Psychic Phenomena

Bennett, Edward T.Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 192K words
Chapters: 20

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Psychic Phenomena by Edward T. BennettAuthor: Bennett, Edward T.,Language: English, Class: BF: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Psychology, Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Release Date: Feb 27, 2010

Editor's review

This book is an early text in the field of psychical research. The author, Edward T. Bennett, organizes accounts and discussions of paranormal phenomena in a topical manner, suitable for readers interested in the history of psychology and the tradition of psychical research to trace further. Its value lies not in providing definitive conclusions but in showing how an era posed questions, collected cases and attempted to build a research framework. Read it as a historical source and a sample of ideas: on one hand, note the types of evidence and argumentation the author uses; on the other, distinguish between observation records of the time and modern scientific standards. Because it was written early, some terms and assumptions bear the marks of their era; read it with a critical eye, neither credulously accepting individual cases nor rejecting the subject outright because of its sensitivity. It suits browsing during general reading or research preparation; paired with materials on the history of psychology and science, it makes clearer how "psychic phenomena" were discussed and classified by intellectuals.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the history of psychology and the tradition of psychical research
General readers who want to understand how early paranormal accounts were presented
Researchers preparing comparative reading in the history of science or ideas
Readers who enjoy primary sources and can accept the argumentative style of an older era

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting modern scientific conclusions or clinical guidance
Casual readers looking for light stories or curious quick reads
Beginners impatient with old-fashioned terminology and argumentation

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and introduction first, marking the categories of phenomena and sources of evidence the author discusses.
After each chapter, note in a few sentences the author's argumentative steps and questionable points.
Pair it with a book on the history of psychology or scientific method to avoid accepting individual cases in isolation.
Make a small table of the book's terms, distinguishing era usage from modern meanings as you read.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable to read as a collection of ghost stories?

Not really. It is closer to a topical text of early psychical research, focused on organizing and discussing phenomena rather than entertaining narrative. If you only want stories, you may find the discussion heavy and the pace slow; if you are interested in the history of ideas and modes of evidence, you will gain more.

Can I read it without a psychology background?

Yes, but read slowly. Many terms and assumptions bear the marks of the era in which the book was written. Skim the table of contents first to grasp the author's central questions, then read chapter by chapter; mark unfamiliar concepts and look them up afterward rather than trying to understand everything at once.

What should I pay most attention to while reading?

Distinguish between the author's observation records, reported cases and inferences. Early texts often mix evidence of different strengths together; readers should actively ask about sources, verifiability and alternative explanations, treating the book as a historical source rather than a collection of conclusions—this makes it more valuable.

Comments

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About the author

Bennett, Edward T. Author

Edward T. Bennett is an author about whom relatively little public information is available. His nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly documented, and the library holds only one work by him. His known representative work is Psychic Phenomena, a title that suggests the book belongs to the field of parapsychology or psychical research, possibly discussing topics such as extrasensory perception and paranormal experiences. Owing to the scarcity of sources, it is difficult to characterize his writing style fully; based on the surviving work, however, he appears to have addressed general readers rather than confining himself to academic argument. Such subjects were popular in the English-speaking world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, often connected with the spiritualist movement and the activities of societies for psychical research. Bennett's specific position and influence await further documentation before they can be assessed.