Note 133 — Chapter XIV

The definition of clairvoyance given in the text differs somewhat from that adopted by Mrs. Sidgwick (Proc. S.P.R., vol. vii. p. 30)—viz., "A faculty of acquiring supernormally, but not by reading the minds of persons present, a knowledge of facts such as we normally acquire by the use of our senses." Whether such a faculty exists or not, it is certain that the phenomena which suggest it occur under the same conditions and inextricably mingled with others which can, with some plausibility, be explained as due to thought-transference from the conscious or unconscious memory of persons actually present. And as the two sets of phenomena are found together in fact, it seemed best as a matter of practical convenience that they should not be separated in discussion. Moreover, the suggested application of the word finds ample justification in popular usage.