Changes

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

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

In Civilization and Its Discontents (1930) Freud was inclined to identify the mystical experience as merely one more self-deception to which humans, in their desperation and naïveté, fall prey. There Freud wrote of a friend who was opposed to his idea that religion is a crutch allowing psychologically weak people, enfeebled because of their ignorance of scientific truths, to project a father figure in the form of God onto the universe. The solace provided by this wishful thinking assuages their fears in the face of a terrifying and unintelligible world. Freud considered himself a scientist first, and therefore declared himself to one correspondent as "a God-forsaken incredulous Jew." But other interpreters, such as David Bakan (1991), have analyzed Freud's theories in light of an unconscious legacy from the Jewish mystical tradition.

In Civilization and Its Discontents (1930) Freud was inclined to identify the mystical experience as merely one more self-deception to which humans, in their desperation and naïveté, fall prey. There Freud wrote of a friend who was opposed to his idea that religion is a crutch allowing psychologically weak people, enfeebled because of their ignorance of scientific truths, to project a father figure in the form of God onto the universe. The solace provided by this wishful thinking assuages their fears in the face of a terrifying and unintelligible world. Freud considered himself a scientist first, and therefore declared himself to one correspondent as "a God-forsaken incredulous Jew." But other interpreters, such as David Bakan (1991), have analyzed Freud's theories in light of an unconscious legacy from the Jewish mystical tradition.

===C. G. Jung===

===C. G. Jung===

As a younger colleague of Freud from 1906 to 1912, a close correspondent with Freud, and at one point heir apparent to the psychoanalytic throne, Jung (1875–1961) can be considered the twentieth-century exponent of the symbolic hypothesis. He took the method of symbolism much further than Freud, but epistemologically he is more accurately placed within the context of the late-nineteenth-century psychologies of transcendence. This places him more centrally within the psychologies of James, Flournoy, and Myers than as a mere acolyte of Freud. Jung's entire psychology is a commentary on different states of consciousness. He spoke about a dialogue between consciousness and the unconscious, individuation, wholeness, and the development of the "self" rather than the "ego" as the mature center of personality. In "The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man," chapter ten of Modern Man in Search of a Soul (1933), he described the modern person as the rare, exceptional human being who, completely conscious and having fully integrated the solutions of the past and faced the problems of the future, is free to break with all constraints and live wholly in the present.

As a younger colleague of Freud from 1906 to 1912, a close correspondent with Freud, and at one point heir apparent to the psychoanalytic throne, Jung (1875–1961) can be considered the twentieth-century exponent of the symbolic hypothesis. He took the method of symbolism much further than Freud, but epistemologically he is more accurately placed within the context of the late-nineteenth-century psychologies of transcendence. This places him more centrally within the psychologies of James, Flournoy, and Myers than as a mere acolyte of Freud. Jung's entire psychology is a commentary on different states of consciousness. He spoke about a dialogue between consciousness and the unconscious, individuation, wholeness, and the development of the "self" rather than the "ego" as the mature center of personality. In "The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man," chapter ten of Modern Man in Search of a Soul (1933), he described the modern person as the rare, exceptional human being who, completely conscious and having fully integrated the solutions of the past and faced the problems of the future, is free to break with all constraints and live wholly in the present.