Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1866

The “Moniteur” on April 16^th, 1866 brought the quinquennial report addressed to the Emperor, by the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce and Public Affairs, about the state of mental alienation in France. The very extensive, wise, and meticulously made report, demonstrates the seriousness of the government when dealing with this serious question of humanity. The precious documents that it contains indicate a careful observation. They are of our interest, even more so when are a formal and authentic contradiction of the accusations raised by the adversaries of Spiritism, designated by them as a preponderant cause of insanity. We extracted the most important passages of the report.



It is true that such documents attest a considerable growth in the number of alienated, but we will see that this has nothing to do with Spiritism. In 1835 this number was 10,539 in special shelters, and 30,229 in 1861; it is an increase of 19,700 cases in 26 years, or 750 cases per year, on average, as it can be seen in the table below, showing January 1^st of each year:

The report attests, moreover, this fundamental point: the increase was progressive, year over year, between 1835 and 1846, and since then it decreased, as illustrated in the table below:



From 1836 to 1841: annual increase of 5.04%

From 1841 to 1846: annual increase of 5.94%

From 1846 to 1851: annual increase of 3.71%

From 1851 to 1856: annual increase of 3.87%

From 1856 to 1861: annual increase of 3.14%



The Minister says:

“Given the deceleration, also verified in the admissions, as I will demonstrate later, it is likely that the really exceptional growth of the population of our mental health institutions will soon end. The number of patients that our institutions could shelter properly was 31,500 in 1860. The effective number of patients admitted in the same period was 30,239. The number of available places, therefore, was only 1,321. From the point of view of the classification of their illnesses, the patients under treatment on January 1^st of each year, from 1856 to 1861 was (only years for which the classification was done):^[1]

It results from these documents, first, that the increase in insanity attested since 1835 is approximately twenty years before the advent of Spiritism in France, where the involvement with the turning tables began in 1852 more of an entertainment than a serious thing, and the philosophical part starting in 1857. Second, that increased followed a regular rate, year over year, from 1835 to 1846; from 1847 to 1861 it decreased year by year, and the reduction was stronger from 1856 to 1861, precisely the period in which Spiritism initiated its development. It was also precisely in this period that brochures were published and that the newspapers hastened to repeat that the institutions of mental illnesses were full of insane Spiritists, to the point that several had to enlarge their footprint; that they accounted for more than forty thousands. How could that be if the report attests a maximum number of 30,339? What was the source of more accurate information used by those gentlemen, other than the official authorities? The provoked an inquiry: here they have it as detailed as possible, and one can see if they are right.

What equally sticks out from the report is the number of idiotic and cretin that account for a considerable part in the general number, and the annual increase of that component, that cannot evidently be attributed to Spiritism.

Regarding the prevalent causes of insanity, they were thoroughly investigated, however, Spiritism does not show in the report neither nominally nor by allusion. Would it have gone unnoticed if, as some pretend, it had filled up the mental institutions?

We do not believe that the one can attribute to the Minister the idea of having spared the Spiritist, by abstaining of mentioning them, if he had space to do so. Nonetheless, certain figures would refute any preponderance of Spiritism in the state of things. Otherwise the psychological causes would surpass the number of physical causes, whereas it is the opposite that is verified. The number of patients considered incurable would not be four to five times more than the number of those presumably curable, and the report would not say that 4/5 of the patients maintained in the institutions do not offer any chance of cure.

Finally, considering the development carried out by Spiritism every day, the Minister would not have said that, due to the slowdown that was observed, it is likely that the entirely exceptional increase in the population of the institutions will soon end.

In short, this report is the most peremptory answer that can be given to those that accuse Spiritism of being the predominant cause of insanity. Here it is not about hypotheses and reasonings, it is about authentic numbers opposed to imaginary figures; material facts opposed to false allegations of its detractors, interested in discredit Spiritism before public opinion.

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[1] The terms idiot, imbecile, moron, and their derivatives, such as idiotic, were formerly used as technical descriptors in medical, educational, and regulatory contexts. These uses were broadly rejected by the close of the 20th century and are now considered offensive. (Merriam-Webster dictionary, T.N.)


[2] Notice that the sum does not add up. We preferred to keep the numbers as in the original since we do not know if the error is in the total or in the parts. (Translation to Portuguese – Editor).