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Robert H. Thouless

January 01, 1970


Robert Henry Thouless (15 July 1894 – 25 September 1984) was an English psychologist and parapsychologist.[1] He is best known as the author of Straight and Crooked Thinking (1930, 1953), which describes flaws in reasoning and argument.[2]

Robert Henry Thouless
Born(1894-07-15)July 15, 1894
DiedSeptember 25, 1984(1984-09-25) (aged 90)
SpousePriscilla Gorton
ChildrenDavid Thouless
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
ThesisNature of religious experience and its significance for human thought (1923)
Academic work
DisciplinePsychology; Parapsychology
InstitutionsUniversity of Manchester; University of Glasgow; University of Cambridge

Career edit

He studied at Cambridge University where he earned B.A. hons in 1914, an M.A. in 1919 and a PhD in 1922.[1] He was a lecturer in psychology at the universities of Manchester, Glasgow and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College in the University of Cambridge. He wrote on parapsychology and conducted experiments in card-calling and psychokinesis.[3] His own experiments did not confirm the results of J. B. Rhine and he criticised the experimental protocols of previous experimenters.[4][5] He is credited with introducing the word psi as a term for parapsychological phenomena in a 1942 article in the British Journal of Psychology.[6] He served as president of the Society for Psychical Research from 1942 to 1944.[1] Thouless identified as a "Christian psychologist". He questioned the alleged visions of Jesus Christ that the mystic Julian of Norwich reported to have experienced and concluded they were the result of hallucinations.[7]

Attempt to prove dead could communicate with the living edit

In 1948 he created a test that he thought could prove that he could communicate with living people after his death.[8] One way of testing this was to ask dying people to write a message that would be sealed, then ask a medium to try to contact the deceased for the message.[8] The weakness in this was that the medium might have been shown the message before the seance, so he enciphered it using keywords he refused to divulge.[8] The ciphertext was "BTYRR OOFLH KCDXK FWPCZ KTADR GFHKA HTYXO ALZUP PYPVF AYMMF SDLR UVUB".[8]

The Survival Research Foundation based in Miami offered a reward of $1000 to anyone who could break the cipher within three years of Thouless' death.[8]

In 1995 the cipher was broken by James Gillogly who wrote cryptanalysis software to crack the variation of the playfair cipher used.[8] The deciphered message read "This is a cipher which will not be read unless I give the keywords."[8] The keywords were black and beauty.[8]

Reception edit

His An Introduction to the Psychology of Religion (1923, reprinted 1961) received a mixed reception from academics. One criticism of the book was the over-reliance of Freud's psychoanalyst approach to the subject.[9] Professor James E. Dittes wrote that despite the obsolete Freudian views it is a useful elementary guide to the psychology of religion.[10]

Psychologist John Beloff commenting on Thouless and his parapsychological studies wrote:

"Although his own ESP experiments were not notably successful, he made an original contribution to the study of PK (psychokinesis) with dice, using himself as subject. Unlike Rhine, however, he never lost interest in the age old topic of an afterlife... He even devised a coded message, which he took with him to the grave, in the hope that he might demonstrate survival by revealing the code posthumously through a medium. No such message, however, has yet been received."[1]

Psychologist L. Börje Löfgren has criticised Thouless for endorsing the mentalist Frederick Marion as a genuine psychic. He suggested that "Thouless is an honest man, but his powers of self-deception must be rather considerable."[11]

Personal life edit

Robert Thouless married Priscilla Gorton, an English teacher, and was the father of the Nobel Prize-winning physicist David Thouless.[12]

