A nice arrangement of heterodoxies

William Mcdougall and the professionalization of psychical research

Bibliographic Data

ID4003550
AuthorsEgil Asprem (0000-0001-9944-1241, University of Amsterdam, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume46
Issue2
Pages123-143
Publication date2010-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-5061 • E-ISSN: 1520-6696
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/jhbs.20422
PMID20419787
OpenAlexW2117541145
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited51

Joseph Banks Rhine (1895-1980) is usually considered the founder of modern professional parapsychology. Through his work at Duke University in the 1930s, he established a working research program (in the Lakatosian sense) for the controversial discipline, setting down various methodological standards and experimental procedures. Despite Rhine's clear and important influence on modern parapsychology, this article argues that he came to a stage that had already been set. Adopting recent theoretical advances in the study of scientific professionalization, it is argued that Rhine's mentor, the controversial British psychologist William McDougall (1871-1938), has a stronger claim to the parenthood of modern parapsychology than is typically recognized. Following McDougall's attempts to carve out and establish an institutional space for professionalized psychical research in 1920s America, furthermore, takes us to little explored connections between psychical research, Lamarckism, neo-vitalism and policies of eugenics. (c) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Eugenics · Parapsychology · Political science · Professionalization · Social science · Sociology · Vitalism · Jungian Analytical Psychology · Law · Medicine · Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs · Philosophy · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices

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