Article ID: CBB000640390

The Spirit(s) of Science: Paradoxical Positivism as Religious Discourse among Spiritualists (2005)

unapi

Spiritualism provides a case study to illustrate the appropriation, reinterpretation and transformation of `science' by individuals outside the confines of the scientific community. Drawing upon fieldwork with Spiritualists in Canada and the United States, as well as historical research, this paper explores how members of one religious community [end of page 1 ] understand `science', and suggests that the Spiritualist acceptance of science as a path to truth is shaped in part by both the positivist strategies of nineteenth century scientists, and by the ongoing appeal to the positivist dimensions of science by members of the contemporary scientific community. It further suggests, however, that Spiritualists' constructions of science as authoritative are contextualized within the conviction that reality encompasses a spiritual dimension: Spiritualism paradoxically reifies science as the path to truth while disputing scientific conclusions that deny the spiritual realm. (1-2, not an abstract)

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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB000640390/

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Authors & Contributors
Numbers, Ronald L.
Papparella, Franca C.
Vox, Lisa Roy
Santoro, Lily A.
Gavrus, Delia Elena
Wadge, Elisabeth
Concepts
Science and religion
Popular culture
Spiritualism
Occult sciences
Medicine and religion
Evolution
Time Periods
19th century
20th century
20th century, early
21st century
Early modern
18th century
Places
United States
Canada
Great Britain
New Zealand
Australia
Calabria
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