The Making of Religion eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 426 pages of information about The Making of Religion.

The Making of Religion eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 426 pages of information about The Making of Religion.

3.  Acquaintance who feared to die in childbed, and did.  Percipient not much interested, nor at all anxious.

4.  Father in England to son in India.  No anxiety.

5.  Uncle to niece.  Sudden death.  No anxiety.  No knowledge of illness.

6.  Brother-in-law to sister-in-law, and her maid.  No anxiety reported. Russian.

7.  Father to son.  No anxiety reported. Russian.

8.  Friend to friend.  No knowledge of illness or anxiety reported.

9.  Grandmother to grandson.  No anxiety.  No knowledge of illness.

10.  Casual acquaintance, to seven people, and apparently to a dog.  Illness known. Russian.

11.  Step-brother to step-brother.  No anxiety.  No knowledge of illness.

12.  Friend to friend.  No anxiety or knowledge of illness.

13.  Casual acquaintance.  No anxiety.

14.  Aunt to nephew and to his wife.  Illness known.  No anxiety.

15.  Sister to brother.  Illness known.  No anxiety.

16.  Father to daughter.  No knowledge of illness.  No anxiety.

17.  Father to son.  Much anxiety. (Uncounted.)

18.  Sister to sister.  Illness known.  ‘No immediate danger’ surmised.

19.  Father to son.  Much anxiety. Russian. (Uncounted.)

20.  Friend to friend.  Illness known.  Percipient had been nursing patient. Brazilian. (Very bad case!)

21 Friend to friend.  Illness known.  No anxiety.

22.  Brother to brother.  Illness known.  No anxiety.

23.  Grandfather to grand-daughter.  Illness known.  No pressing anxiety.

24.  Grandfather to grandson.  Illness known.  No anxiety.

25.  Father’s hand. Illness chronic.  No anxiety.  Percipient a daughter. Russian.

20.  Husband to wife.  Anxiety in time of war.

27.  Brother to sister.  Slightly anxious from receiving no letter.

28.  Friend to friend.  No anxiety.

Anxiety is only reported, or to be surmised, in two or three cases.  In a dozen the existence of illness was known.

It may therefore be argued, adversely, that in the selected coincidental hallucinations, the persons seen were in the class most usually beheld in non-coincidental and, probably, purely subjective hallucinations representing real persons; also, that knowledge of their illness, even when no anxiety existed, kept them in some cases before the mind; also, that several cases are foreign, and that ‘most foreigners are fools.’  On the other hand, affection, familiarity, and knowledge of illness had not produced hallucinations even in the case of these percipients, till within the twelve hours (often much less) of the event of death.

It would have been desirable, of course, to publish all the non-coincidental cases, and show how far, in these not veridical cases, the recognised phantasms were those of kindred, dear friends, known to be ill, and subjects of anxiety[17].

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The Making of Religion from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.