The International Institute for Psychical Research (IIPR) was a short-lived

psychical A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...

organization based in London that was formed in 1934. It was criticized by scientists for its

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 ...

leanings and non-scientific approach to the subject.''Blow to Psychic Research Body. Distinguished Men Resign''. The Yorkshire Evening Post. June 28, 1934. p. 13.Huxley, Julian S; Schiller, F. C. S; Macbride, E. W. (1934)
"Science and Psychical Research"
''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

'' 134: 458.Valentine, Elizabeth R. ''Institutionalisation and the History of Psychical Research in Great Britain in the 20th Century''. In Anna Lux, Sylvia Paletschek. (2016). ''Okkultismus im Gehäuse: Institutionalisierungen der Parapsychologie im 20. Jahrhundert im internationalen Vergleich''. De Gruyter Oldenbourg. p. 139.

History

A predecessor to the International Institute for Psychical Research was the Survival League founded in 1929 by

Catherine Amy Dawson Scott Catherine Amy Dawson Scott (August 1865 – 4 November 1934) was an English writers, English writer, playwright and poet. She is best known as a co-founder (in 1921) of International PEN, a worldwide association of writers. In her later years sh ...

and Shaw Desmond. After the Survival League dissolved, Desmond, Shaw and

Arthur Findlay Arthur Findlay MBE JP (May 16, 1883 – July 24, 1964) was a writer, accountant, stockbroker and Essex magistrate, as well as a significant figure in the history of the religion of Spiritualism, being a partial founder of the newspaper ''Psych ...

founded the International Institute for Psychical Research in 1934."International Institute for Psychic Investigation"
Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. The institute attracted scientists such as its first President

Grafton Elliot Smith Sir Grafton Elliot Smith (15 August 1871 – 1 January 1937) was an Australian-British anatomist, Egyptologist and a proponent of the hyperdiffusionist view of prehistory. He believed in the idea that cultural innovations occur only once and ...

and Vice-Presidents

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist, and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century modern synthesis. ...

and

Ernest MacBride Ernest William MacBride Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (12 December 1866, in Belfast – 17 November 1940, in Alton, Hampshire) was a British/Irish Marine biology, marine biologist, one of the last supporters of Lamarckism, Lamarckian evolution ...

although they resigned after a few months as the lack of scientific method and the spiritualist leanings of the institute became clear. Arthur Findlay was Chairman and D. F. Fraser-Harris was Research Officer.Anonymous. (1934)
"Science and Psychical Research"
''

'' 133: 18-19. Fraser-Harris, Huxley, MacBride, Smith and other members such as Ernest Bennett and William Brown had resigned by June, 1934. Huxley described the institute as "not very scientific". Smith stated that he resigned because the institute was meant to have set up a scientific laboratory to investigate claims of psychical phenomena but it was never built. Findlay a spiritualist was criticized for his non-scientific approach to the subject. A review in the ''

'' journal noted that he had "little conception of the critical attitude of science towards the evidence which he presents and the explanations he gives of the phenomena he describes."

Nandor Fodor Nandor Fodor (May 13, 1895 in Beregszász, Hungary – May 17, 1964 in New York City, New York) was a British and American parapsychologist, psychoanalyst, author and journalist of Hungarian origin. Biography Fodor was born in Beregszász, Hun ...

replaced Fraser-Harris as Research Officer, a position he held until 1938. In December, 1938 the institute merged with the

British College of Psychic Science James Hewat McKenzie (1869–1929) was a British parapsychologist, and the founder of the British College of Psychic Science. McKenzie was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 11 November 1869 and died on 29 August 1929, in London.Buckland, Raymond ...

becoming the Institute for Experimental Metaphysics. It changed name in January 1939, to the International Institute for Psychic Investigation (IIPI). The famed novelist and poet

Hilda Doolittle Hilda Doolittle (September 10, 1886 – September 27, 1961) was an American modernist poet, novelist, and memoirist who wrote under the name H.D. throughout her life. Her career began in 1911 after she moved to London and co-founded the ...

joined the IIPI in 1941. Occult writer Ralph Shirley was Vice President of the IIPI. Its librarian was palmist Beryl Butterworth Hutchinson. The institute struggled during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and its library and records were destroyed by bombing raids. By 1947 the institute had collapsed.

Investigations

The International Institute for Psychical Research utilized a

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spe ...

room for testing spiritualist mediums. In 1935,

Lajos Pap Lajos Pap (1883–1941) was a Hungarian carpenter and spiritualist medium.Gyimesi, Júlia. (2014). ''Between Religion and Science: Spiritualism, Science and Early Psychology in Hungary''. International Psychology, Practice and Research 5: 1–20. ...

a medium famous for producing apports was investigated by Nandor Fodor. He reported that the phenomena were fraudulent and not evidence for the paranormal. During the séance a dead snake appeared. Pap was searched and was found to be wearing a device under his robe, where he had hidden the snake. Icelandic medium Ingibjorg Lara Agustsdottir was tested in October, 1937. The results were negative, the phenomenon was "both fraudulent and farcical".Swatos, William H; Gissurarson, Loftur Reimar. (1997). ''Icelandic Spiritualism: Mediumship and Modernity in Iceland''. Transaction Publishers. pp. 209-210.

Publications

Hereward Carrington Hereward Carrington (17 October 1880 – 26 December 1958) was a well-known British-born American investigator of psychic phenomena and author. His subjects included several of the most high-profile cases of apparent psychic ability of his times, ...

. (1936). ''Historic Poltergeists''. International Institute for Psychical Research. Bulletin I. *

. (1936). ''The Lajos Pap Experiments''. International Institute for Psychical Research. Bulletin II. *B. J. Hopper. (1936). ''Enquiry into the Cloud-Chamber Method of Studying the "Intra-atomic Quality"''. International Institute for Psychical Research. Bulletin III. *

Erik Palmstierna Erik Kule Palmstierna (10 November 1877 – 22 November 1959) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician and diplomat. He served as Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister ...

. (1938). ''Horizons of Immortality and the Subconscious Mind''. International Institute for Psychical Research. Bulletin IV. *

Ernesto Bozzano Ernesto Bozzano (January 9, 1862 – June 24, 1943), also known as Signor Bozzano was an Italian parapsychologist and spiritualist. Career Bozzano was born in Genoa. He did not receive formal education, he was self-taught. He was influenced by ...

. (1938). ''Discarnate Influence in Human Life: A Review of the Case for Spirit Intervention''. Library of the International Institute for Psychical Research. Volume I. The International Institute for Psychic Investigation published the quarterly journal ''Psychic Science''. During 1945-1947 it became the ''Experimental Metaphysics''.

Notable members

Image:Arthur Findlay spiritualist.png,

, founding member Image:Catherine Amy Dawson Scott.jpg,

, founding member

References

{{Parapsychology, state=collapsed 1934 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1934 Paranormal organizations

History

Investigations

Publications

Notable members

See also

References