Buchanan's Journal of Man, March 1887: Volume 1, Number 2

In Short

This periodical serves as the mouthpiece for a revolutionary movement in anthropology and therapeutics. It argues that the human brain is the key to understanding both the material and spiritual worlds, proposing a "new philosophy" that seeks to replace traditional religion and academic orthodoxy. Through essays, critiques, and medical advertisements, the text outlines a system where psychic and physiological forces are perfectly correlated. It has endured as a primary source for understanding the intersection of Gilded Age intellectual fringe movements, spiritualism, and the quest for a totalizing scientific worldview.

The Story

The narrative arc of the journal begins with a bold declaration of a looming "literary revolution." The editor posits that the established academic and religious institutions are "mouldering masses" of ignorance that must be swept away by a new understanding of the brain. The argument is structured as a hierarchical ascent: moving from the basic mechanics of the cranium to the lofty heights of spiritual phenomenon and universal ethics. The editor introduces the reader to the "Law of Antagonism," a foundational concept suggesting that all human life—like the movement of flexor and extensor muscles—is a play of opposing forces. This law, he claims, explains everything from the nature of the soul to the necessity of benevolence acting against acquisitiveness.

As the text progresses, it transitions from theoretical cerebral science to a defense of spiritualism. The editor vigorously attacks materialist critics like Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, accusing them of superficiality and a failure to recognize the well-attested facts of spirit writing and mediumship. He presents anecdotes about mediums like Abram James, whose ability to speak in languages he never learned is offered as empirical proof of spiritual intervention. These accounts are not merely stories; they are deployed as evidence that the "mechanical philosophy" of the universities is fundamentally flawed.

The journal then widens its scope to include a critique of contemporary social issues. It examines the "hell fire business" of traditional theology, the economic folly of competitive labor systems, and the "insanities of war." The editor views these problems as symptoms of an undeveloped conscience and a society lacking a coherent ethical system. He champions collective solutions, such as co-operative colonies, as the necessary practical applications of his new philosophy.

The trajectory concludes in the business and professional departments, which ground the high-flown theory in the concrete reality of the College of Therapeutics. Here, the "new science" is monetized and applied. The reader is presented with endorsements for oxygen gas treatments, galvanic batteries, and specialized cures for the morphine habit. The final message is one of urgent advocacy: the reader is invited to join this vanguard, move past the "mental inertia" of the old world, and adopt a system that purports to heal the body while elevating the spirit. The ending is not a resolution, but a call to action—an invitation to participate in a movement that promises to usher in a higher, more harmonious civilization through the application of these discovered psychic laws.

How It Unfolds

The mandate for revolution The editor declares the obsolescence of all existing literature and philosophy, arguing that a new science of the brain will rewrite the rules of society, religion, and government. He frames the past as a dark, dusty path of ignorance that must be abandoned for the light of modern cerebral discovery.

The anatomy of the psyche A systematic breakdown of the brain reveals the "Law of Antagonism," explaining how opposing organic tendencies create the balance of human character. The text maps the brain’s regions to specific functions, from selfish forces to moral organs, asserting that even criminal behavior is a result of identifiable physiological abnormality.

The defense of the unseen The journal pivots to defend spiritualism, citing specific mediums and researchers to prove that the spirit world is a measurable reality. It challenges traditionalists to look beyond their prejudices and examine the "sublime religion" inherent in psychic phenomena.

The critique of social malaise Turning toward the outer world, the text analyzes the failures of modern civilization, including the rigid cruelty of theology and the wastefulness of labor strikes. It promotes co-operative colonies as a structural remedy for the misery produced by current societal competition.

The commercialization of truth The final section bridges the gap between philosophy and practice by promoting specific therapeutic devices and treatments. It presents these tools as the inevitable outcome of the journal’s scientific principles, offering them as the first steps toward a new, enlightened medical era.

The People

Joseph Rodes Buchanan, the primary voice and editor, is the central figure—a man of profound conviction who sees himself as the architect of a new intellectual epoch. He is driven by the desire to synthesize all human knowledge under the banners of cerebral physiology and spiritualism. He positions himself against the "distinguished professors" and "sciolists" of the academic establishment, whom he views as blind obstacles to progress.

The medium Abram James represents the "abnormal" yet superior state of human potential. He is described as a simple man, uneducated and guileless, whose physical frame becomes a vessel for transcendent knowledge. He is the living proof that intellect is not merely a product of schooling, but a spiritual inheritance.

Then there is the figure of the critic, represented by Miss Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. She functions as the antagonist, a voice of the "old order" who represents the narrow, materialist view that Buchanan seeks to dismantle. Her presence serves to highlight the friction between the emerging scientific spiritualism and the traditional moralizing of the pulpit. Finally, the "camp followers" and "sciolists"—the unrefined followers of these movements—are mentioned as individuals who, while sometimes misguided, possess the potential to advance further if only they would cast aside their mechanical philosophies and embrace the fuller truth of the new science.

In Its Own Voice

"The literature of the future will therefore differ widely from the literature of the past, and millions of volumes which still hold their places on the shelves of libraries will in the next century take their proper place in the mouldering mass which interests the antiquarian alone."

In this passage, the editor forecasts the inevitable destruction of all current intellectual traditions in favor of his new paradigm.

"If we had only flexor muscles, one motion would exhaust the muscular capacity; when the limb is flexed it can do nothing more; but when the extensor muscle moves it back, flexion can be again performed."

This biological comparison serves as the central analogy for the "Law of Antagonism" that governs both the brain and human morality.

What It's Really About

At its core, this book is an attempt to map the unseen. It operates on the premise that everything in the human experience—from our darkest impulses to our highest spiritual aspirations—can be physically located in the brain and cured through the application of specific energetic laws. It asks whether humanity can achieve a state of perfect social harmony if we stop relying on tradition and start engineering society according to biological and psychic "truths." It is a book about the desire for a total, unified theory of life, where the divide between the soul and the synapse is finally bridged, and where the "hell fire" of the past is replaced by the calculated precision of the laboratory.

Why Read It Today

Readers with an interest in the history of ideas, particularly the nineteenth-century obsession with scientific spiritualism, will find this a fascinating document. It captures the specific, frantic energy of an era convinced it was on the verge of decoding the universe. The experience of reading it is like stepping into a time machine; you encounter a mix of rigorous, albeit eccentric, physiological mapping and the unblinking, earnest advocacy of the occult.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the dense, polemical style of the period and a vocabulary that feels both familiar and alien. The editor’s dismissal of entire libraries as "mouldering masses" and his rigid categorization of human worth—down to the shape of one’s skull—reflect the harsh, deterministic attitudes common to Victorian-era phrenology. It is not an easy read, but it is an essential one for anyone who wants to understand how fragile, and how arrogant, the boundaries between "science" and "superstition" can be. You stay with the text because of its sheer confidence; even when the author’s claims feel profoundly dated, his belief in the transformative power of his own ideas remains a powerful, if jarring, reminder of the nineteenth century’s enduring intellectual restlessness.