Spiritualism. In philosophy the term usually refers to a movement in 19th-c. France against the positivistic teachings of Auguste Comte. It was chiefly initiated by Victor Cousin and is associated with Maine de Biran. The name is also given to a very different and religious movement concerned with communicating with the spirits of the departed. This latter movement had its origin in 1848, in the accidental discovery by two ladies in Hydeville, New York, the Fox sisters, that they possessed psychic powers that enabled them to expect such communication. The movement spread rapidly and was the object of much independent investigation by American and British societies for psychical research. Understandably it became even more popular in the wake of World War I. Spiritualist seances may be held in private homes or in a Spiritualist church. There is no uniform procedure, but a medium is always present to function as the intermediary and there are usually one or two hymns and prayers before the medium attempts to communicate. It has affinities with practices in societies more accustomed than the West to concepts such as spirit possession and a spirit world.

Geddes MacGregor, Dictionary of Religion and Philosophy, New York: Paragon House, 1989

spiritualism : (f.) bhūtavijjā.

A.P. Buddhadatta Mahathera, Concise Pali-English and English-Pali Dictionary [available as digital version from Metta Net, Sri Lanka]