Metapsychical Phenomena: Methods and ObservationsMaxwell, J. (Joseph)
Philosophy
Metapsychical Phenomena: Methods and Observations
Maxwell, J. (Joseph)
Parapsychology -- Investigation
The second quotation reveals decided oneiroscopic associations. The
name Beaupuyat awakens no souvenir; the name of a street having nearly
the same assonance is then substituted for it; this is an illogical
association, formed by phonetic elements. The explanation of the
contradiction between the names given successively is very illogical,
but it is what might be called ‘a good hit.’ This is one of our ways of
reasoning with ourselves in dreams.
The third quotation shows a still more marked degree of incoherence.
The first replies are attempts at conciliation of contradictions
impossible to do away with: they are affirmations which are but echoes
of the questions asked. I do not quite understand the association
between subliminal and will; but the emergence of the idea of will
gives place to a curious phenomenon: the evolution of a parasitical
association of ideas bringing to mind the psychological phenomenon
which A. Pick describes under the name of _Vorbeidenken_. We have
non-expressed stages, from will to ‘God’s will,’ words which are often
associated together in religious language: ‘to do the will of God, to
be agreeable to God.’ The incoherent reply, which consists in saying
that the Mahatmas make fun of the subject in order to be agreeable to
God, is then the last link of a chain of latent associations; this
last link is the only one shown. Also, the incongruous idea of beings
who call themselves spirits and wise men, and declare they must be
whipped, is the result of an evident association between the idea
of being severe consciously expressed, and the idea of severity,
chastisement, whip, average latent terms. The psychological analysis,
therefore, reveals to us mental processes which are known and classed.
It shows us, that the dream character of subconscious messages
does not differ from that observed in the mental operations of the
consciousness, as soon as the latter’s personal and voluntary activity
becomes weakened or gradually gives place to spontaneous ideation.
I think the three examples I have chosen show this progressive
debilitation very well, and also the corresponding accentuation of the
characteristics of dream in the messages obtained. The case I examined
is at the limit of paranormal facts, but the inquisitive reader has at
his disposal the weighty analysis of the transcendental cases published
in the _Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research_, epitomised
by M. Sage in his book _Mrs. Piper et la Société Anglo-Américaine des
Recherches Psychiques_, to verify the accuracy of my conclusion, viz.
that the mental processes in simple cases, as well as in the more
complex cases, are identical.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account