Religious Demonology Psychology History

PSYCHOLOGY - HISTORY

A History of the Origins of Psychology

The word ‘psychology’ comes from the word ‘psyche’ and the suffix ‘-ology’. The word psyche (Greek) can be translated as ‘the spirit or soul’. The suffix -ology simply means ‘the study of’ something. Psychology can then be translated as 'The study of the soul’. Another early description of the field of psychology was 'Biological philosophy'.

Modern psychology comes from attempts at scientifically exploring human behavior, as well as understanding and treating mental illness. Organized psychological research is a little over a hundred years old, starting in the late 1800s. Doctors of psychology today are only four to five generations removed from the origins of the empirical discipline.

Four figures played prominent roles in the origin of psychology around the turn of the century: three doctors and one patient. The doctors were: Jean-Martin Charcot, Sigmund Freud, and C.G. Jung; the patient was Augustine. Psychology has had many other influential figures through time, but these four are particularly relevant to the topic of demonology.

Charcot was a French scientist born 1825. In 1862 he began working at the Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris. The Salpêtrière was the largest mental hospital in Paris. It held only women and was large enough to essentially be its own town, holding about six thousand patients. Charcot took a great interest in a phenomenon called ‘Hysteria’ during his time there, eventually becoming the hospital director. Hysteria at that time was nothing like what we think of when we say someone is "hysterical". Hysteria was a disorder that included hallucinations, body contortions, superhuman strength, and guttural animal like cries and vocalizations.

Charcot had a private museum of images of possession going back to the Egyptians. He may have seen hysteria as the scientific theory to explain what was called possession. In a recent book of photos and writing from the Salpêtrière (Invention of Hysteria: Charcot and the Photographic Iconography of the Salpêtrière) the term "demon" is commonly used to describe the things that tormented the patients.

Augustine was a beautiful fifteen and a half year old girl when she entered the hospital. She was a star patient at the Salpêtrière and Charcot used her as a teaching case. It was probably no coincidence that she was a beautiful young woman and many of the hysterical manifestations she exhibited were sexual in nature, as opposed to the grotesque scenes created by most of the other patients. The image copied above is of Augustine regarding an invisible entity, the same entity that she had sex with in front of the doctors, including Freud, on many occasions.

Charcot treated the patients with altered states of consciousness, induced by something called “hypnosis”. He had weekly lectures and demonstrations of hypnosis. His demonstrations were attended by many important figures in medicine and other sciences.

Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) is known to many by name but few actually know Freud beyond a few catch phrases. Freud was influenced by having a young attractive mother, WWII, and the work of Charcot, mainly manifested in Augustine.

Freud came to the Salpêtrière during 1885 and 1886. During his time with Charcot, Freud was influenced by Charcot’s hypnosis technique and demonstrations of hysteria and its treatment.

Freud took this painting of Charcot giving a demonstration back to Vienna where he hung it over his desk during the years that he developed his theories. Freud used hypnosis for a time but he soon abandoned it in favor of "Free Association".

One student of Freud’s, a Swiss named Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), was to become Freud's successor and take over the school of dynamic psychology Freud had built. Freud and Jung had a falling out and Jung formed his own school: Dynamic Psychology.

Jung wrote his dissertation about a medium who claimed to be able to contact the dead, concluding she was a fraud. He wrote books on many topics including flying saucers, Eastern mysticism, parapsychology, and religious experiences. Jung knew and worked on parapsychology with J.B. Rhine of the Rhine institute.

The work of Freud had much more influence in the United States than that of Jung as psychology advanced. The fundamental breakthrough that Freud and the early psychologists made was to conceive an unconscious mind that influences feelings and behavior. This grew, at least in part, out of attempts to understand the dissociative states exhibited by the hysterics.

One serious omission from this story is religion. Psychology has usually seen religion as nothing more than an elaborate delusion to avoid the fear of death. The attempt to push the study of the soul into the realm of measurable science required the dismissal of the soul and the supernatural world. Part of what marginalized Jung was his contention that connection with God was a real, and important part of life.

