South African Society for Psychical Research
South African Society for Psychical Research
The first South African Society for Psychical Research was founded in 1910 but existed for only a few years. It was not until 1955 that a second attempt to form such an organization was attempted, this time by Arthur E. H. Bleksley and others at the University of Witwatersrand. The previous year an informal group had gathered to study psychic phenomena, and the interest stimulated by this group led directly to the society's formation.
No sooner had the society formed than it came under a strong ideological attack by a group of psychic debunkers, described as "Marxists, atheists, and communists," and the original program of the group was diverted to answering the challenge. It developed a public program to establish the existence of psi phenomena and the legitimacy of scientific efforts to study it. It was able to survive this crisis successfully and has continued to exist to the present. In 1968, it founded the South African Institute for Parapsychological Research and moved from an exclusive emphasis on education to the development of a research program. The institute survived for several years but eventually ran out of funds.
Over the long haul, the society has suffered from the country's former apartheid policies, which prohibited the participation of black people in the organization. Social customs also prevented research among the native population, which would have provided a unique resource for the society. Also, the relatively small white population has had difficulty keeping the society functioning on a steady basis. Its meetings and publications are sporadic, and it has been unable to establish a headquarters or hire staff. However, the society now publishes the Parapsychological Journal of South Africa, and in 1974 a branch of the society opened at the University of Natal in Durbin. It may be contacted at P.O. Box 23154, Joubert Park, Johannesburg 2044, South Africa.
Sources:
"The South African Society for Psychical Research." Journal of the Psychical Research Society 40 (1959): 43.