In parapsychology, psychometry (from Greek: ψυχή, psukhē, "spirit, soul" and μέτρον, metron, "measure"),[1] also known as token-object reading,[2] or psychoscopy,[3] is a form of extrasensory perception characterized by the claimed ability to glean accurate knowledge of an object's history by making physical contact with that object.[4] Supporters assert that an object may have an energy field that transfers knowledge regarding that object's history.[4]
There is no evidence that psychometry exists, and the concept has been widely criticized.[4][5]
History
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Joseph Rodes Buchanan coined the word "psychometry" (measuring the soul) in 1842.[6][7] Buchanan developed the idea that all things give off an emanation.[8]
The Past is entombed in the Present! The world is its own enduring monument; and that which is true of its physical, is likewise true of its mental career. The discoveries of Psychometry will enable us to explore the history of man, as those of geology enable us to explore the history of the earth. There are mental fossils for psychologists as well as mineral fossils for the geologists; and I believe that hereafter the psychologist and the geologist will go hand in hand — the one portraying the earth, its animals and its vegetation, while the other portrays the human beings who have roamed over its surface in the shadows, and the darkness of primeval barbarism! Aye, the mental telescope is now discovered which may pierce the depths of the past and bring us in full view of the grand and tragic passages of ancient history![9]
Buchanan asserted that his particular psychism would supersede empiric science. He wrote a comprehensive treatise, Manual of Psychometry: the Dawn of a New Civilization (1885), detailing how the direct knowledge of psychometry would be applied to and affect the many various branches of science.[10]
The thermometer measures caloric (thermo temperature). The barometer measures the weight (baro, weight) of the atmosphere; the electrometer measures electric conditions; the psychometer measures the soul (psyche). In the case of Psychometry, however, the measuring assumes a new character, as the object measured and the measuring instrument are the same psychic element, and its measuring power is not limited to the psychic as it was developed in the first experiments, but has appeared by successive investigation to manifest a wider and wider area of power, until it became apparent that this psychic capacity was really the measure of all things in the Universe.[11]
Buchanan continued to promote psychometry throughout his life and his followers believed that it would revolutionize science in a comprehensive way as "the dawn of a new civilization".[12] Buchanan's work on psychometry was continued by the geologist William Denton (1823–1883). In 1863, Denton published a book on the subject The Soul of Things. Their work was criticized by Joseph Jastrow as based on delusion and wishful thinking.[13]
Others, such as Stephen Pearl Andrews, who promoted Psychometry along with his own new science of Universology, built upon Buchanan's ideas. As a lecturer, Andrews asserted that such inquiries, as paraphrased by an 1878 New York Times article, "demonstrated that the sympathy between the mind and body is an exact science".[14]
In the later nineteenth century demonstrations of psychometry became a popular part of stage acts and séances, with participants providing a personal object for "reading" by a medium or psychic. It is also commonly offered at psychic fairs as a type of psychic reading.[15]
Scientific reception
editSkeptics explain alleged successes of psychometry by cold reading and confirmation bias.[4][16][17][18] Skeptic Robert Todd Carroll describes psychometry as a pseudoscience.[5]
The majority of police departments polled do not use psychics and do not consider them credible or useful on cases.[19][20][21][22] Proponents of psychometry have argued that psychic detectives have been used by law enforcement agencies on specific cases. However, psychologist Leonard Zusne has noted that "enquiries with police officials [...] reveal that the involvement of psychics has not been very helpful, and that second-hand reports of it are often in gross error."[4]
See also
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References
edit- ^ Buchanan 1893, p. 3.
- ^ Psychometry Archived 2010-08-24 at the Wayback Machine – Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Parapsychological Association (2006-12-17)
- ^ Tischner, Rudolf, Telepathy and Clairvoyance Great Britain, Steven Austin & Sons, Ltd. 1924, p. 70. ISBN 1-84664-135-7
- ^ a b c d e Zusne, Leonard; Jones, Warren H. (1989). Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. pp. 193–194. ISBN 978-0-805-80507-9
- ^ a b "Psychometry". The Skeptic's Dictionary.
- ^ Spence, Lewis Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, Part 2, Kessinger Publishing, LLC (2003), p. 754. ISBN 0-7661-2817-2
- ^ Mark A. Lause (University of Cincinnati): Joseph Rodes Buchanan (Internet Archive)
- ^ "Psychometry at paralumun.com". Archived from the original on April 9, 2000.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Buchanan 1893, p. 73.
- ^ Buchanan 1893, pp. 4–5.
- ^ Buchanan 1893, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Buchanan's Journal of Man., Vol. I. August, 1887. No. 7.
- ^ Jastrow, Joseph. (1935). Wish and Wisdom: Episodes in the Vagaries of Belief. D. Appleton-Century Company. pp. 314–322. (Published in 1962 by Dover Books as Error and Eccentricity in Human Belief).
- ^ A discourse on Seven Sciences.; Cerebral Physiology, Cerebral Psychology, Sarcognomy, Psychometry, Pneumatology, Pathology, and Cerebral Pathology. The New York Times, March 17, 1878
- ^ Marcelle S. Fischler Long Island Journal; Where $20 Will Buy A Peek at the Future nytimes.com, December 15, 2002.
- ^ Hoebens, Piet Hein; Truzzi, Marcello. (1985). Reflections on Psychic Sleuths. In A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology, ed. Paul Kurtz. Prometheus Books. pp. 631–643. ISBN 0-87975-300-5
- ^ Carroll, Robert Todd. (2003). The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions. John Wiley & Sons. p. 316. ISBN 978-0-471-27242-7
- ^ Stollznow, Karen (12 April 2010). "A Psychometry Reading". Skeptical Inquirer. Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- ^ Barnes, Hannah (2009-11-23). "Can psychics help to solve crime??". BBC. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
- ^ Silence, Eddie (2006-03-29). "Do the police use psychics?". Critical Thinking Association (UK). Retrieved 2007-05-25.
- ^ "Police reject psychic advice". Bay Of Plenty Times. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
- ^ Nickell, Joe (29 April 2004). "Police Psychics: Do They Really Solve Crimes?". csicop.org.
Works cited
edit- Buchanan, Joseph Rodes (1893). Manual of Psychometry: The Dawn of a New Civilization. Boston: F. H. Hodges.
Further reading
edit- Denton, William (1863). The Soul of Things, Or, Psychometric Researches and Discoveries. Boston: Walker, Wise & Co.
- Nickell, Joe (1994). Psychic Sleuths: ESP and Sensational Cases. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-880-5.
- Randi, James (1982). Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-198-3.
- Wilson, Colin (1985). The Psychic Detectives: The Story of Psychometry and Paranormal Crime Detection. Mercury House. ISBN 0-330-28119-4.
- Wiseman, Richard (2011). Paranormality: Why We See What Isn't There. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-75298-6.
External links
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- Psychometry Experiment, a project that gave residents in Ontario, Canada the opportunity to participate in a psychometry study
- "Psychometry" in The Skeptic's Dictionary