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Libra Esoterica

Extraordinary Beliefs

A Historical Approach to a Psychological Problem

by Peter Lamont

  • First published:
  • 21st century
  • Languages: English, French

Description

Description from OpenAlex (opens in a new tab)

Since the early nineteenth century, mesmerists, mediums and psychics have exhibited extraordinary phenomena. These have been demonstrated, reported and disputed by every modern generation. We continue to wonder why people believe in such things, while others wonder why they are dismissed so easily. Extraordinary Beliefs takes a historical approach to an ongoing psychological problem: why do people believe in extraordinary phenomena? It considers the phenomena that have been associated with mesmerism, spiritualism, psychical research and parapsychology. By drawing upon conjuring theory, frame analysis and discourse analysis, it examines how such phenomena have been made convincing in demonstration and report, and then disputed endlessly. It argues that we cannot understand extraordinary beliefs unless we properly consider the events in which people believe, and what people believe about them. And it shows how, in constructing and maintaining particular beliefs about particular phenomena, we have been in the business of constructing ourselves.

Provenance

Why this book is in the catalog

Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Mesmerism, animal magnetism, and hypnosis, Parapsychology and psychical research, and Spiritualism, mediumship, and channeling.

  • Spiritualism, mediumship, and channeling

    Retained metadata contains “Mediums” in the description, “Spiritualism” in the description, “Mediums” in the subject metadata, and 1 additional metadata match(es).

    • “Mediums”· in description
    • “Spiritualism”· in description
    • “Mediums”· in subject
    • “Spiritualism”· in subject
  • Parapsychology and psychical research

    Controlled discovery queries from openalex matched “psychical research”. Retained metadata contains “Parapsychology” in the description, “Psychical research” in the description, and “Parapsychology” in the subject metadata.

    • “psychical research”· via OpenAlex
    • “Parapsychology”· in description
    • “Psychical research”· in description
    • “Parapsychology”· in subject
  • Mesmerism, animal magnetism, and hypnosis

    Controlled discovery queries from openalex and openlibrary matched “mesmerism” and “Mesmerism”. Retained metadata contains “Mesmerism” in the description and “Mesmerism” in the subject metadata.

    • “mesmerism”· via OpenAlex
    • “Mesmerism”· via Open Library
    • “Mesmerism”· in description
    • “Mesmerism”· in subject

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

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Buy or borrow

Links to ISBN 1107302501; other editions may be cheaper. WorldCat shows libraries near you that hold a copy.

Editions

Open Library reports 5 editions; 1 cataloged here.

A Historical Approach to a Psychological Problem

OpenAlex scholarly book record

2013Cambridge University Press; Cambridge University Press eBooksEnglish
  • 9781139094320
  • 1139094327
No ebook

Subjects

18 subject headings

Identifiers & provenance

How this record was assembled, and the authority identifiers it carries.

Cataloging notes

  • Open Library reports 5 editions; this snapshot catalogs one representative edition and preserves work-level ISBN, date, and publisher aggregates.
Catalog id
openlibrary-work:OL17579094W
Edition coverage
Multi source partial
Retrieved