Occultism

OCCULTISM

Occultism is the belief in secret doctrines and practices that are recognized neither by science nor religion and require some form of initiation. Related, but distinct, is telepathy, mental communication at a distance with the dead or the living. Such beliefs appeared in nineteenth-century Europe with the weakening of Christian churches, which had traditionally fought these phenomena, and as a form of resistance to rationalism, which claimed to be able to explain everything by means of logical reasoning. Occultism and telepathy are also related to an interest in mystery and the mysterious: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, devoted much his later life to the study of occultism, and a number of successful authors have taken an interest in paranormal phenomena.

Psychology and psychiatry in the late nineteenth century were strongly influenced by spiritualism and magnetism. Belief in a "celestial fluid" was not wholly unrelated to the growing use of an invisible energy (electricity), or a new device for communicating at a distance, known as the telephone. Freud referred specifically to this last invention to characterize the relationship between conscious and unconscious, between doctor and patient ("Recommendations to Physicians Practising Psycho-Analysis," 1912e). The word telepathy was created in 1882 by the English psychologist Frederick Myers (1843-1901), who was the first British author to discuss Freud's work.

Parapsychology was referred to by Freud during his conversations and correspondence with several of his followers, primarily Theodor Reik and Sándor Ferenczi. With his daughter Anna and Ferenczi, he performed thought transmission and table-turning experiments. In his articles "Psychoanalysis and Telepathy" (1941d [1921]) and "Dreams and Telepathy" (1922a), he clarified his position with respect to paranormal phenomena as being a combination of "repugnance and ambivalence."

Freud's thoughts on occultism and telepathy involve an element of ambiguity as well as tactical maneuvering. Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, was unable to ignore the support the fragile new movement received from parapsychology, while also having to confront the criticisms of rationalist science. However, based on the advice of Ernest Jones and Max Eitingon, he did not wish to compromise the scientific nature of psychoanalysis with irrational theories. Faced with the "black sea of occultism," Freud maintained a prudent sense of reserve, although this did not hamper his considerable interest in techniques of communication between minds, which presented analogies with transference.

Odon Vallet

See also: New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis ; Telepathy.

Bibliography

Freud, Sigmund. (1922a). Dreams and telepathy. SE, 18: 195-220.

——. (1933a) New introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. SE, 22: 1-182.

——. (1941d [1921]). Psycho-analysis and telepathy. SE, 18: 173-193.

Freud, Sigmund, and Ferenczi, Sándor. (1992). The Correspondence of Sigmund Freud and Sándor Ferenczi (Peter T. Hoffer, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.