Ghosts among the philosophers

Ghosts among the philosophers

Sam Dresser

Cambridge, home of analytic philosophy, was also a hotbed of psychical research. How did this spooky subject take root?

But, about two-thirds of the way through the paper, Turing addresses an unexpected worry that might disrupt the imitation game: telepathy. If the human and the observer could communicate telepathically (which the machine supposedly could not do), then the test would fail. ‘This argument is to my mind quite a strong one,’ says Turing. In the end, he suggests that, for the test to work properly, the experiment must take place in a ‘telepathy-proof room’.

Why did Turing feel the need to talk about telepathy? Why did he consider extrasensory perception a serious objection to his thought experiment? And what about his peculiar mention of ghosts?

A high number of professional philosophers either joined the society or engaged with its findings. The ethicist Henry Sidgwick (Eleanor’s husband) was one of its founders, together with F W H Myers, the inventor of the word ‘telepathy’ and an unusually committed member: according to at least one report, he continued his involvement after his death, sending messages from the beyond via various mediums (a sort of extreme version of the professor emeritus who occasionally drops by the department). Such esteemed philosophers as Henri Bergson, William James and F C S Schiller were each elected president of the society. Many other philosophers, such as May Sinclair, were regular members.

Despite Metz’s dismissal, many philosophers continued working on questions in psychical research long into the 1950s and ’60s, after psychical research had left other departments in the modern university. These philosophers included Antony Flew, Martha Kneale and other overlooked thinkers such as C T K Chari, H A C Dobbs and Clement Mundle. It also appears that Kurt Gödel believed in the afterlife.