Freud’s Occult Science: Metaphor, Transference, & Transformation – Jonathan Shann скачать в хорошем качестве

Freud’s Occult Science: Metaphor, Transference, & Transformation – Jonathan Shann

Freud’s Occult Science: Metaphor, Transference, & Transformation – Jonathan Shann (University College London) Abstract: Freud’s fear of “the black tide of mud…of occultism” is well-known. Yet his ambivalent fascination with telepathy, superstitions, magical thinking, unitive experiences, the uncanny, coincidences, and precognitive dreams are all also evident, in his writings as in his life. His attitude to esotericism, I contend, was much deeper, more nuanced, and conflicted than is usually allowed. Although historians of esotericism do not accept uncritically Faivre’s four intrinsic and two nonintrinsic characteristics of esotericism, if we apply them to Freud, we might argue psychoanalysis is an esoteric form of thought. It reinterprets the law of correspondences for a secular age (the latent and manifest dream content, the meaning of symptoms, the role of symbols, the discovery of hidden connections, the repetition of phylogeny by ontogeny as a variation on the Hermetic slogan “as above, so below”); it envisions living nature in terms of transpersonal mythopoetic drives (Eros and the death drive, present at the levels of cell, organism, and social group); imagination and phantasy mediate between inner and outer worlds; and psychoanalysis offers an experience of transmutation (therapeutic change, self- mastery, the conquest of id by ego). Further, it seeks concordance with the wisdom of the ages (Greece and Rome, Shakespeare and Goethe), and transmits knowledge by experiential and initiatic means (the ordeal of analytic training). I will focus on the roles metaphor, transference, and reverie play in Freud’s approach to the unconscious – that realm which lies beyond the sphere of conscious knowing. Bio: Jonathan Shann read English at Cambridge (1979-82), trained as a lawyer, then worked in private practice until 2016. He took an MSc in Theoretical Psychoanalytic Studies (with Distinction) at UCL (2016-2017) and is now a PhD candidate in UCL’s Psychoanalysis Unit (2017-). His research area is Freud and Metaphor. ----- This paper was presented at the ‘Esotericism and the Varieties of Transformation’ student conference on 26-27 July, 2021. For more information, visit the following link: https://www.facebook.com/events/27258... This hybrid conference (online/on site) was held to explore the theme of ‘transformation’ in the history of esotericism. The motif manifests in many areas and on many different levels – whether we think about ideas/practices of individual deification, alchemical transmutation, or global consciousness change in New Age schemes, ‘transformation’ appears an almost unavoidable concept within the field. While not exclusive to esotericism (e.g. ‘transubstantiation’ in the Christian Eucharist), this notion does seem to occupy a privileged space specifically in esoteric belief systems and practices. Is this coincidental? Or are ‘transformative’ themes symptomatic of larger patterns intrinsic to esotericism? These and many other questions related to the theme formed the backdrop against which over twenty speakers presented fascinating research, arguments, and analyses. The conference was organized in partnership with the Embassy of the Free Mind in Amsterdam and with the generous support of the ESSWE sponsorship program, the Amsterdam University Fund, and the Foundation of the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents. THE HHP CENTRE The Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (HHP) is part of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). We are committed to the highest standards of critical academic scholarship, independent of any worldview. CONTACT Instagram:   / amsterdamhermetica   Website: amsterdamhermetica.nl Facebook:   / amsterdamhermetica   Email: hermetica-fgw@uva.nl Tel: +31 (0)20 525 3571 Postal address: Postbus 1622 1000 BP Amsterdam Visiting address: Bushuis / Oost-Indisch Huis Kloveniersburgwal 48 1012 CX Amsterdam The Netherlands