"Does this mean we ignore the facts? Quite the contrary, as all of our science is based on facts.” (ALLAN KARDEC, RE 1859, July).

“The facts, this is the true criterion of our judgments, the argument without reply. In the absence of facts, doubt is the opinion of the reasonable man.” (ALLAN KARDEC, OLE, Introduction)

It seems to us, in the second paragraph of the article “Photography of thought” published in Revista Espírita 1868, in the month of June, Allan Kardec, when referring to “spiritual fluids”, is, in fact, talking about what we today understand as ectoplasm, the basis of all manifestations of physical effects.

In the fourth paragraph of the aforementioned article, he explains that the Spirit presents itself with the perispirit having the appearance it had when alive, but can modify it giving it the shape it desires, including that of one of its characters from past lives.

In the fifth, he clarifies that, through thought, it is possible for the Spirit to “fluidically create the objects it had to use”. Among the examples he gives, we have “a farmer, his plow and his oxen”. Here we have something strange, because as far as we know, “oxen” are animals and not objects.

Thus, we believe that this fluidic creation is perhaps something like a photograph, which would be housed, so to speak, in the perispirit, hence having a very short “life”, by the way. This taking into account what is said in the eighth paragraph: “creating fluidic images, it is reflected in the spiritual envelope as in a window pane” and “it is photographed in some way”.

Corroborating this, we have, in the ninth paragraph, that “the most secret movements of the soul reverberate in the fluidic envelope”. Given this, we believe that, s.m.j., the aforementioned oxen are not fluidic animal creations, as many argue.

We add from Spiritist Magazine 1869, April, what Allan Kardec said, when he published the article “Profession of American Spiritist Faith:

Fluidic transformations produce images and objects as real for Spirits, who are themselves fluidic, as earthly images and objects are for men, who are material. Everything is relative in each of these worlds. […].

The separation of fluidic creations into two types – images and objects – greatly helps us in understanding what is produced from them. Furthermore, we cannot fail to take into account the issue of the two planes of life: physical and spiritual.

Report on animal spirit manifestation

Now it is time to present the article “Manifestation of the spirit of animals”, published in Spiritist Magazine 1865, in the month of May. In it Allan Kardec records a correspondence received from Dieppe (₁), in which the author narrates the appearance of a little dog named Mika:

“In agony, my poor son, who died in Boulogne-sur-Mer, where he continued his studies, had received from one of his friends a charming little dog that we had educated with extreme care. She was, of her kind, the most adorable little creature imaginable. We loved her as if she loves everything that is beautiful and good. She understood us through gesture, she understood us through her gaze. The expression in her eyes was such that it seemed as if she would respond when spoken to.

“After the death of her young owner, little Mika (her name) was taken to Dieppe, and, according to her habit, she often slept covered at my feet, on my bed. In winter, when the cold was very harsh, she would get up, make a small, extremely sweet moan, which was her usual way of formulating a request, and understanding what she wanted, I would allow her to come and place herself at my side. She would then stretch out comfortably between two sheets, her little nose on my neck, which she liked as a pillow, and surrender to sleep, like the happy people on Earth, receiving my warmth, communicating hers to me, which didn't bother me. otherwise. The poor little girl spent happy days with me. There was no lack of a thousand sweet things; but last September she fell ill and died, despite the care of the veterinarian to whom I had entrusted her. We talked about her often, my wife and I, and we mourned her almost like a beloved son, so much so that she knew how, through her sweetness, her intelligence, and her faithful friendship, to captivate our affection.

“Lately, in the middle of the night, while I was lying down but not sleeping, I heard from the foot of my bed that little moan that my little dog made when she wanted something. I was so touched by this that I stretched my arms out of bed to draw her towards me, and I truly believed that I would feel her caresses. When I got up in the morning, I told my wife, who said: 'I heard the same voice, not once, but twice. It seemed to come from my bedroom door. My first thought was that our poor little dog was not dead, and that, escaping from the veterinarian's house, who had appropriated her for his kindness, she was trying to enter our house.'

“My poor sick daughter, who had her little bed in her mother's bedroom, claims to have heard her equally. It only seemed to her that the sound of her voice came, not from the front door, but from his mother's own bed, which is very close to that door.”

