James H. Hyslop
James. H. Hyslop (August 18, 1854 – June 17, 1920) was an American psychology and psychic researcher. He may have been the J. Hyslop who was one of the Founders of the Theosophical Society.
Personal life
Academic career
Hyslop's first academic position was as an instructor in Philosophy in Lake Forest University in Illinois during 1880–82 and 1884–85. He became the head of Department of Philosophy in Smith College during 1885–86, and then served as a faculty member in Bucknell University in Pennsylvania during 1888–89. From 1889–91 he worked as a tutor in philosophy, ethics and psychology. He completed his career at Columbia University, teaching ethics and logic from 1891–1902.
In 1902 he received an honorary degree (LL.D) from the University of Wooster where he had been awarded his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1877.
Spiritualism and psychic research
Some of these experiences were personal in nature:
In 1898-99 a series of sittings [with Boston medium Mrs. Leonora Piper] were held at which Mr. Hyslop, father of Professor J. H. Hyslop, was the professed communicator...
Professor Hyslop himself is satisfied that he has actually been in communication with his father.[1]Weston D. Payley, "Introduction" to James H. Hyslop - X His Book: A Cross Reference Record by Gertrude Ogden.</ref>
Connections to the Theosophical Society
Writings
Professor Hyslop was a prolific writer. William James, Richard Hodgson and Oliver Lodge and others criticized some of his works not for their content but for their convoluted style and high degree of detail.
Textbooks and academic works
- Elements of Logic. 1892.
- Hume's Treatise of Morals: And Selections from the Treatise of the Passions. 1893.
- Elements of Ethics. 1895.
- Problems of Philosophy. 1905.
Psychical research
- Enigmas of Psychical Research.
- The Doris Case of Multiple Personality (1915–1917). With Walter Franklin Prince.
- Life After Death. Problems of the Future Life and Its Nature. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. 1918. Available at Internet Archive.
- Contact with the Other World; the Latest Evidence as to Communication with the Dead. New York: The Century Company, 1919.
Available at Internet Archive.
Poetry
- Poems, Original and Translations. 1915.
Additional resources
- Ogden, Gertrude. James H. Hyslop - X His Book: A Cross Reference Record.
Notes
- ↑ Frank Podmore "The Case of Mrs. Piper" in The Naturalization of the Supernatural (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1908), 321. Available at Internet Archive.
Hyslop made a major contribution to the literature of psychical research:
Professor Hyslop, had, with wonderful persistence, patience and precision, placed on record a vast amount of experimental material, fully accredited and exactly sustained in accordance with the standards of evidence. His data, together with his detailed commentaries and observations, are a matter of public record. What he thus accomplished is his greatest monument; and no marble shaft could be more imperishable.