Publications edit

  • An Introduction to the Psychology of Religion (1923, 1961)
  • The Lady Julian: A Psychological Study (1924)
  • Social Psychology: A Text Book for Students of Economics (1925)
  • Control of the Mind (1929)
  • How to Think Straight (1948)
  • Experimental Psychical Research (1963)
  • Mind and Consciousness in Experimental Psychology (1963)
  • Rationality and Prejudice (1964)
  • Straight and Crooked Thinking (1968)
  • From Anecdote to Experiment in Psychical Research (1972)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Sheehy, Noel; Chapman, Anthony J; Conroy, Wendy A. (2002). Biographical Dictionary of Psychology. Routledge. pp. 570-571. ISBN 0-415-28561-5
  2. ^ Thouless, Robert H. (1953), Straight and Crooked Thinking (PDF), London: Pan Books, retrieved 30 November 2010
  3. ^ Gale Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology: Robert Henry Thouless
  4. ^ James Randi. (1997). Robert Henry Thouless. In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-15119-5
  5. ^ Asprem, Egil. (2014). The Problem of Disenchantment: Scientific Naturalism a Esoteric Discourse, 1900-1939. Brill Academic Publishers. pp. 403-404. ISBN 978-9004251922
  6. ^ Thouless, Robert H. (July 1942), "Experiments on paranormal guessing", British Journal of Psychology, 33 (1), British Psychological Society: 15–27, doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1942.tb01036.x
  7. ^ Metzger, David. (1998). Medievalism and the Academy II: Cultural Studies. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 166. ISBN 0-85991-567-0
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Pool, Bob (5 November 1995). "UMGTN CMGVP TLGE RVGB : (The Solution to This Headline Is at Bottom of Story)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  9. ^ Schaub, Edward L. (1923). Review: A Psychoanalyst's Version of Religion: An Introduction to the Psychology of Religion by Robert H. Thouless. The Journal of Religion 3 (4): 431-433.
  10. ^ Dittes, James E. (1964). Review: The Psychology of Religion by Robert H. Thouless. Review of Religious Research 5 (2): 115-116
  11. ^ Löfgren, L. B. (1968). Recent Publications on Parapsychology. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 16: 146-178.
  12. ^ "David Thouless, 84, Dies; Nobel Laureate Cast Light on Matter". New York Times. 22 April 2019.

External links edit

  • An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural – describes Thouless' test for survival after death.
  • David J. Thouless, Robert's son - Nobel prize winning physicist.

