When two "grave and serious" spirits began speaking to a French academic
through two young mediums and "completely revolutionized [his] ideas
and convictions," Allan Kardec decided to set down these spiritualistic
revelations. The result electrified the high society of the mid 19th
century, which was already fascinated by "spirit tapping" and other
paranormalities, and earned Kardec-a pseudonym his spirits commanded him
to use-a place in this history of the paranormal as the father of
spiritism. Kardec "interviews" the spirits, asking more than 1000
questions about morality, the nature of the soul, the history of
humanity, and more, including: . "Is the soul reincarnated immediately
after its separation from the body?" . "Does the spirit remember his
corporeal existence?" . "Could two beings, who have already known and
loved each other, meet again and recognise one another, in another
corporeal existence?" . "What is to be thought of the signification
attributed to dreams?" . "Are good and evil absolute for all men?" .
"What is the aim of God in visiting mankind with destructive
calamities?" . "Is it possible for man to enjoy perfect happiness upon
the earth?" Promising nothing less than the secret of the destiny of the
human race, this extraordinary book, first published in 1856, is as
curious today as it was a century and a half ago. French scholar
HIPPOLYTE LEON DENIZARD RIVAIL (1804-1869), aka Allan Kardec, was a
longtime teacher of mathematics, astronomy, and other scientific
disciplines before turning to the paranormal. He founded the Parisian
Society of Psychologic Studies, and founded and edited the monthly
magazine La Revue Spirite, Journal of Psychologic Studies. He is also
the author of The Gospel as Explained by Spirits (1864).
