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===THÉODORE FLOURNOY===

===THÉODORE FLOURNOY===

Another figure in the late nineteenth century associated with the so-called French, Swiss, English, and American psychotherapeutic axis, Flournoy (1854–1920) was a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Geneva. He was a close friend of James and an important influence on C. G. Jung and Jean Piaget. His major contribution to the psychology of the subconscious was an investigation of Helene Smith, a case of multiple personality with speaking in tongues (Flournoy, 1899). His final conclusion was that, whereas an experimental psychology of the subconscious had failed to prove the spiritualists' claim for the reality of life after death, there was concrete evidence for the development of exceptional human abilities beyond what seemed normally possible (Flournoy, 1911).

Another figure in the late nineteenth century associated with the so-called French, Swiss, English, and American psychotherapeutic axis, Flournoy (1854–1920) was a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Geneva. He was a close friend of James and an important influence on C. G. Jung and Jean Piaget. His major contribution to the psychology of the subconscious was an investigation of Helene Smith, a case of multiple personality with speaking in tongues (Flournoy, 1899). His final conclusion was that, whereas an experimental psychology of the subconscious had failed to prove the spiritualists' claim for the reality of life after death, there was concrete evidence for the development of exceptional human abilities beyond what seemed normally possible (Flournoy, 1911).

===RICHARD MAURICE BUCKE, F. W. H. MYERS, AND ROBERTO ASSAGIOLI===

===Richard Maurice Bucke, F. W. H. Myers, & Roberto Assagioli===

The Canadian psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) took the issue much further by postulating an evolutionary model of consciousness similar to that of Fechner (Bucke, 1901). Humans are emerging from the domain of the primitive and instinctual into the rational and are evolving toward a more cosmic and expanded spiritual state. Possibly the most important theorist of the time in this regard was F. W. H. Myers (1843–1901), the British psychical researcher. Myers postulated a spectrum of states of consciousness ranging from the psychopathic to the transcendent, with waking consciousness appearing merely as one state among many, its primary function being the preservation of the biological vehicle that experiences those other states. Dissolutive states tended toward personality disintegration, while evolutive states showed the higher spiritual possibilities of the race in the future. Myers's work had a major influence on James, Flournoy, Jung, and others, such as the young Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli (1888–1974), who associated himself with this axis and the idea of a growth-oriented dimension of personality as early as 1909.

The Canadian psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) took the issue much further by postulating an evolutionary model of consciousness similar to that of Fechner (Bucke, 1901). Humans are emerging from the domain of the primitive and instinctual into the rational and are evolving toward a more cosmic and expanded spiritual state. Possibly the most important theorist of the time in this regard was F. W. H. Myers (1843–1901), the British psychical researcher. Myers postulated a spectrum of states of consciousness ranging from the psychopathic to the transcendent, with waking consciousness appearing merely as one state among many, its primary function being the preservation of the biological vehicle that experiences those other states. Dissolutive states tended toward personality disintegration, while evolutive states showed the higher spiritual possibilities of the race in the future. Myers's work had a major influence on James, Flournoy, Jung, and others, such as the young Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli (1888–1974), who associated himself with this axis and the idea of a growth-oriented dimension of personality as early as 1909.

===Sigmund Freud===

===Sigmund Freud===

Freud (1856–1939), however, is generally recognized in mainstream Western history as the purveyor of a theory of different states of consciousness in psychology and psychiatry. Fallaciously, he is said to have discovered the unconscious, when in actuality he was the first to succeed in injecting a dynamic language of the unconscious into Western reductionistic science. His task was to establish the conscious, rational functions of the ego as the controlling factor in the growth of civilization. The ego is moderated by two opposing forces, the ethical boundaries of right and wrong set by the superego, and a dynamic tension created by immediate sexual gratification of primitive, instinctual needs of the id, the basic force of the unconscious.

Freud (1856–1939), however, is generally recognized in mainstream Western history as the purveyor of a theory of different states of consciousness in psychology and psychiatry. Fallaciously, he is said to have discovered the unconscious, when in actuality he was the first to succeed in injecting a dynamic language of the unconscious into Western reductionistic science. His task was to establish the conscious, rational functions of the ego as the controlling factor in the growth of civilization. The ego is moderated by two opposing forces, the ethical boundaries of right and wrong set by the superego, and a dynamic tension created by immediate sexual gratification of primitive, instinctual needs of the id, the basic force of the unconscious.