Andrew Jackson Davis (August 11, 1826January 13, 1910) was an American

Spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century The ''long nineteenth century'' i ...

, born in Blooming Grove, New York.

Early years

Davis was the son of a shoemaker and had little education. From age 14, Davis claimed to be able to diagnose illness via clairvoyance. In 1843 he heard lectures in Poughkeepsie on

animal magnetism Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, was a protoscientific theory developed by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century in relation to what he claimed to be an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all livi ...

, the precursor of

hypnotism Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

, and came to perceive himself as having remarkable clairvoyant powers. In the following year he received, he said, spiritual messages telling him of his life work. He described himself as "the Poughkeepsie Seer". Andrew Jackson Davis

Work

For the next three years (1844–1847) he practiced magnetic healing, a form of therapy regarded as pseudoscience, and in 1847 he published ''The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations, and a Voice to Mankind'', which in 1845 he had dictated while in a trance to his scribe, William Fishbough. He lectured with little success and returned to writing books, publishing about 30 in all, including * ''The Great Harmonia'' (1850–1861), an encyclopaedia in six volumes; * ''The Philosophy of Special Providences'' (1850), which with its evident rehash of old arguments against special providences and miracles would seem to show that Davis's inspiration was literary; * ''The Penetralia; Being Harmonial Answers to Important Questions'' (1856), which allegedly predicted the development of the automobile, road systems, typewriter, and other modern technology years if not decades before they were developed, and claimed the

speed of light The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit ...

was 200,000 miles per second 94 years before it was scientifically calculated by Louis Essen showing the true speed was 186,000 miles per second. * ''The Magic Staff: An Autobiography'' (1857), which was supplemented by ''Arabula: or, The Divine Guest. Containing a New Collection of New Gospels'' (1867), the gospels being those according to St.

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

, St. John (

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

), St. Gabriel (

Gabriel Derzhavin Gavriil (Gavrila) Romanovich Derzhavin ( rus, Гаврии́л (Гаври́ла) Рома́нович Держа́вин, p=ɡɐˈvrilə rɐˈmanəvʲɪtɕ dʲɪrˈʐavʲɪn, a=Gavrila Romanovich Dyerzhavin.ru.vorb.oga; 14 July 1743 – 20 ...

), St. Octavius (

Octavius Frothingham Octavius Brooks Frothingham (November 26, 1822 – November 27, 1895) was an American clergyman and author. Biography He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham (1793–1870), a prominent Unitarian preacher, ...

), St. Gerrit (

Gerrit Smith Gerrit Smith (March 6, 1797 – December 28, 1874), also spelled Gerritt Smith, was a leading American social reformer, abolitionist, businessman, public intellectual, and philanthropist. Married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh, Smith was a candidat ...

), St. Emma (Emma Harding), St. Ralph (

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

), St. Selden ( Selden J. Finney), St. Theodore (

Theodore Parker Theodore Parker (August 24, 1810 – May 10, 1860) was an American transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church. A reformer and abolitionist, his words and popular quotations would later inspire speeches by Abraham Lincol ...

), and others; * ''A Stellar Key to the Summer Land'' (1868); * ''Tale of a Physician, or, The Seeds and Fruits of Crime'' (1869) * ''The Fountain with Jets of New Meanings'' (1870) * ''Views of Our Heavenly Home'' (1878)

Influences and legacy

Davis was much influenced by Swedenborg and by the

Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...

, who reprinted his panegyric praising

Ann Lee Ann Lee (29 February 1736 – 8 September 1784), commonly known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founding leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, or the Shakers. After nearly two decades of participation in a re ...

in the official work ''Sketch of Shakers and Shakerism'' (1884). In writing his 1845 short story " The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar",

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

was informed by Davis's early work after having attended one of his lectures on

mesmerism Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, was a protoscientific theory developed by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century in relation to what he claimed to be an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all livi ...

. Davis's complete library is now housed within the

Edgar Cayce Edgar Cayce (; 18 March 1877 – 3 January 1945) was an American clairvoyant who claimed to channel his higher self while in a trance-like state. His words were recorded by his friend, Al Layne; his wife, Gertrude Evans, and later by his s ...

Library. Davis described the concept of Summerland to describe an undefined location where souls go after death, the secular nature of which was attractive to some non-religious spiritualists.

Critical reception

In 1855, Davis' spiritualism received an extensive critical analysis by theologian Asa Mahan
''Modern Mysteries Explained and Exposed. In Four Parts. I. Clairvoyant Revelations of A. J. Davis...''
A defender of Davis publishe
an 80-page pamphlet
attacking Mahan's analysis. Regarding Davis' book ''The Principles of Nature'', Joseph McCabe has noted "There is no need to examine the book seriously. The scientific errors and crudities of it release any person from considering whether there was any element of revelation in it... Moreover, Davis was a palpable cheat. He maintained that up to that date he had read only one book in his life, and that book was a novel. We know from his admirers that this was not true, and any person can recognize in his pages a very crude and badly digested mess of early scientific literature." Davis also plagiarised long passages from Swedenborg in ''The Principles of Nature'', which some of Davis's believers take as proof that Davis was inhabited by Swedenborg. Physician James Joseph Walsh was unconvinced Davis was a genuine clairvoyant. Walsh wrote that although Davis stated that he had only ever read one novel, this was not true as he had read ''

Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation ''Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation'' is an 1844 work of speculative natural history and philosophy by Robert Chambers. Published anonymously in England, it brought together various ideas of stellar evolution with the progressive tra ...

'' and there was evidence he had read books on sociology. The spiritualist writings of Davis have been criticized by scientists and skeptics for containing inaccuracies and false information. For example, in one case, Davis seemed unaware that water is a compound of

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

and

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

. Researcher

Georgess McHargue Georgess McHargue (June 7, 1941 – July 18, 2011) was an American writer and poet. Biography McHargue was born in New York City. After working at Golden Press, she became an editor at Doubleday. She had a long career working as an author; she ...

pointed out that the supposed "scientific" passages from his writings are filled with "gobbledegook as to put it in the class with the most imaginative vintage science fantasy."McHargue, Georgess. (1972). ''Facts, Frauds, and Phantasms: A Survey of the Spiritualist Movement''. Doubleday. pp. 70-71.

References

External links