Changes

Optimal human functioning, according to Janet, is the rule of the conscious mind over the subconscious. It is the sublimation and integration of the subconscious into ordinary consciousness. He calls the apex of his "hierarchy of the mind" a "grand synthesis," which he counterposes against the automatic actions or motor discharges of "psychological automatism," that which is relegated to the lowest rung of his system. Later in his career, under the influence of James Mark Baldwin, Janet reworked his theories into a developmentalPage 1949 | Top of Article model of the normal personality and, turning away from an exclusive focus on pathology, also applied his model to an understanding of religious phenomena.

Optimal human functioning, according to Janet, is the rule of the conscious mind over the subconscious. It is the sublimation and integration of the subconscious into ordinary consciousness. He calls the apex of his "hierarchy of the mind" a "grand synthesis," which he counterposes against the automatic actions or motor discharges of "psychological automatism," that which is relegated to the lowest rung of his system. Later in his career, under the influence of James Mark Baldwin, Janet reworked his theories into a developmentalPage 1949 | Top of Article model of the normal personality and, turning away from an exclusive focus on pathology, also applied his model to an understanding of religious phenomena.

===THÉODORE FLOURNOY===

===Theodore 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, & 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.