Rudolf Tischner (3 April 1879 in Hohenmölsen – 24 April 1961) was a German

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

and parapsychologist born in Hohenmölsen. After finishing his medical studies he practiced

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Biography

He is remembered for his research in the field of

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...

. He published numerous books and articles on topics such as

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...

spiritualism 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, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

telekinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

, etc. He was inspired by the British

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...

, and with

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Traugott Konstantin Oesterreich Traugott Konstantin Oesterreich (15 September 1880, in Stettin ( Szczecin)28 July 1949, in Tübingen) was a German religious psychologist and philosopher. Oesterreich was also interested in parapsychology. He argued against the philosophy of ma ...

(1880-1949) tried to establish a similar institute in Germany. With

Albert von Schrenck-Notzing Albert Freiherr von Schrenck-Notzing (18 May 1862 – 12 February 1929) was a German physician, psychiatrist and notable psychical researcher, who devoted his time to the study of paranormal events connected with mediumship, hypnotism and telep ...

(1862-1929), he fought for the recognition of parapsychology as a serious subject of study. Among his most important contributions to the field of parapsychology were his experiments in clairvoyance, conducted at a time when most such research concerned telepathy. These experiments involved selected participants in identifying the targets – typically, text or drawings – concealed in opaque envelopes, while (unlike a telepathy experiment) no persons were aware of the contents of the envelope. Tischner's monograph ''Telepathie und Hellsehen'' (1921) collected his reports on these studies.Tischner, R. (1925). ''Telepathy and clairvoyance'' (W.D. Hutchinson, Trans.). New York, NY, US: Harcourt. In this work, Tischner referred to telepathy and clairvoyance as instances of a more general faculty of ''Außersinnlicher Wahrnehmung'', thus, in its translation, coining the term ''

extrasensory perception Extrasensory perception or ESP, also called sixth sense, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke Universi ...

''. Tischner performed research on the possibilities of merging

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...

with

evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...

, and published a book on the evolution of homeopathy named "''Das Werden der Homöopathie''". He was the author of works on homeopath

Samuel Hahnemann Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann (; 10 April 1755 – 2 July 1843) was a German physician, best known for creating the pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine called homeopathy. Early life Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann was ...

, titled "''Samuel Hahnemann's Leben und Lehre''" and "''Die Bildwerke Hahnemanns und ihre Schöpfer''". In the field of

hypnosis 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 ...

he produced writings on the life and work of

Franz Anton Mesmer Franz Anton Mesmer (; ; 23 May 1734 – 5 March 1815) was a German physician with an interest in astronomy. He theorised the existence of a natural energy transference occurring between all animated and inanimate objects; this he called " ani ...

, called "''Franz Anton Mesmer, Leben, Werk und Wirkung''" and "''Mesmer und sein Problem, Magnetismus, Suggestion, Hypnose''".

Selected publications

* ''Das Werden der Homöopathie: Geschichte der Homöopathie vom Altertum bis zur neuesten Zeit,'' 9 editions published between 1950 and 2001 in German * ''Einführung in den Okkultismus und Spiritismus'' (Introduction to Occultism and Spiritualism); J. F. Bergmann, München, 1923; 11 editions published between 1921 and 1923 in German * ''Ergebnisse okkulter Forschung, eine Einführung in die Parapsychologie'' (Results of Occult Research, an Introduction to Parapsychology); Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1976; ; 26 editions published between 1950 and 1976 in 3 languages * ''Fernfühlen und Mesmerismus (Exteriorisation der Sensibilität)'' 9 editions published in 1925 in German * ''Franz Anton Mesmer; Leben, Werk und Wirkungen'' 11 editions published in 1928 in German and English * ''Geschichte der homöopathie'' 16 editions published between 1932 and 2013 in 3 languages * ''Geschichte der okkultistischen Forschung'' (History of Occult Research); Pfullingen, 1924 * ''Geschichte der Parapsychologie,'' Teil 2 (History of Parapsychology, Part 2); Pustet, Tittmoning, 1960 * ''Mesmer, Franz Anton, Über telepathie und hellsehen; experimentell theoretische untersuchungen'' 16 editions published between 1920 and 1921 in German * ''Mesmer und sein Problem: Magnetismus, Suggestion, Hypnose'' 7 editions published in 1941 in German * ''Monismus und Okkultismus'' (Monism and Occultism); O. Mutze, Leipzig 1921 * ''Telepathy and clairvoyance,'' 17 editions published between 1925 and 2013 in English * ''Über Telepathie und Hellsehen, Experimentaltheoretische Untersuchungen;'' Bergmann (Regarding Telepathy, Experimental Theoretical Investigations); München, 1920

References

* ''Parts of this article are based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.''
''Traugott Konstantin Oesterreich''
@

Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon The ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' (''BBKL'') is a German biographical encyclopedia covering persons related to the history of the church, philosophy and literature, founded 1975 by Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz Friedrich Wilhelm B ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tischner, Rudolf 1879 births 1961 deaths People from Burgenlandkreis German ophthalmologists Parapsychologists