Episode 152: The Science of Things Spiritual: Live in Lily Dale

On the last week of July, 2023, Phil and JF were delighted to speak at Shannon Taggart's Science of Things Spiritual Symposium in Lily Dale, the nerve centre of the Spiritualist movement. As speakers, your hosts were part of an inspiring lineup of scholars, artists, and researchers committed to exploring the borderlands of art, science, religion, and the paranormal. They also had the honour of launching the symposium with a live recording held on the evening of the July 27th. The topic was Frederic W. H. Myers' autobiographical essay, "Fragments of Inner Life," first published in full in 1961, some sixty years after the author's death. Myers was one of the original members of the Society for Psychical Research in England. A poet and classicist, he remained committed to the scientific promise of paranormal investigation until the end of his life. His book Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death, also published posthumously, argues that psychical studies have confirmed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that death is just the beginning. In this talk, JF and Phil discuss Myers' relevance to 21st-century thinking on the Weird. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES The Science of Things Spiritual Symposium: July 27-29, 2023 Frederic Myers, Fragments of Inner Life Alan Bennett, History Boys Arthur Machen, A Fragment of Life Alan Gauld, The Founders of Psychical Research Donna Tartt, The Secret History Arthur Machen, The Great God Pan Frans de Waal, Mama’s Last Hug Daniel Dennett, American cognitive scientist Frederic Myers, Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death Gabriel Marcel, The Mystery of Being Phil Ford, Dig William James, Principles of Psychology Akashic Record, Theosophical idea Jeff Kripal, Authors of the Impossible