In “New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis”, Freud discusses his views on mysticism and psychoanalysis. The concept of mysticism has changed over the centuries. In ancient times, a mystic was someone who communed with God. In Freud’s world, the word mysticism became an inclusive word that described paranormal phenomena that occurred outside the laws of nature and science. Science tended to dismiss or ignore mystical ideas because it considered them superstitious, irrational, and meaningless. Freud associated the word mysticism with seances, voices from other worlds, noises, apparitions, levitations, trances, and prophecies (Coward, 1977, p. 1). Freud also had a reputation for being hostile to mysticism and opposed the integration of mystical ideas into psychoanalysis. His friendship with Carl Jung ended due to Jung’s beliefs in spiritual and mystical concepts (Wagner, 2008).
At the beginning of the lecture, Freud offers an unflattering view of mysticism and patronizes the subject by refusing to offer a specific definition for the word itself. He says: “You should not expect me to make any attempt to cover this ill-defined region with definitions.” Freud says that “we all know this other world” of mysticism that exists beyond the proven laws of science. Afterwards, he talks about mysticism as if the audience is skeptical towards the subject.
From a psychological perspective, Freud argues that humanity tends to believe in miracles and the paranormal. He says that people get bored with reality and that ‘reason’ is not exciting enough for them to find pleasure. He claims that people embrace the intriguing nature of mysticism because it adds excitement to their mundane lives. Freud acknowledges humanity’s fascination with the unseen and the miraculous, but asserts that “reason and science” are humanity’s greatest strengths.
Historically, Freud says that mysticism offers nothing new for humanity. He argues that mysticism helps religions prevent the advancement of science and says that religious reports of prophecies, apparitions and miracles are imaginative fables full of nonsense, fraud and ignorance. However, Freud admits that there is no way to prove or disprove these claims, and what happened in ancient times cannot be proven or validated today. He claims that those who follow mystical teachings are charlatans, healers, mind readers, and liars.
However, despite denouncing mysticism at the beginning of the lecture, Freud decides to discuss mysticism as if it were scientific material. During the lecture, he informs the audience that he will raise the topic of mysticism to the level of scientific research. He is fully aware that he is going against the grain of intellectual, psychological and historical factors. He changes his tune from him and argues that any scientific theory must be reasonable according to the laws of nature. He cites an example of the Earth’s core being filled with heavy metals instead of getting stuck as a reasonable assumption. He says that a mystical hypothesis could state that there is a ‘traffic jam in the center of the Earth’, thus lending itself to immediate rejection. However, Freud points out that the immediate rejection of any theory can be “wrong and harmful”. He recalls the negative reaction he received from the medical community when he wrote about the existence of the ‘unconscious’. Freud says that he encountered the same kind of condemnation that mystics have experienced throughout the centuries. Consequently, he warns his audience that he should not reject a hypothesis based solely on intellectual considerations.
Surprisingly, at the end of the lecture, Freud questions his own skepticism towards mysticism: “If one considers oneself a skeptic, it is a good plan to have occasional doubts about one’s own skepticism as well. It may be that I too have a secret bent.” toward the miraculous that is thus halfway to finding the creation of the hidden facts.” (Freud, 1965, p. 53) Going “halfway” toward the acceptance of hidden “facts” represents a major change in the Freud’s thought. He no longer rejects the concept of mysticism and admits that he is intuitively drawn to its unscientific explanations. However, he does not embrace mysticism in any way, but is instead fascinated by the possibilities of the unknown and the unseen. Therefore, Freud is not viewing mysticism with complete skepticism and is expressing his curiosity about the mysteries of “another world” that science may never be able to explain.
Works Cited
Coward, H.G. (1977). Mystics and Scholars: The Calgary Conference on Mysticism, 1976. Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University Press.
Freud, S. (1965). New introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. (J. Strachey, Trans.) New York: WW Norton & Company.
Wagner, K.V. (2008). Biography of Carl Jung (1875-1961). Retrieved March 13, 2008.
http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/jungprofile.htm