It should be noted that Mika's manifestation, giving a moan like she did when alive, was witnessed by three members of the family. Continuing the story:

“I confess to you, dear sir, that these facts, although they relate to a being deprived of reason, make me reflect singularly. What to think of that? I don't dare decide anything and I don't have the leisure to dwell on this subject at length; but I wonder whether the immaterial principle, which must survive in animals, as in man, would not acquire, to a certain degree, the faculty of communication like the human soul. Who knows? Do we know all the secrets of Nature? Evidently not. Who will explain the laws of affinities? Who will explain the repulsive laws? nobody. If affection, which is the domain of feeling, as feeling is the domain of the soul, has in itself an attractive force. What would be surprising if a poor little animal in an immaterial state felt dragged wherever its affection took it? But the sound of a voice, one might say, how can one admit it, if it was heard once, twice, why not every day? This objection may seem serious; However, would it be irrational to think that this sound cannot be produced outside of certain combinations of fluids, which together act in any direction, as certain effervescent, certain explosions, are produced in chemistry as a result of the mixture of such and such matters? Whether this hypothesis seems founded or not, I do not discuss it, I will only say that it can be among possible things, and without going further, I will add that I confirm a fact supported by triple testimony, and that if this fact occurred, it was because it could be to produce. Furthermore, let us hope that time will enlighten us, perhaps it will not be long before we hear about phenomena of the same nature.”

The writer's various questions make sense, especially: “Do we know all the secrets of Nature?” and “what would be surprising if a poor little animal in an immaterial state felt dragged wherever its affection took it?” At the end he says “I will add that I confirm a fact supported by triple testimony, and that if this fact occurred, it was because it could occur.

Here are Allan Kardec's comments on this case:

Our honorable correspondent acts wisely in not deciding the question; from a single fact that is still nothing more than a probability, he does not draw an absolute conclusion; he notices, he observes, waiting for the light to come. This is what prudence wants. Facts of this kind are not yet numerous enough, nor sufficiently ascertained to deduce an affirmative or negative theory from them. The question of the beginning and end of the principles of animals is only beginning to become clear, and the fact that this is the case is essentially linked. If this is not an illusion, it at least confirms the bond of affinity that exists between the Spirit of animals, or rather of certain animals, and that of man. Furthermore, it seems positively proven that there are animals that see Spirits and are impressed by them; We have narrated several examples of this in the Magazine, among others that of the Spirit and the little dog, in the June 1860 issue. If animals see Spirits, this is obviously not through the eyes of the body; They therefore also have a kind of spiritual vision.

Until now, science has done nothing but confirm the physiological relationships between man and animals; it shows us, in the physical, all the animals in the chain of beings with no solution of continuity; but between the spiritual principle of the two Spirits there existed an abyss; If psychological facts, better observed, come to bridge this abyss, this will be a new step towards the unity of the scale of beings and creation. It is not through systems that this serious issue can be resolved, it is through facts; If it should be so one day, Spiritism, creating experimental psychology, can only provide it with the means. In all cases, if there are points of contact between the animal soul and the human soul, this cannot be on the side of the first, but on the part of the more advanced animals. An important fact to note is that, among the beings of the spiritual world, there has never been any mention that there are animal spirits. It would seem to imply that they do not retain their individuality after death, and, on the other hand, this little dog that manifested itself would seem to prove the opposite.

According to this, it can be seen that the matter is still very little advanced and there is no need to rush it. The writer's various questions make sense, especially: “Do we know all the secrets of Nature?” and “what would be surprising if a poor little animal in an immaterial state felt dragged wherever its affection took it?” At the end he says “I will add that I confirm a fact supported by triple testimony, and that if this fact occurred, it was because it could occur.

Here are Allan Kardec's comments on this case:

Our honorable correspondent acts wisely in not deciding the question; from a single fact that is still nothing more than a probability, he does not draw an absolute conclusion; he notices, he observes, waiting for the light to come. This is what prudence wants. Facts of this kind are not yet numerous enough, nor sufficiently ascertained to deduce an affirmative or negative theory from them. The question of the beginning and end of the principles of animals is only beginning to become clear, and the fact that this is the case is essentially linked. If this is not an illusion, it at least confirms the bond of affinity that exists between the Spirit of animals, or rather of certain animals, and that of man. Furthermore, it seems positively proven that there are animals that see Spirits and are impressed by them; We have narrated several examples of this in the Magazine, among others that of the Spirit and the little dog, in the June 1860 issue. If animals see Spirits, this is obviously not through the eyes of the body; They therefore also have a kind of spiritual vision.

Until now, science has done nothing but confirm the physiological relationships between man and animals; it shows us, in the physical, all the animals in the chain of beings with no solution of continuity; but between the spiritual principle of the two Spirits there existed an abyss; If psychological facts, better observed, come to bridge this abyss, this will be a new step towards the unity of the scale of beings and creation. It is not through systems that this serious issue can be resolved, it is through facts; If it should be so one day, Spiritism, creating experimental psychology, can only provide it with the means. In all cases, if there are points of contact between the animal soul and the human soul, this cannot be on the side of the first, but on the part of the more advanced animals. An important fact to note is that, among the beings of the spiritual world, there has never been any mention that there are animal spirits. It would seem to imply that they do not retain their individuality after death, and, on the other hand, this little dog that manifested itself would seem to prove the opposite.

It can be seen, according to this, that the issue is still little advanced, and there is no need to rush into resolving it. The above letter having been read to the Paris Society, the following communication was given in this regard.

