Allan Kardec
Encyclopedia
Allan Kardec is the pen name
of the French
teacher and educator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (Lyon
, October 3, 1804 – Paris
, March 31, 1869). He is known today as the systematizer of Spiritism
for which he laid the foundation with the five books of the Spiritist Codification
.
in 1804. He was a disciple and collaborator of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
, and a teacher of mathematics
, physics
, chemistry
, astronomy
, physiology
, comparative anatomy
and French
in Paris
. For one of his research papers, he was inducted in 1831 into the Royal Academy of Arras. He organized and taught free courses for the underprivileged.
On February 1832, he married Amélie Gabrielle Boudet.
of spirit-tapping
. At the time, strange phenomena attributed to the action of spirits were reported in many different places, most notably in the U.S.
and France, attracting the attention of high society. The first such phenomena were at best frivolous and entertaining, featuring objects that moved or "tapped" under what was said to be spirit control. In some cases, this was alleged to be a type of communication: the supposed spirits answered questions by controlling the movements of objects so as to pick out letters to form words, or simply indicate "yes" or "no."
At the time, Franz Mesmer
's theory of animal magnetism
was popular in the upper reaches of society. When confronted with the phenomena described, some researchers, including Rivail, pointed out that animal magnetism might explain them. Rivail, however, after personally seeing a demonstration, quickly dismissed the animal-magnetism hypothesis as being insufficient to completely explain all the facts observed (see Chapters VIII and XIV in The Book on Mediums
). Rivail was determined to understand exactly what was causing the physical effects popularly attributed to spirits.
himself, he compiled a list of questions and began working with mediums and channelers to put them to spirits. Soon the quality of the communications, allegedly with spirits, appeared to improve.
Rivail used the name "Allan Kardec" allegedly after a spirit identified as Zefiro, whom he had been communicating with, told him about a previous incarnation of his as a Druid
by that name. Rivail liked the name and decided to use it to keep his Spiritists writings separate from his work, basically books for high school students.
On April 18, 1857 Rivail (signing himself "Allan Kardec") published his first book on Spiritism, The Spirits' Book
, comprising a series of 1,018 answered questions The number of questions in the first edition was actually 501. The second edition was greatly expanded to the final count. exploring matters concerning the nature of spirits, the spirit world
, and the relations between the spirit world and the material world
. This was followed by a series of other books, like The Book on Mediums
and The Gospel According to Spiritism
, and by a periodical, the Revue Spirite, which Kardec published until his death. Kardec thus produced the books that form the Spiritist Codification
.
Allan Kardec coined the word "spiritism" Camille Flammarion
, a French astronomer and author, said "spiritism is not a religion but a science".
, Kardec is buried at the Cimetière du Père Lachaise
. The eulogy was delivered by Camille Flammarion
.
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
teacher and educator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, October 3, 1804 – Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, March 31, 1869). He is known today as the systematizer of Spiritism
Spiritism
Spiritism is a loose corpus of religious faiths having in common the general belief in the survival of a spirit after death. In a stricter sense, it is the religion, beliefs and practices of the people affiliated to the International Spiritist Union, based on the works of Allan Kardec and others...
for which he laid the foundation with the five books of the Spiritist Codification
Spiritist Codification
Spiritist Codification is the customary name given by spiritists to the set of books codified by Allan Kardec. The books are a compilation of questions made by Allan Kardec and answers allegedly dictated by Spirits, between the years 1857 and 1868...
.
Early life
Rivail was born in LyonLyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
in 1804. He was a disciple and collaborator of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach....
, and a teacher of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, comparative anatomy
Comparative anatomy
Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny .-Description:...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. For one of his research papers, he was inducted in 1831 into the Royal Academy of Arras. He organized and taught free courses for the underprivileged.
On February 1832, he married Amélie Gabrielle Boudet.
Spirit interest
He was already in his early 50s when he became interested in the wildly popular phenomenonPhenomenon
A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...
of spirit-tapping
Spirit-tapping
Spirit tapping is a phenomenon said to be heard during seance and spirit invocations as evidence that a spirit is making contact with the medium and seekers. It was a chief type of purported spirit demonstration in the early 19th century....
. At the time, strange phenomena attributed to the action of spirits were reported in many different places, most notably in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and France, attracting the attention of high society. The first such phenomena were at best frivolous and entertaining, featuring objects that moved or "tapped" under what was said to be spirit control. In some cases, this was alleged to be a type of communication: the supposed spirits answered questions by controlling the movements of objects so as to pick out letters to form words, or simply indicate "yes" or "no."
At the time, Franz Mesmer
Franz Mesmer
Franz Anton Mesmer , sometimes, albeit incorrectly, referred to as Friedrich Anton Mesmer, was a German physician with an interest in astronomy, who theorised that there was a natural energetic transference that occurred between all animated and inanimate objects that he called magnétisme animal ...
's theory of animal magnetism
Animal magnetism
Animal magnetism , in modern usage, refers to a person's sexual attractiveness or raw charisma. As postulated by Franz Mesmer in the 18th century, the term referred to a supposed magnetic fluid or ethereal medium believed to reside in the bodies of animate beings...
was popular in the upper reaches of society. When confronted with the phenomena described, some researchers, including Rivail, pointed out that animal magnetism might explain them. Rivail, however, after personally seeing a demonstration, quickly dismissed the animal-magnetism hypothesis as being insufficient to completely explain all the facts observed (see Chapters VIII and XIV in The Book on Mediums
The Book on Mediums
The Book on Mediums or Mediums and Evokers' Handbook , is a book by Allan Kardec published in 1861, second of the five Fundamental Works of Spiritism — the spiritualist philosophy Kardec had been publishing — being the tome in which the experimental and investigative features of the doctrine were...
