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Catalepsy, Memory and Suggestion in Psychological Automatism: Total Automatism — Occult Philosophy

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Catalepsy, Memory and Suggestion in Psychological Automatism: Total Automatism

Name: Catalepsy, Memory and Suggestion in Psychological Automatism: Total Automatism
Price: 47.99 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780367254117

✍️ Pierre Janet, Giuseppe Craparo, Adam Crabtree and 2 more

Reader Score

4.6

(1 review)

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📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

This essential first volume of Pierre Janet's landmark 1889 study, now available in English for the first time, offers the earliest scientific investigations into trauma and dissociation. Janet meticulously dissects psychological automatism, beginning with a detailed analysis of catalepsy and its parallels with somnambulism. He then explores the intricate relationship between somnambulistic states, memory, and forgetting, before examining the powerful role of suggestion, amnesia, and distraction. This work stands as a monumental experimental inquiry into the foundational aspects of human consciousness, offering unparalleled insights into trauma-related experiences.

Janet, Pierre; , Craparo, Giuseppe; , Crabtree, Adam; , Van Der Hart, Onno; , Osei-Bonsu, Sarah

📚 all books by this author (2) →

🕯️

Occult Philosophy

🏛 Routledge 📅 2021 📖 158 pages 📔 Paperback ISBN: 9780367254117

Fun Fact

This volume is an indispensable cornerstone for anyone serious about the historical roots of trauma and dissociation theory. Janet's meticulous empirical observations are unparalleled, offering profound insights into the fragmented mind. While its academic language and historical density make it less suitable for casual readers, it richly rewards diligent study. For scholars and clinicians seeking to truly understand where our modern concepts of psychological automatism originated, this pioneering text is utterly essential.

📝 Description: Catalepsy, Memory and Suggestion in Psychological Automatism: Total Automatism

Pierre Janet's L'Automatisme psychologique, originally published in 1889, is one of the earliest and most important books written on the study of trauma and dissociation. Here it is made available, in two volumes, in English for the first time, with a new preface by Giuseppe Craparo and Onno van der Hart. Catalepsy, Memory, and Suggestion in Psychological Automatism, the first volume, examines three aspects of trauma and dissociation. Janet first explores catalepsy and analogous states, including comparing catalepsy to somnambulism, then discusses somnambulism, memory, and forgetting. Finally, Janet considers suggestion, amnesia, and distraction, as well as considering characteristics of suggestible individuals. Janet's work is an unsurpassed experimental study of human actions in their simplest and most rudimentary forms, and a fundamental contribution to our understanding of trauma-related dissociation. This seminal work will be of great interest to researchers and students of psychoanalysis, philosophy, and modernism, as well as psychotherapists and psychoanalysts working with clients who have experienced trauma. It is accompanied by Subconscious Acts, Anesthesias, and Psychological Disaggregation in Psychological Automatism: Partial Automatism.

💎 Expert review

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💎

Esoterica Books editorial team

Occult literature desk

This is a dense, academic text that demands patience and a strong background in psychological theory. While it offers monumental insights into trauma-related experiences, it is NOT suited for casual readers or those expecting accessible, narrative-driven occultism. The rigorous experimental inquiry may feel dry to those seeking mystical revelation rather than clinical analysis. Readers looking for practical spiritual guidance will likely find the focus on catalepsy and somnambulism too abstract. It is strictly for the dedicated historian of ideas or the serious student of early psychological science who values precision over readability.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

Scholars of psychological history and practitioners interested in the roots of trauma therapy will find this text indispensable. It offers a rare, direct engagement with Pierre Janet’s pioneering methodology, allowing readers to witness the genesis of ideas regarding fragmented consciousness and automatism. Those drawn to the intellectual lineage of occult psychology will appreciate how Janet scientifically dissected states often reserved for mystical experience. This book provides the empirical backbone for understanding how memory and suggestion shape identity, making it vital for anyone seeking to comprehend the scientific origins of dissociative phenomena in a rigorous, historically grounded manner.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —

⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.6/5

★★★★★

If you're drawn to the genesis of psychological thought, particularly concerning trauma and dissociation, this foundational text is indispensable. Scholars of psychoanalysis, philosophy, and modernism, alongside psychotherapists grappling with complex trauma, will find Janet's original inquiries…

Reader rating

4.6

Based on 1 reviews

Esoterica Books editorial team

This is a dense, academic text that demands patience and a strong background in psychological theory. While it offers monumental insights into trauma-related experiences, it is NOT suited for casual readers or those expecting accessible, narrative-driven occultism. The rigorous experimental inquiry may feel dry to those seeking mystical revelation rather than clinical analysis. Readers looking for practical spiritual guidance will likely find the focus on catalepsy and somnambulism too abstract. It is strictly for the dedicated historian of ideas or the serious student of early psychological science who values precision over readability.

❓ Frequently asked questions

Absolutely. While a historical text, Janet's meticulous observations and theoretical framework on dissociation remain foundational. Contemporary trauma researchers and clinicians still draw upon his pioneering insights into fragmented consciousness and memory.

This volume, "Catalepsy, Memory, and Suggestion," is the first of two parts of Janet's "L'Automatisme psychologique." It focuses on specific aspects of automatism, with the second volume delving into other related phenomena.

📖 Who should read this

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Catalepsy & Altered States

Janet systematically examines the nature of catalepsy, comparing it to somnambulism and other trance-like conditions. He seeks to understand how these states reveal the underlying mechanisms of psychological automatism, demonstrating the mind's capacity for disembodied actions and altered awareness. His observations lay groundwork for understanding dissociated experiences.

Memory's Fragmented Landscape

The book critically analyzes how memory functions within states like somnambulism and automatism, and the processes of forgetting. Janet explores instances of amnesia linked to dissociated states, suggesting that certain experiences can become inaccessible to conscious recall, a concept pivotal for later trauma theory.

Suggestion & Unconscious Influence

Janet investigates the dynamics of suggestion, particularly its role in inducing or influencing automatistic behaviors and amnesia. He scrutinizes the characteristics of individuals more prone to suggestion, revealing how external influences can shape internal experience and contribute to fragmented consciousness.

📜 Historical context

Published in 1889, this seminal work predates much of modern psychoanalysis, offering a crucial pre-Freudian lens on trauma. Janet’s empirical approach laid the bedrock for understanding dissociation as a core mechanism of psychological defense, influencing generations of thinkers in psychology, psychiatry, and philosophy, and setting the stage for contemporary trauma studies.

📚 Glossary

Catalepsy
Somnambulism
Psychological Automatism

📔 Questions to reflect on

How might Janet's early observations on catalepsy and somnambulism inform our modern understanding of altered states of consciousness or even meditative practices?
Consider the implications of Janet's work on suggestion. How does acknowledging the power of suggestion shape our views on therapeutic interventions or even daily social interactions?
Reflect on the idea of psychological automatism. Can you identify instances in your own experience or observations where actions or thoughts seem to occur without conscious intent, and how might Janet interpret these?