[Grammar] which negatived their own experiment

[jacob123]

In the following sentence, "their own" refer to who?

It is in their ignorant and arrogant contempt of this fact that opponents have sinned. "Ils ne comprennent pas qu'il y a des lois," wrote Madame Bisson, after some fatuous attempt on the part of the doctors of the Sorbonne to produce ectoplasm under conditions which negatived their own experiment.

"The History of Spiritualism," by Arthur Conan Doyle

 

[GoesStation]

What would make the statement logical?

 

[jacob123]

What would make the statement logical?

"doctors"? but it seems illogical, doctors negatived their own experiment?

 

[GoesStation]

You really don't have to ask this again. Answer the question "What is the nearest preceding noun phrase" and you'll have the answer.

Conan Doyle uses "negative" as a verb. It's not used that way today. Indeed, I wonder whether that usage was acceptable in his time.

 

[Rover_KE]

So do I. He must have heard of 'negated'.