Peter Lamont
Biographic Data
| ID | 518327 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Peter Lamont |
| GIVEN NAMES | Peter |
| FAMILY NAME | Lamont |
| SIGNATURE | LAMONT P |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Edinburgh |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 33 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
The construction of “critical thinking”: Between how we think and what we believe
Critical thinking" is widely regarded as important, but difficult to define. This article provides an historical perspective by describing how "critical thinking" emerged as an object of psychological study, how the forms it took were shaped by practical and social concerns, and how these related to "critical thinking" as something that results in certain conclusions, rather than as a process of coming to conclusions. "Critical thinking" became a…
The Making of Extraordinary Psychological Phenomena
This article considers the extraordinary phenomena that have been central to unorthodox areas of psychological knowledge. It shows how even the agreed facts relating to mesmerism, spiritualism, psychical research, and parapsychology have been framed as evidence both for and against the reality of the phenomena. It argues that these disputes can be seen as a means through which beliefs have been formulated and maintained in the face of potentially…
Spectres of the Self: Thinking about Ghosts and Ghost-Seeing in England, 1750-1920, by Shane McCorristine
People have been seeing ghosts for a long time. That, at least, is what they say (which, in the absence of personal experience, is all we have to work with). Faced with such dubious evidence, historians understandably tend to side-step the question which immediately occurs to everyone else: are they real? They do, however, sometimes consider the second question that occurs to people (which is also the first question that occurs to psychologists):…
Debunking and the Psychology of Error: A Historical Analysis of Psychological Matters
The psychology of the paranormal has always reflected wider themes about the nature and status of psychology. This article, in examining these themes, seeks to show how qualitative research in the history of psychology can contribute to the understanding of psychological topics, ones that have fundamental relevance to the discipline of psychology as a whole. The article examines the construction of psychological expertise by analysing criticisms …
Reflexivity, the role of history, and the case of mesmerism in early Victorian Britain
As part of a wider argument that history is essential to psychological understanding because of the reflexive nature of psychological knowledge, this article examines the case of mesmerism in early Victorian Britain as an example of how psychological knowledge is both constructive and constructed. It is argued that the shift from "mesmerism" to "hypnotism" was a change in understanding that created a new kind of psychological experience. It is al…
Explaining the unexplained: Warranting Disbelief in the Paranormal
Psychologists have studied paranormal belief for over a century, but have been concerned with belief in the paranormal rather than disbelief. However, disbelief in the paranormal is a position in its own right and, for many, by no means a self-evident position. An avowal of disbelief is, therefore, a social phenomenon that may involve some interesting discursive work. This article examines the discourse of self-ascribed ‘sceptics’, and analyses h…
Paranormal Belief and the Avowal of Prior Scepticism
A common way in which people warrant their belief in the paranormal is by employing an avowal of prior scepticism. That such avowals are used so often, and cited by others as relevant, suggest they are an effective means of warranting not only the facticity of ostensibly paranormal events but also a belief about the paranormal nature of the event. Their function, it is argued, is to head off potential accusations of gullibility or wishful thinkin…
Conjuring images of India in nineteenth-century Britain
Ask the average man for what India is most celebrated, and chances are ten to one that he will ignore the glories of the Taj Mahal, the beneficence of British rule, even Mr Kipling, and will unhesi
Magician as Conjuror: A Frame Analysis of Victorian Mediums
This article uses frame analysis to examine the performances of the Victorian mediums, Charles Foster, Henry Slade and the Davenport brothers. Frame analysis is concerned with how individuals define and organize their experience, and describes how actions are recognized as, for example, ‘serious’ or ‘play’. It is particularly relevant to the performance of magic and other deception‐related interactions such as psychic fraud. Foster, Slade and the…
Spiritualism and a Mid-Victorian Crisis of Evidence
Historians writing on Victorian spiritualism have said little about the reported phenomena of the séance room, despite such events having been the primary reason given by spiritualists for their beliefs. Rather, such beliefs have been seen as a response to the so-called 'crisis of faith', and their expression as part of a broader scientific and cultural discourse. Yet the debate about séance phenomena was significantly problematic for the Victori…
Spiritualism and a Mid-Victorian Crisis of Evidence
Historians writing on Victorian spiritualism have said little about the reported phenomena of the séance room, despite such events having been the primary reason given by spiritualists for their beliefs. Rather, such beliefs have been seen as a response to the so-called 'crisis of faith', and their expression as part of a broader scientific and cultural discourse. Yet the debate about séance phenomena was significantly problematic for the Victori…
Conjuring images of India in nineteenth-century Britain
Ask the average man for what India is most celebrated, and chances are ten to one that he will ignore the glories of the Taj Mahal, the beneficence of British rule, even Mr Kipling, and will unhesi
Explaining the unexplained: Warranting Disbelief in the Paranormal
Psychologists have studied paranormal belief for over a century, but have been concerned with belief in the paranormal rather than disbelief. However, disbelief in the paranormal is a position in its own right and, for many, by no means a self-evident position. An avowal of disbelief is, therefore, a social phenomenon that may involve some interesting discursive work. This article examines the discourse of self-ascribed ‘sceptics’, and analyses h…
Magician as Conjuror: A Frame Analysis of Victorian Mediums
This article uses frame analysis to examine the performances of the Victorian mediums, Charles Foster, Henry Slade and the Davenport brothers. Frame analysis is concerned with how individuals define and organize their experience, and describes how actions are recognized as, for example, ‘serious’ or ‘play’. It is particularly relevant to the performance of magic and other deception‐related interactions such as psychic fraud. Foster, Slade and the…
The construction of “critical thinking”: Between how we think and what we believe