). Rivail was determined to understand exactly what was causing the physical effects popularly attributed to spirits.
Research
As a teacher with little scientific background (he had never attended a university), Rivail decided to do his own research. Not being a mediumMediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
himself, he compiled a list of questions and began working with mediums and channelers to put them to spirits. Soon the quality of the communications, allegedly with spirits, appeared to improve.
Rivail used the name "Allan Kardec" allegedly after a spirit identified as Zefiro, whom he had been communicating with, told him about a previous incarnation of his as a Druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
by that name. Rivail liked the name and decided to use it to keep his Spiritists writings separate from his work, basically books for high school students.
On April 18, 1857 Rivail (signing himself "Allan Kardec") published his first book on Spiritism, The Spirits' Book
The Spirits Book
The Spirits' Book is part of the Spiritist Codification, and is regarded as one of the five fundamental works of Spiritism. It was published by the French educator Allan Kardec on April 18, 1857...
, comprising a series of 1,018 answered questions The number of questions in the first edition was actually 501. The second edition was greatly expanded to the final count. exploring matters concerning the nature of spirits, the spirit world
Spirit world (spiritualism)
The spirit world, according to Spiritualism, is the world inhabited by spirits. Though a concept of a spirit world is in the constitution of most religions, it is not "itself the religion". Whereas religion regards an inner life, the spirit world is regarded as an external environment for spirits...
, and the relations between the spirit world and the material world
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
. This was followed by a series of other books, like The Book on Mediums
The Book on Mediums
The Book on Mediums or Mediums and Evokers' Handbook , is a book by Allan Kardec published in 1861, second of the five Fundamental Works of Spiritism — the spiritualist philosophy Kardec had been publishing — being the tome in which the experimental and investigative features of the doctrine were...
and The Gospel According to Spiritism
The Gospel According to Spiritism
The Gospel According to Spiritism , by Allan Kardec is a book published in 1864 that relates the teachings of Jesus to Kardecist Spiritism, the moral and religious philosophy that Kardec had been publishing. It is intended to demonstrate that Spiritism clarifies and extends the most important...
, and by a periodical, the Revue Spirite, which Kardec published until his death. Kardec thus produced the books that form the Spiritist Codification
Spiritist Codification
Spiritist Codification is the customary name given by spiritists to the set of books codified by Allan Kardec. The books are a compilation of questions made by Allan Kardec and answers allegedly dictated by Spirits, between the years 1857 and 1868...
.
Allan Kardec coined the word "spiritism" Camille Flammarion
Camille Flammarion
Nicolas Camille Flammarion was a French astronomer and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astronomy, several notable early science fiction novels, and several works about Spiritism and related topics. He also published the magazine...
, a French astronomer and author, said "spiritism is not a religion but a science".
Memorial
Having died due to aneurysmAneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
, Kardec is buried at the Cimetière du Père Lachaise
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
. The eulogy was delivered by Camille Flammarion
Camille Flammarion
Nicolas Camille Flammarion was a French astronomer and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astronomy, several notable early science fiction novels, and several works about Spiritism and related topics. He also published the magazine...
.
See also
- MediumshipMediumshipMediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
- SpiritismSpiritismSpiritism is a loose corpus of religious faiths having in common the general belief in the survival of a spirit after death. In a stricter sense, it is the religion, beliefs and practices of the people affiliated to the International Spiritist Union, based on the works of Allan Kardec and others...
- Spiritist CodificationSpiritist CodificationSpiritist Codification is the customary name given by spiritists to the set of books codified by Allan Kardec. The books are a compilation of questions made by Allan Kardec and answers allegedly dictated by Spirits, between the years 1857 and 1868...
:- The Spirits' BookThe Spirits BookThe Spirits' Book is part of the Spiritist Codification, and is regarded as one of the five fundamental works of Spiritism. It was published by the French educator Allan Kardec on April 18, 1857...
- The Book on MediumsThe Book on MediumsThe Book on Mediums or Mediums and Evokers' Handbook , is a book by Allan Kardec published in 1861, second of the five Fundamental Works of Spiritism — the spiritualist philosophy Kardec had been publishing — being the tome in which the experimental and investigative features of the doctrine were...
- The Gospel According to SpiritismThe Gospel According to SpiritismThe Gospel According to Spiritism , by Allan Kardec is a book published in 1864 that relates the teachings of Jesus to Kardecist Spiritism, the moral and religious philosophy that Kardec had been publishing. It is intended to demonstrate that Spiritism clarifies and extends the most important...
- Heaven and HellHeaven and Hell (Allan Kardec)Heaven and Hell is a book published in 1865 by Allan Kardec, the fourth tome of the fundamental works of Spiritism...
- The Genesis According to SpiritismThe Genesis According to SpiritismThe Genesis, Miracles and Premonition According to Spiritism was the last book published by Allan Kardec, just before his death...
- The Spirits' Book
External links
- The Spirits' Book codified by Allan Kardec (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
file) or as HTML - The Spirits' Book by Allan Kardec (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
file) - The Book on Mediums by Allan Kardec (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
file) - The Gospel According to Spiritism by Allan Kardec (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
file) - Heaven and Hell by Allan Kardec (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
file) - Genesis by Allan Kardec (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
file) - Allan Kardec Educational Society
- ALLAN KARDEC: spiritisme, spiritism...
- Allan Kardec Biographic Information
- The Spirits' Book by Allan Kardec
- Divulgacion de Espiritismo en Argentina de Allan Kardec
- Libros de Espiritismo de Allan Kardec