January 01, 1970
robert, thouless, robert, henry, thouless, july, 1894, september, 1984, english, psychologist, parapsychologist, best, known, author, straight, crooked, thinking, 1930, 1953, which, describes, flaws, reasoning, argument, robert, henry, thoulessborn, 1894, july. Robert Henry Thouless 15 July 1894 25 September 1984 was an English psychologist and parapsychologist 1 He is best known as the author of Straight and Crooked Thinking 1930 1953 which describes flaws in reasoning and argument 2 Robert Henry ThoulessBorn 1894 07 15 July 15 1894DiedSeptember 25 1984 1984 09 25 aged 90 SpousePriscilla GortonChildrenDavid ThoulessAcademic backgroundAlma materUniversity of CambridgeThesisNature of religious experience and its significance for human thought 1923 Academic workDisciplinePsychology ParapsychologyInstitutionsUniversity of Manchester University of Glasgow University of Cambridge Contents 1 Career 2 Attempt to prove dead could communicate with the living 3 Reception 4 Personal life 5 Publications 6 References 7 External linksCareer editHe studied at Cambridge University where he earned B A hons in 1914 an M A in 1919 and a PhD in 1922 1 He was a lecturer in psychology at the universities of Manchester Glasgow and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College in the University of Cambridge He wrote on parapsychology and conducted experiments in card calling and psychokinesis 3 His own experiments did not confirm the results of J B Rhine and he criticised the experimental protocols of previous experimenters 4 5 He is credited with introducing the word psi as a term for parapsychological phenomena in a 1942 article in the British Journal of Psychology 6 He served as president of the Society for Psychical Research from 1942 to 1944 1 Thouless identified as a Christian psychologist He questioned the alleged visions of Jesus Christ that the mystic Julian of Norwich reported to have experienced and concluded they were the result of hallucinations 7 Attempt to prove dead could communicate with the living editIn 1948 he created a test that he thought could prove that he could communicate with living people after his death 8 One way of testing this was to ask dying people to write a message that would be sealed then ask a medium to try to contact the deceased for the message 8 The weakness in this was that the medium might have been shown the message before the seance so he enciphered it using keywords he refused to divulge 8 The ciphertext was BTYRR OOFLH KCDXK FWPCZ KTADR GFHKA HTYXO ALZUP PYPVF AYMMF SDLR UVUB 8 The Survival Research Foundation based in Miami offered a reward of 1000 to anyone who could break the cipher within three years of Thouless death 8 In 1995 the cipher was broken by James Gillogly who wrote cryptanalysis software to crack the variation of the playfair cipher used 8 The deciphered message read This is a cipher which will not be read unless I give the keywords 8 The keywords were black and beauty 8 Reception editHis An Introduction to the Psychology of Religion 1923 reprinted 1961 received a mixed reception from academics One criticism of the book was the over reliance of Freud s psychoanalyst approach to the subject 9 Professor James E Dittes wrote that despite the obsolete Freudian views it is a useful elementary guide to the psychology of religion 10 Psychologist John Beloff commenting on Thouless and his parapsychological studies wrote Although his own ESP experiments were not notably successful he made an original contribution to the study of PK psychokinesis with dice using himself as subject Unlike Rhine however he never lost interest in the age old topic of an afterlife He even devised a coded message which he took with him to the grave in the hope that he might demonstrate survival by revealing the code posthumously through a medium No such message however has yet been received 1 Psychologist L Borje Lofgren has criticised Thouless for endorsing the mentalist Frederick Marion as a genuine psychic He suggested that Thouless is an honest man but his powers of self deception must be rather considerable 11 Personal life editRobert Thouless married Priscilla Gorton an English teacher and was the father of the Nobel Prize winning physicist David Thouless 12 Publications editAn Introduction to the Psychology of Religion 1923 1961 The Lady Julian A Psychological Study 1924 Social Psychology A Text Book for Students of Economics 1925 Control of the Mind 1929 How to Think Straight 1948 Experimental Psychical Research 1963 Mind and Consciousness in Experimental Psychology 1963 Rationality and Prejudice 1964 Straight and Crooked Thinking 1968 From Anecdote to Experiment in Psychical Research 1972 References edit a b c d Sheehy Noel Chapman Anthony J Conroy Wendy A 2002 Biographical Dictionary of Psychology Routledge pp 570 571 ISBN 0 415 28561 5 Thouless Robert H 1953 Straight and Crooked Thinking PDF London Pan Books retrieved 30 November 2010 Gale Encyclopedia of Occultism amp Parapsychology Robert Henry Thouless James Randi 1997 Robert Henry Thouless In An Encyclopedia of Claims Frauds and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural St Martin s Press ISBN 0 312 15119 5 Asprem Egil 2014 The Problem of Disenchantment Scientific Naturalism a Esoteric Discourse 1900 1939 Brill Academic Publishers pp 403 404 ISBN 978 9004251922 Thouless Robert H July 1942 Experiments on paranormal guessing British Journal of Psychology 33 1 British Psychological Society 15 27 doi 10 1111 j 2044 8295 1942 tb01036 x Metzger David 1998 Medievalism and the Academy II Cultural Studies Boydell amp Brewer Ltd p 166 ISBN 0 85991 567 0 a b c d e f g h Pool Bob 5 November 1995 UMGTN CMGVP TLGE RVGB The Solution to This Headline Is at Bottom of Story Los Angeles Times Retrieved 10 March 2018 Schaub Edward L 1923 Review A Psychoanalyst s Version of Religion An Introduction to the Psychology of Religion by Robert H Thouless The Journal of Religion 3 4 431 433 Dittes James E 1964 Review The Psychology of Religion by Robert H Thouless Review of Religious Research 5 2 115 116 Lofgren L B 1968 Recent Publications on Parapsychology Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 16 146 178 David Thouless 84 Dies Nobel Laureate Cast Light on Matter New York Times 22 April 2019 External links editAn Encyclopedia of Claims Frauds and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural describes Thouless test for survival after death David J Thouless Robert s son Nobel prize winning physicist Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert H Thouless amp oldid 1157960500, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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