The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a non-profit organization which started in the United Kingdom and later acquired branches in other countries. Its stated purpose is to understand "events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal by promoting and supporting important research in this area" and to "examine allegedly paranormal phenomena in a scientific and unbiased way."^[1] It was founded in 1882 by a group of eminent thinkers including Edmund Gurney, Frederic William Henry Myers, William Barrett, Henry Sidgwick, and Edmund Dawson Rogers. A non-profit organization (abbreviated NPO, or non-profit or not-for-profit) is an organization whose primary objective is to support an issue or matter of private interest or public concern for non-commercial purposes, without concern for monetary profit. ... Psychic is a term relating to or denoting paranormal extra-sensory abilities or phenomena that are apparently inexplicable by known natural laws, since they transcend the confines of our current understanding of what a human being is capable of. ... // Paranormal is an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of reported anomalous phenomena. ... Year 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Edmund Gurney (March 23, 1847 - June 23, 1888), English psychologist, was born at Hersham, near Walton-on-Thames. ... Frederick William Henry Myers (February 6, 1843 - January 17, 1901), was an English poet and essayist. ... Sir William Fletcher Barrett (1844–1925) was an English physicist who discovered Stalloy, a silicon-iron alloy used in electrical engineering. ... Henry Sidgwick Henry Sidgwick (May 31, 1838–August 28, 1900) was an English philosopher. ... Edmund Dawson Rogers (born Holt, Norfolk, England, 7 August 1823, died Finchley, London, 28 September 1910), was an English journalist and spiritualist. ...

The Society's headquarters are in Marloes Road, London. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

It publishes the quarterly Journal of the Society for Psychical Research (JSPR), the irregular Proceedings and the magazine Paranormal Review. It holds an annual conference, regular lectures and two study days per year. Its French branch, the French Society for Psychical Research, publishes the Journale de la Société Française pour Recherche Psychique (JSFRP), which means "Journal of the French Society for Psychical Research" in English. Its American counterpart, the American Society for Psychical Research, publishes the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research (JASPR). After the French branch of the Society was formed, the Society as a whole became known as the International Society for Psychical Research (ISPR).

Purpose and organization

Its purpose was to encourage scientific research into psychic or paranormal^{[citation needed]} phenomena in order to establish their truth. Research was initially aimed at six areas: telepathy, mesmerism and similar phenomena, mediums, apparitions, physical phenomena associated with séances and, finally, the history of all these phenomena.^{[citation needed]} The Society is run by a President and a Council of twenty people. The organisation is divided between London and Cambridge (where the archives are located), the London headquarters were initially at 14 Dean's Yard. A French branch of the Society was formed in 1885 as the Société Française pour Recherche Psychique (SFRP), which means "French Society for Psychical Research" in English. Later, an American branch of the Society was formed as the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR), becoming an affiliate of the original SPR in 1890. American writers sometimes incorrectly call the SPR the British Society for Psychical Research (BSPR), to distinguish it from the American SPR, but the modifer should not be added. Psychic is a term relating to or denoting paranormal extra-sensory abilities or phenomena that are apparently inexplicable by known natural laws, since they transcend the confines of our current understanding of what a human being is capable of. ... // Paranormal is an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of reported anomalous phenomena. ... Telepathy, from the Greek τῆλε, tele, remote; and πάθεια, patheia, to be effected by, describes the hypothetical transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five classical senses. ... Hypnosis, as defined by the American Psychological Association Division of Psychological Hypnosis, is a procedure during which a health professional or researcher suggests that a client, patient, or experimental participant experience changes in sensations, perceptions, thoughts, or behavior. ... Mediumship is a term used mostly in spiritualism to denote the ability to produce psi phenomena of a mental or physical nature. ... An apparition is an act or instance of appearing. ... Look up séance in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ...

