Allan Kardec's theories and methods to investigate the nature of psychical experiences.

Allan Kardec (1804-1869), a French educator, was an early proponent of scientifically investigating psychical experiences and had significant influence in 19th-century Europe, though his life and research outcomes are now little known and often misunderstood. The paper presents Kardec's biography and his initial inquiries into psychical phenomena, especially mediumship. He raised and tested multiple hypotheses on the causes of mediumistic phenomena, including fraud, hallucinations, a new physical force, somnambulism (including unconscious cerebration), thought reflection (including telepathy and super-psi), and discarnate minds.

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Abstract

The French educator Allan Kardec (1804-1869) was one of the first researchers to propose the scientific investigation of psychical experiences and was an influential scholar in Europe during the second half of the 19th Century. However, his life and the outcome of his research in this field are currently little known and often misconstrued. This paper briefly presents Kardec's biography and his first steps in the investigation of psychical phenomena, especially mediumship. Kardec raised and tested several hypotheses on the causes of mediumistic phenomena: fraud; hallucinations; a new physical force; somnambulism (including unconscious cerebration); thought reflection (including telepathy and super-psi); and discarnate minds.