We consider these two considerations from the Encoder to be extremely important: 1st) “Facts of this kind are not yet numerous enough, nor sufficiently investigated to deduce an affirmative or negative theory from them.” and 2nd) “It is not through systems that this serious issue can be resolved, it is through facts;”.

Allan Kardec recalls that “among the beings of the spiritual world, there has never been any mention that there are animal Spirits”, to conclude that “this little dog that would have manifested itself, would seem to prove the opposite”, therefore, he opens space for such manifestations occur, even though there are no elements to explain how they happen.

A Spirit, who does not identify himself, gave a communication on the issue, of which we highlight only the excerpts that are related to our topic:

(Paris, April 21, 1865. - Medium, Mr. E. Vézy.)

Society of Paris, the following communication was given in this regard.

We consider these two considerations from the Encoder to be extremely important: 1st) “Facts of this kind are not yet numerous enough, nor sufficiently investigated to deduce an affirmative or negative theory from them.” and 2nd) “It is not through systems that this serious issue can be resolved, it is through facts;”.

Allan Kardec recalls that “among the beings of the spiritual world, there has never been any mention that there are animal Spirits”, to conclude that “this little dog that would have manifested itself, would seem to prove the opposite”, therefore, he opens space for such manifestations occur, even though there are no elements to explain how they happen.

A Spirit, who does not identify himself, gave a communication on the issue, of which we highlight only the excerpts that are related to our topic:

(Paris, April 21, 1865. - Medium, Mr. E. Vézy.)

I'm going to touch on a serious issue tonight, telling you about the relationships that can exist between animals and humanity. But in this room, when, for the first time, my instructions taught you the solidarity of all existences and the affinities that exist between them, a murmur rose in a part of this assembly, and I fell silent. Should I do the same today, despite your questions? No, since you will enter the path that I have indicated to you.

Between domestic animals and man, affinities are produced by the fluidic charges that surround and fall on them; It is a bit of humanity that holds back on animality, without changing the colors of one or the other; hence this intelligent superiority of the dog over the brutal instinct of the wild beast, and it is to this cause alone that these manifestations that come from reading you can be due. One is not mistaken, therefore, hearing a joyful cry from the animal and knowing the care of its master, and coming, before passing to the intermediate state of one development to another, to bring it a memory. The manifestation can, therefore, occur, but it is temporary, because the animal, to climb a step, requires latent work that annihilates, for everyone, every external sign of life. This state is the spiritual chrysalis where the soul is elaborated, a formless perispirit, having no reproductive figure of traits, breaking into a state of maturity, to let escape, in the currents that carry them, the germs of souls that hatch there. It would therefore be difficult for us to tell you about the Spirits of animals in space, they do not exist, or rather their passage is so rapid that it is almost null, and in the chrysalis state, they could not be described.

The manifesting Spirit considers the dog's manifestation to be true, although temporary, he argues. As for the existence of animals in the spirit world, he says that it is so rapid that their stay there is almost zero, but he did not say that this is an obstacle to the manifestation of animals.

And concluding the article, Allan Kardec inserted this note:

[…] As an explanation of the aforementioned fact, his theory is rational and agrees, fundamentally, with what prevails today in the instructions given in most centers. When we have gathered all sufficient documents, we will summarize them into a methodical body of doctrine, which will be subjected to universal control; Until then, they are nothing but beacons placed on the path to lighten it.

And then, the Codifier, as expected, in the case in question, asserted what he had said “[…] against the facts, it is necessary, necessarily, to lay down the weapons. […].” and waits for more occurrences to be gathered, with the aim of applying universal control, in order to define it positively or negatively.

Conclusion

What did Allan Kardec do when faced with a report about the manifestation of animal spirits? Did you say that it was a fluidic creation or that it was a Spirit manifesting itself in the appearance of an animal? No, it is not! He, as we have shown, was a man of science, which is why the facts guided all his conclusions.

It is true that he was unable to gather other occurrences to define, but we have several sources, among them the classic spiritist authors, the Italian Ernesto Bozzano (1862-1943), who stands out with 130 cases of apparitions and 10 of materializations of animals, and the Frenchmen Gabriel Delanne (1857-1926) and Gustave Geley (1868-1924), who, we have no doubt, realize this.

As no one is forced to accept our information, for those who want to prove it, we suggest reading the e-book Animals: perceptions, manifestations and evolution, currently with 317 pages and an extensive bibliography, which is available for free on our website.

We take this opportunity to also recommend the article “Wouldn’t there be animals in the spiritual world?", authored by confrere Leonardo Marmo Moreira, a dedicated spiritist researcher.

The natural question that may arise is: which animals manifest themselves? We don't know, there's a lack of information about that. We would venture to say that, perhaps, only those with a significant level of intelligence, as seen in many domestic animals.