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Laboratories of Faith : Mesmerism, Spiritism, and Occultism in Modern France by John Warne Monroe; ProQuest (Firm) is a nonfiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Laboratories of Faith : Mesmerism, Spiritism, and Occultism in Modern France about?

At a fascinating moment in French intellectual history, an interest in matters occult was not equivalent to a rejection of scientific thought; participants in séances and magic rituals were seekers after experimental data as well as spiritual truth. A young astronomy student wrote of his quest: "I am not in the presence or under the influence of any evil spirit: I study Spiritism as I study mathematics." He did not see himself as an ecstatic visionary but rather as a sober observer. For him, the darkened room of occult practice was as much laboratory as church.In an evocative history of alternative religious practices in France in the second half of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, John Warne Monroe tells the interconnected stories of three movements—Mesmerism, Spiritism, and Occultism. Adherents of these groups, Monroe reveals, attempted to "modernize" faith by providing empirical support for metaphysical concepts. Instead of trusting theological speculation about the nature of the soul, these believers attempted to gather tangible evidence through Mesmeric experiments, séances, and ceremonial magic. While few French people were active Mesmerists, Spiritist

Who reads Laboratories of Faith : Mesmerism, Spiritism, and Occultism in Modern France?

Author

John Warne Monroe; ProQuest (Firm)

Publisher

Cornell Univercity Press

Published

2007

Language

EN

ISBN

9780801461712

Category

nonfiction

Subjects

History, Body Mind & Spirit, Philosophy

Updated

2026-03-24