite, and "our capaoity ot conceptiott is not ca extensive with the poesibilitiee of existence," and hence it is not only poe« sibk*, but probable, that beyond the range of the knowablo, as recognized \xf our present grasp of mind, there are regions of realities which may be related to us, and torms and con^iitions of exisl ence which transcend the narrow limits of our philosophy. Human science may not be able ta demonstrate the reality of these conoep*.. tions, but this is not evidence aiitaiDst ic Because the terms of the known fail to explain the unknown, it is not proof, against the unknown, save only in defi- nition. At this point the teachingaQjf . philosophy would rest, but the testimocy of multiiudes in difierent ages, of mil- lions in our own day, assert that the "spirits" of the departed do maDiftit their existence, power and intelligence in varie