Vetenskap

Spiritism, dess vetenskapssyn och konstruktionen av en Andra

Abstract

This article examines Spiritualism in Sweden during the end of the nineteenth century and how the concept of science was used in the spiritualist community. The analysis in the article is based on the Swedish spiritualistic journal Efteråt? Tidskrift för Spiritism och dermed beslägtade ämnen. Practitioners argued that they had found scientific evidence for the existence of spirits and hoped for the scientific establishment to confirm their discoveries. thought was materialistic. Based on David Hess's theories of the construction of the Self through boundary work to the Other, the article concludes that through their ambivalent relationship to science, the Swedish spiritualists constructed themselves as scientific pioneers. At the same time, they criticized and distanced themselves from the concept of science, which they thought was materialistic. Based on David Hess's theories of the construction of the Self through boundary work to the Other, the article concludes that through their ambivalent relationship to science, the Swedish spiritualists constructed themselves as scientific pioneers.