The stepchildren of science : psychical research and parapsychology in Germany, c. 1870-1939 / / Heather Wolffram.

• Superior document: Clio medica (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 88
• Author: Wolffram, Heather.
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Series: Clio medica (Amsterdam, Netherlands) ; 88.; Wellcome series in the history of medicine.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (341 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Other title: Preliminary material /; List of Images /; List of Abbreviations /; Glossary /; Acknowledgements /; Introduction /; The Emergence of Psychical Research in Imperial Germany /; Hypnotism, Lay Medicine and Psychical Research at the Fin de Siècle /; In the Laboratory of the Geisterbaron: Experimental Parapsychology in Germany /; An Holistic Science: Philosophical Renewal and Official Response /; Parapsychology in the Courtroom: Occult Trials, Expertise and Authority during the Weimar Republic /; Parapsychology on the Couch: The Psychology of Occult Belief in Germany /; Conclusion /; Bibliography /; Index /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• ISBN: 1282882120; 9786612882128; 9042027290
• ISSN: 0045-7183
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Heather Wolffram.

Leading the reader through the darkened séance rooms and laboratories of Imperial and inter-war Germany, The Stepchildren of Science casts light on the emergence of psychical research and parapsychology in the German context. It looks, in particular, at the role of the psychiatrist Albert von Schrenck-Notzing - a figure who fashioned himself as both propagandist and Grand Seignior of German parapsychology - in shaping these nascent disciplines. In contrast to other recent studies in which occultism is seen as a means of dealing with or creating “the modern”, this book considers the epistemological, cultural and social issues that arose from psychical researchers’ and parapsychologists’ claims to scientific legitimacy. Focusing on the boundary disputes between these researchers and the spiritualists, occultists, psychologists and scientists with whom they competed for authority over the paranormal, The Stepchildren of Science demonstrates that in the German context both proponents and opponents alike understood psychical research and parapsychology as border sciences.