Please do not copy the material on this site, but link to this site instead.
All material Copyright Adam Blai, 2007


	PSYCHOLOGY - HISTORY A History of the Origins of Psychology The word ‘psychology’ comes from the word ‘psyche’ and the suffix ‘-ology’. The word psyche (Greek) can be translated as ‘the spirit or soul’. The suffix -ology simply means ‘the study of’ something. Psychology can then be translated as 'The study of the soul’. Another early description of the field of psychology was 'Biological philosophy'. Modern psychology comes from attempts at scientifically exploring human behavior, as well as understanding and treating mental illness. Organized psychological research is a little over a hundred years old, starting in the late 1800s. Doctors of psychology today are only four to five generations removed from the origins of the empirical discipline. Four figures played prominent roles in the origin of psychology around the turn of the century: three doctors and one patient. The doctors were: Jean-Martin Charcot, Sigmund Freud, and C.G. Jung; the patient was Augustine. Psychology has had many other influential figures through time, but these four are particularly relevant to the topic of demonology. Charcot was a French scientist born 1825. In 1862 he began working at the Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris. The Salpêtrière was the largest mental hospital in Paris. It held only women and was large enough to essentially be its own town, holding about six thousand patients. Charcot took a great interest in a phenomenon called ‘Hysteria’ during his time there, eventually becoming the hospital director. Hysteria at that time was nothing like what we think of when we say someone is "hysterical". Hysteria was a disorder that included hallucinations, body contortions, superhuman strength, and guttural animal like cries and vocalizations. Charcot had a private museum of images of possession going back to the Egyptians. He may have seen hysteria as the scientific theory to explain what was called possession. In a recent book of photos and writing from the Salpêtrière (Invention of Hysteria: Charcot and the Photographic Iconography of the Salpêtrière) the term "demon" is commonly used to describe the things that tormented the patients. Augustine was a beautiful fifteen and a half year old girl when she entered the hospital. She was a star patient at the Salpêtrière and Charcot used her as a teaching case. It was probably no coincidence that she was a beautiful young woman and many of the hysterical manifestations she exhibited were sexual in nature, as opposed to the grotesque scenes created by most of the other patients. The image copied above is of Augustine regarding an invisible entity, the same entity that she had sex with in front of the doctors, including Freud, on many occasions. Charcot treated the patients with altered states of consciousness, induced by something called “hypnosis”. He had weekly lectures and demonstrations of hypnosis. His demonstrations were attended by many important figures in medicine and other sciences. Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) is known to many by name but few actually know Freud beyond a few catch phrases. Freud was influenced by having a young attractive mother, WWII, and the work of Charcot, mainly manifested in Augustine. Freud came to the Salpêtrière during 1885 and 1886. During his time with Charcot, Freud was influenced by Charcot’s hypnosis technique and demonstrations of hysteria and its treatment. Freud took this painting of Charcot giving a demonstration back to Vienna where he hung it over his desk during the years that he developed his theories. Freud used hypnosis for a time but he soon abandoned it in favor of "Free Association". One student of Freud’s, a Swiss named Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), was to become Freud's successor and take over the school of dynamic psychology Freud had built. Freud and Jung had a falling out and Jung formed his own school: Dynamic Psychology. Jung wrote his dissertation about a medium who claimed to be able to contact the dead, concluding she was a fraud. He wrote books on many topics including flying saucers, Eastern mysticism, parapsychology, and religious experiences. Jung knew and worked on parapsychology with J.B. Rhine of the Rhine institute. The work of Freud had much more influence in the United States than that of Jung as psychology advanced. The fundamental breakthrough that Freud and the early psychologists made was to conceive an unconscious mind that influences feelings and behavior. This grew, at least in part, out of attempts to understand the dissociative states exhibited by the hysterics. One serious omission from this story is religion. Psychology has usually seen religion as nothing more than an elaborate delusion to avoid the fear of death. The attempt to push the study of the soul into the realm of measurable science required the dismissal of the soul and the supernatural world. Part of what marginalized Jung was his contention that connection with God was a real, and important part of life. Please do not copy the material on this site, but link to this site instead. All material Copyright Adam Blai, 2007