Talk:The Metaphysical Club

Major Error
As I noted 13 years ago, the Metaphysical Club discussed in Menand's book has NOTHING to do with the "New Thought movement" nor the metaphysical movement related to New Thought. It is a stain upon the authority which some of us would like Wikipedia to have to allow such blatant errors to continue uncorrected. I am not one of the "SuperEditors" empowered to correct such errors, just a casual user or I would correct it myself. LAWinans (talk) 20:38, 26 September 2020 (UTC)

Untitled
I'm not sure this New Age stuff is terrible appropriate for the page, but for maybe a footnote or see also. How much of it really involved the actual, small Metaphysical Club? Certainly the aims of the society seem in direct opposition to what the members of the club eventually wrote and talked about. Some more justification would be nice. Macman202 22:26, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

The Metaphysical Club has no connection to the New Thought-Metaphysical movement
According to Louis Menand, "The Metaphysical Club" (2001), the club therein started in January 1872 and was dissolved by December 1872. It did not spawn an International Metaphysical Alliance nor did it have any relationship with new thought. This entry is in error LAWinans (talk) 18:34, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Tried to insert footnote
While my learning curve is accelerating I have not yet attained the mastery of entering a footnote. I endeavored to note that the Metaphysical Club as discussed in Menand's The Metaphysical Club dissolved in the same year it was founded (p. 226), and therefore could NOT have spun off the International Metaphysical group noted later in the article.

The Club described in Menand's book has nothing to do with the New Thought-Metaphysical movement discussed here. LAWinans (talk) 18:52, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Still Faulty
While I corrected the most egregious errors (linking the pragmatist/positivist clubs to "new thought"), I think the entry is still in need of overhaul. The section about the New Thought movement has nothing to do with the named club. Suggestions? LAWinans (talk) 19:32, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, I agree completely. That stuff was stupid. I believe I tried to edit it out but it got reverted? Don't remember. Either way, at least I won't be the only one reverting/deleting that crap anyway. I wrote the original blurb, though it was mostly in between things and without much effort. I plan on re-reading the book again over Christmas break, and perhaps can add some material to it. The book is fairly dense and requires some plumbing through. Macman202 (talk) 23:03, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Consulted reference cited by prior authority
Earlier entries have asserted that Horatio Dresser in his "A History of the New Thought Movement" (1919) claimed that the Metaphysical Club, founded at Harvard in January 1872, and devoted to positivist and pragmatist philosophy was the same "metaphysical club" which was a founder of the New Thought Movement. I consulted Dresser's work and discovered that he made no such claim. Rather he writes about a Metaphysical Club which grew out of the Procopeia in 1894 and became the "Metaphysical Club" in 1895. The first group dissolved in December 1872, and has no connection withy the New thought Movement.

The Dresser book is online and can be found at horatiodresser.wwwhubs.com/

The erroneous reference will be removed. LAWinans (talk) 22:58, 14 December 2007 (UTC)