Critical thinking" is widely regarded as important, but difficult to define. This article provides an historical perspective by describing how "critical thinking" emerged as an object of psychological study, how the forms it took were shaped by practical and social concerns, and how these related to "critical thinking" as something that results in certain conclusions, rather than as a process of coming to conclusions. "Critical thinking" became a…
The Making of Extraordinary Psychological Phenomena
This article considers the extraordinary phenomena that have been central to unorthodox areas of psychological knowledge. It shows how even the agreed facts relating to mesmerism, spiritualism, psychical research, and parapsychology have been framed as evidence both for and against the reality of the phenomena. It argues that these disputes can be seen as a means through which beliefs have been formulated and maintained in the face of potentially…
Reflexivity, the role of history, and the case of mesmerism in early Victorian Britain
As part of a wider argument that history is essential to psychological understanding because of the reflexive nature of psychological knowledge, this article examines the case of mesmerism in early Victorian Britain as an example of how psychological knowledge is both constructive and constructed. It is argued that the shift from "mesmerism" to "hypnotism" was a change in understanding that created a new kind of psychological experience. It is al…
Debunking and the Psychology of Error: A Historical Analysis of Psychological Matters
The psychology of the paranormal has always reflected wider themes about the nature and status of psychology. This article, in examining these themes, seeks to show how qualitative research in the history of psychology can contribute to the understanding of psychological topics, ones that have fundamental relevance to the discipline of psychology as a whole. The article examines the construction of psychological expertise by analysing criticisms …
Spiritualism and a Mid-Victorian Crisis of Evidence
Historians writing on Victorian spiritualism have said little about the reported phenomena of the séance room, despite such events having been the primary reason given by spiritualists for their beliefs. Rather, such beliefs have been seen as a response to the so-called 'crisis of faith', and their expression as part of a broader scientific and cultural discourse. Yet the debate about séance phenomena was significantly problematic for the Victori…
Magician as Conjuror: A Frame Analysis of Victorian Mediums
This article uses frame analysis to examine the performances of the Victorian mediums, Charles Foster, Henry Slade and the Davenport brothers. Frame analysis is concerned with how individuals define and organize their experience, and describes how actions are recognized as, for example, ‘serious’ or ‘play’. It is particularly relevant to the performance of magic and other deception‐related interactions such as psychic fraud. Foster, Slade and the…
Paranormal Belief and the Avowal of Prior Scepticism
A common way in which people warrant their belief in the paranormal is by employing an avowal of prior scepticism. That such avowals are used so often, and cited by others as relevant, suggest they are an effective means of warranting not only the facticity of ostensibly paranormal events but also a belief about the paranormal nature of the event. Their function, it is argued, is to head off potential accusations of gullibility or wishful thinkin…
Conjuring images of India in nineteenth-century Britain
Ask the average man for what India is most celebrated, and chances are ten to one that he will ignore the glories of the Taj Mahal, the beneficence of British rule, even Mr Kipling, and will unhesi
Explaining the unexplained: Warranting Disbelief in the Paranormal
Psychologists have studied paranormal belief for over a century, but have been concerned with belief in the paranormal rather than disbelief. However, disbelief in the paranormal is a position in its own right and, for many, by no means a self-evident position. An avowal of disbelief is, therefore, a social phenomenon that may involve some interesting discursive work. This article examines the discourse of self-ascribed ‘sceptics’, and analyses h…
Debunking and the Psychology of Error: A Historical Analysis of Psychological Matters
The psychology of the paranormal has always reflected wider themes about the nature and status of psychology. This article, in examining these themes, seeks to show how qualitative research in the history of psychology can contribute to the understanding of psychological topics, ones that have fundamental relevance to the discipline of psychology as a whole. The article examines the construction of psychological expertise by analysing criticisms …
Reflexivity, the role of history, and the case of mesmerism in early Victorian Britain
As part of a wider argument that history is essential to psychological understanding because of the reflexive nature of psychological knowledge, this article examines the case of mesmerism in early Victorian Britain as an example of how psychological knowledge is both constructive and constructed. It is argued that the shift from "mesmerism" to "hypnotism" was a change in understanding that created a new kind of psychological experience. It is al…
Spectres of the Self: Thinking about Ghosts and Ghost-Seeing in England, 1750-1920, by Shane McCorristine
People have been seeing ghosts for a long time. That, at least, is what they say (which, in the absence of personal experience, is all we have to work with). Faced with such dubious evidence, historians understandably tend to side-step the question which immediately occurs to everyone else: are they real? They do, however, sometimes consider the second question that occurs to people (which is also the first question that occurs to psychologists):…
The Making of Extraordinary Psychological Phenomena
This article considers the extraordinary phenomena that have been central to unorthodox areas of psychological knowledge. It shows how even the agreed facts relating to mesmerism, spiritualism, psychical research, and parapsychology have been framed as evidence both for and against the reality of the phenomena. It argues that these disputes can be seen as a means through which beliefs have been formulated and maintained in the face of potentially…
The construction of “critical thinking”: Between how we think and what we believe
Critical thinking" is widely regarded as important, but difficult to define. This article provides an historical perspective by describing how "critical thinking" emerged as an object of psychological study, how the forms it took were shaped by practical and social concerns, and how these related to "critical thinking" as something that results in certain conclusions, rather than as a process of coming to conclusions. "Critical thinking" became a…
Psychology (8 works) · Epistemology (6 works) · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices (6 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Paranormal (4 works) · Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · History (3 works) · History (3 works)