Paul Joire (1856–1930) was a leading French parapsychologist, professor at the "Psycho-physiological Institute of France" and president of the "Societé Universelle d'Études Psychiques" ("Universal Society of Psychic Studies").

Work

Paul Joire researched and wrote extensively about hypnotism and its experimental and therapeutic uses in "''Traité de l'hypnotisme expérimental et thérapeutique''" (1908). He investigated many parapsychological phenomena, such as the "''exteriorisation of sensibility''", associated with hypnotism, in which the hypnotised subject appears to be able to receive sensations at a distance, as if his nervous sensitivity extended beyond the boundary of the physical body; and "''motricity''", the movement of objects, without contact, apparently by some force emanating from the human body, often associated with mediumship and seances. He devised an instrument called a ''sthenometer'' (a type of " biometer") which, he claimed, could detect the "nervous force" emitted by the body, and about which he wrote several papers. The device consisted of a circular dial, marked off in degrees, in the centre of which was a delicate needle, balanced on a pivot and the whole covered by a glass case (see illustration). It was found that when the extended fingers of a subject's hand were placed near the side of the device, a deflection of the needle was observed, attributable, according to Joire, to the "nervous force" emanating from the body. He thought that this force was modified and disturbed by states of illness in the subject and therefore the sthenometer could be useful in diagnosis and treatment. The nervous force was disputed by other researchers. In 1907, F. J. M. Stratton tested the device and concluded the results were due to the influence of the hands

body heat Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

. Joire also investigated and documented,

ESP ESP most commonly refers to: * Extrasensory perception, a paranormal ability ESP may also refer to: Arts, entertainment Music * ESP Guitars, a manufacturer of electric guitars * E.S. Posthumus, an independent music group formed in 2000, ...

(extra-sensory perception),

levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...

automatic writing Automatic writing, also called psychography, is a claimed psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. Practitioners engage in automatic writing by holding a writing instrument and allowing alleged spir ...

, "spirit rapping" (typtology),

spirit photography Spirit photography (also called ghost photography) is a type of photography whose primary goal is to capture images of ghosts and other spiritual entities, especially in ghost hunting. It dates back to the late 19th century. The end of the Americ ...

, mediumship and materialisation phenomena etc.Joire, ''Psychical and supernormal phenomena'', 1916.

Publications

*''Traité D'Hypnotisme Expérimental Et De Psychothérapie'' (1914)
''Psychical and Supernormal Phenomena: Their Observation and Experimentation''
(New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1916).

References

External links

Books and published papers of Paul Joire
( Bibliothèque Nationale de France) {{DEFAULTSORT:Joire, Paul 1856 births 1930 deaths French hypnotists French writers on paranormal topics French parapsychologists

Work

Publications

See also

References

External links