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.

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.

Table of Contents

Preliminary material / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- List of Images / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- List of Abbreviations / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- Glossary / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- Acknowledgements / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- Introduction / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- The Emergence of Psychical Research in Imperial Germany / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- Hypnotism, Lay Medicine and Psychical Research at the Fin de Siècle / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- In the Laboratory of the Geisterbaron: Experimental Parapsychology in Germany / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- An Holistic Science: Philosophical Renewal and Official Response / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- Parapsychology in the Courtroom: Occult Trials, Expertise and Authority during the Weimar Republic / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- Parapsychology on the Couch: The Psychology of Occult Belief in Germany / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- Conclusion / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- Bibliography / Editors The Stepchildren of Science -- Index / Editors The Stepchildren of Science.