List of Presidents

Remark concerning the persons in italics: Eleanor Sidgwick was the wife of Henry Sidgwick and the sister of both Arthur Balfour and Gerald Balfour. Henry Sidgwick Henry Sidgwick (May 31, 1838–August 28, 1900) was an English philosopher. ... Balfour Stewart (November 1, 1828 - December 19, 1887), Scottish physicist, was born in Edinburgh, and was educated at the university of that city. ... Henry Sidgwick Henry Sidgwick (May 31, 1838–August 28, 1900) was an English philosopher. ... Arthur James Balfour, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1st Earl Balfour, KG, OM, PC (25 July 1848 - 19 March 1930) was a British Conservative politician and statesman, and the Prime Minister from 1902 to 1905. ... The name Balfour Declaration is applied to two key British government policy statements associated with Conservative statesman and former Prime Minister Arthur Balfour. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Sir William Crookes, OM, FRS (17 June 1832 – 4 April 1919) was an English chemist and physicist. ... Frederick William Henry Myers (February 6, 1843 - January 17, 1901), was an English poet and essayist. ... Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge (June 12, 1851 - August 22, 1940), born at Penkhull in Stoke-on-Trent and educated at Adams Grammar School, was a physicist and writer involved in the development of the wireless telegraph. ... Sir William Fletcher Barrett (1844–1925) was an English physicist who discovered Stalloy, a silicon-iron alloy used in electrical engineering. ... Charles Robert Richet (August 26, 1850 _ December 4, 1935) was a French physiologist who won the 1913 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on anaphylaxis, his term for the sometimes fatal reaction by a sensitized individual to a second injection of an antigen. ... Nobel Prize medal. ... Gerald William Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour PC (9 April 1853 - 14 January 1945) was a British nobleman and Conservative politician. ... This article is considered orphaned, since there are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... For the former National Basketball Association player, see Andrew Lang (basketball). ... Sir William Boyd Carpenter (26 March 1841 – 26 October 1918) was an English clergyman of the Established church, Bishop of Ripon. ... Henri-Louis Bergson (October 18, 1859–January 4, 1941) was a major French philosopher, influential in the first half of the 20th century. ... British Philosopher, 1864 to 1937. ... Gilbert Murray (or George Gilbert Aime) (January 2, 1866 - 1957) was a British classical scholar and diplomat. ... Lawrence Pearsall Jacks (October 9, 1860-–February 17, 1955), abbreviated L. P. Jacks was an English educator, philosopher, and Unitarian minister who rose to prominence in the period from World War I to World War II. Jacks was born on October 9, 1860, in Nottingham, to Anne Steere and Jabez... John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh (12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919) was an English physicist who (with William Ramsay) discovered the element argon, an achievement that earned him the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1904. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Camille Flammarion Camille Flammarion (February 26, 1842 – June 3, 1925) was a French astronomer and author. ... Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch (October 28, 1867 - April 16, 1941) was a German biologist and philosopher. ... Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge (June 12, 1851 - August 22, 1940), born at Penkhull in Stoke-on-Trent and educated at Adams Grammar School, was a physicist and writer involved in the development of the wireless telegraph. ... Charlie Dunbar Broad (known as C. D. Broad) (30 December 1887 - 11 March 1971) was an English philosopher known for his thorough and objective analysis in works such as Scientific Thought (1930) and Examination of McTaggarts Philosophy (1933). ... Robert John Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh (28 August 1875–13 December 1947) was a British peer and the son of the famous physicist John William Strutt Like his father, Robert John Strutt was also a physicist. ... British academic Robert H. Thouless (?-1984[1]) is best known as the author of Straight and Crooked Thinking (1930, 1953), which describes flaws in reasoning and argument. ... Samuel George Soal (1890-1975), mathematician/psychical researcher/parapsychologist. ... Frederick John Marrian Stratton FRS (16 October 1881 – 2 September 1960) was a British astrophysicist and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge from 1928 to 1947. ... Charlie Dunbar Broad (known as C. D. Broad) (30 December 1887 - 11 March 1971) was an English philosopher known for his thorough and objective analysis in works such as Scientific Thought (1930) and Examination of McTaggarts Philosophy (1933). ... Eric Robertson Dodds (26 July 1893 - 8 April 1973) was a British classical scholar. ... Sir Alister Hardy (1896 - 1985) was an Oxford-educated marine biologist, expert on zooplankton and marine ecosystems. ... William A. H. Rushton (b. ... Joseph Banks Rhine (September 29, 1895 – February 20, 1980) (usually known as J. B. Rhine) was a pioneer of parapsychology. ... Bernard J. Carr is a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL). ... Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) (until 2000 Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London and still called that in its charter [1] and occasionally still abbreviated to QMW) is the fourth largest College of the University of London. ...

Today

The Society states its principal aim as "understanding events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal by promoting and supporting important research in this area." The Society has gathered and disseminated a great deal of data relating to the paranormal. The SPR publishes three peer-reviewed scientific journals, the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, the Journal of the French Society for Psychical Research, and the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. The Society has built up an extensive library and archive, part of which is held at the University of Cambridge.^[2][3]

The Society has many well known figures among its members, including parapsychologists Dean Radin, Charles Tart, Tom Ruffles, Ciarán O'Keeffe, and Louie Savva. Investigators of spontaneous phenomena (hauntings, etc.) include the late Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair who are best known for the Enfield Poltergeist^[4]. Contrary to popular belief^{[citation needed]}, Susan Blackmore is no longer a parapsychologist. Dean Radin is a researcher in parapsychology. ... Charles Tart (1937- ) Charles T. Tart, Ph. ... Ciarán OKeeffe is a UK parapsychologist who was employed at Liverpool Hope University lecturing in Psychology with a parapsychology component. ... Louie Savva is a former British parapsychologist. ... Maurice Grosse (born 1919 - died 2006) was a British paranormal investigator famous for his involvement in the Enfield poltergeist case in the 1970s. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Enfield Poltergeist was a period of apparent poltergeist activity in England between August 1977 and September 1978, with an added outburst in August 1980. ... Susan Jane Blackmore (born July 29, 1951) is a British freelance writer, lecturer, and broadcaster, perhaps best known for her book The Meme Machine. ...

References

1. ^ SPR website
2. ^ SPR website
3. ^ Edinburgh University Website
4. ^ Playfair, G.L. & Grosse, M. (1988). "Enfield revisited: The evaporation of positive evidence". Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 55 pp.208-219

• Vernon Harrison. (1997) H. P. Blavatsky and the SPR. ISBN 1-55700-119-7

Vernon Harrison (Warwichshire 1912 -) is a professional research worker of disputed documents. ...

External links

• SPR home page