The London Dialectical Society was a British professional association that formed in 1867 to encourage debate "of all questions without reserve, but especially those comprised in the domain of ethics, metaphysics, and theology". It is best known for its investigation into and report on the claims of

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) ...

History

The Society was founded in 1867 under the presidency of John Lubbock. It gathered together highly regarded professional individuals to speak on issues of the day. Many well known speakers started at the Society including Joseph Hiam, the journalist and campaigner.

Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme Elmy Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme-Elmy (died 12 March 1918) was a life-long campaigner and organiser, significant in the history of women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. She wrote essays and some poetry, using the pseudonyms E and Ignota. Early ...

was invited to speak on more than one occasion. The Society had a broad remit to all "the most absolute freedom of debate" with no topic excluded from discussion (except on the grounds of "triviality"). It therefore hosted debates on a wide variety of topics, examples of which include 'Over-population and Public Health' (July 1868) at which

Charles Bradlaugh Charles Bradlaugh (; 26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was an English political activist and atheist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866, 15 years after George Holyoake had coined the term "secularism" in 1851. In 1880, Brad ...

and

Charles Robert Drysdale Charles Robert Drysdale (1829 – 2 December 1907) was an English engineer, physician, public health scientist, and supporter of birth control. He was the first President of the Malthusian League

both spoke, 'On Marriage' (April 1871) led by

Moncure D. Conway Moncure Daniel Conway (March 17, 1832 – November 15, 1907) was an American abolitionist minister and radical writer. At various times Methodist, Unitarian, and a Freethinker, he descended from patriotic and patrician families of Virginia and ...

, and 'The Philosophy of Secularism' (December 1872) opened by Charles Watts. The format of these sessions was usually that an eminent speaker gave an opening lecture, which was followed by a debate open to all attendees. In 1868–69 the Society published a pamphlet explaining its purpose, history, and rules, as well as a report covering its activities and members in 1866–68.

1871 report

The Society is probably best known for a Committee it formed "to investigate the phenomena alleged to be spiritual manifestations and to report thereon." In January 1869, a committee was appointed that included 33 members. Notable members included

Edward William Cox Edward William Cox known as Serjeant Cox (1809–1879) was an English lawyer and legal writer, who was also a successful publisher. He has been described as "the greatest entrepreneur of 'class' journalism". Early life Cox was born in Taunton, ...

Charles Maurice Davies Charles Maurice Davies (1828–1910) was an Anglican clergyman, writer and spiritualist. Early life Charles Maurice Davies was born in 1828 in Wells, Somerset. He entered University College, Durham in 1845, graduating with a second-class BA in ...

Cromwell Varley Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, FRSA (6 April 1828 – 2 September 1883) was an English engineer, particularly associated with the development of the electric telegraph and the transatlantic telegraph cable. He also took interest in the claims of p ...

, and

Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural se ...

. Skeptics such as

Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The storie ...

and

George Henry Lewes George Henry Lewes (; 18 April 1817 – 30 November 1878) was an English philosopher and critic of literature and theatre. He was also an amateur physiologist. American feminist Margaret Fuller called Lewes a "witty, French, flippant sort of m ...

declined invitation to join the Society.Byrne, Georgina. (2010). ''Modern Spiritualism and Church of England, 1850–1939''. Boydell Press. pp. 54–55. In 1871 a report by the committee was published. The Society declined to publish the report and it was printed on the responsibility of the committee only. Six sub-committees had investigated the claims of spiritualism by attending

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 ...

s and reported their findings. The report was heavily criticised by the scientific community as being of no scientific value. This was due to the fact that half of the committees "saw really nothing" and only the second committee had reported successful "presumably spiritualistic" phenomena.The London Dialectical Society on "Spiritualism". ''The Medical Times and Gazette'', Volume 2. Saturday, 28 October 1871. pp. 528–529 However, this conclusion was criticised as being based on unsupported statements from unreliable witnesses. The report was dismissed by influential newspapers. For example, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' described the report as "nothing more than a farrago of impotent conclusions, garnished by a mass of the most monstrous rubbish it has ever been our misfortune to sit judgement on." The fifth committee had investigated the medium

Daniel Dunglas Home Daniel Dunglas Home (pronounced ''Hume''; 20 March 183321 June 1886) was a Scottish physical medium with the reported ability to levitate to a variety of heights, speak with the dead, and to produce rapping and knocks in houses at will. His bi ...

but "nothing occurred at any of the meetings which could be attributed to supernatural causes." On the basis of this report, the London Dialectical Society has been described as a precursor to the

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 ...

.James, William. (1896). ''Essays in Psychical Research''. Harvard University Press. p. 431.

Publications

''Report on Spiritualism, of the Committee of the London Dialectical Society''
(London: Longmans, Green, Reader & Dyer, 1871)

References

{{Spiritualism and spiritism 1867 establishments in the United Kingdom Debating societies Paranormal organizations Spiritualism

History

1871 report

Publications

See also

References