Psychology & the Soul: A Study of the Origin, Conceptual Evolution & Nature of the Soul

by Otto Rank

In his last years, Otto Rank turned his lifetime of thought and learning toward two of the most difficult topics in human religion and the soul. The result was this now-classic work, available in this new, very accessible English translation. Unlike many other intellectuals of the twentieth century, Rank maintains a place for the soul rather than dismissing it as a fantasy. The soul and the beliefs about it, he argues, set forth the foundation for psychology, with its complex analyses of consciousness, self-consciousness, and personality. Rank's commentary is not limited to beliefs about individual souls but includes ideas about group souls, sometimes encompassing nations or generations. Rank suggests that it is in expression of group beliefs that the idea of the soul attains its greatest power.

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Religion, Psychoanalysis

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Born in Vienna as Otto Rosenfeld, he was one of Sigmund Freud's closest colleagues for 20 years, a prolific writer on psychoanalytic themes, an editor of the two most important analytic journals, managing director of Freud's publishing house and a creative theorist and therapist. In 1926, Otto Rank left Vienna for Paris. For the remaining 14 years of his life, Rank had a successful career as a lecturer, writer and therapist in France and the U.S..

Reviews

[Alexandru Stanciu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spirituality is mankind's struggle to deal with death. Otto Rank follows this development, starting pre-religious times, as the evolution of the soul, not only from the psychological standpoint, but also with anthropological and philosophical insight, thus explaining phenomena such as sacrifice, matriarchy and patriarchy, Christian Trinity, the unconscious and psychoanalysis. The soul is a concept strongly coupled with immortality, can have an individual or collective dimension, and its understanding influenced both sexuality and the will. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to make sense of the soul and all the psychosis that surrounds this harmful idea.

[Arash Farzaneh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otto Rank is not an easy read partly because of his writing style but more so because of the complex ideas expressed therein. And there are indeed ideas aplenty that are moreover fascinating and thought-provoking!

Rank, a once-secretary and right-hand man, and intellectual son and potential heir of the father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, comes to his own right here, or rather, a genius in his own right. Rank is not mincing words about psychoanalysis and the path (past, present, and future) of psychology, and the continuous evolution and diversification of humanity and spiritual development.

You cannot (nor should you) have psychology without the psyche. But in an overzealous desire to appeal to the scientific communities of its times, Freud took (or at least tried to) this diverse and stimulating field toward strictly limited scientific territories and hence missed out on its most important and vital aspect, the soul.

The main drive and quest for humanity is not so much sexuality as Freud believed; it is trying to come to terms with death and our own mortality. This has given rise to different beliefs about the soul that has led to myths, legends, and religions that touch and engage us at our deepest core and level, our soul.

Overall, Rank believes that we need certain illusions to survive and thrive in our lives and that it is healthy to do so and to have them. He strikes me as an agnostic who wants to believe. His insights on will and individuality are profound and have shaped, influenced, and changed depth psychology in innumerable ways and manners, regardless of whether this is explicitly acknowledged and realized or not.

[Paulo Henrique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um livro extremamente especulativo, que propõem um diálogo entre psicanálise, psicologia, antropologia, filosofia e física. Não se pode desconsiderar que alguns dados usados por Rank são descreditados nos dias de hoje. No entanto, Rank desenvolve uma análise muito interessante e ousada: desenvolver o trajeto de início e evolução da noção de Alma (intimamente ligada com a psicologia) através de um único mecanismo: o medo da morte. Evidentemente, como é de se esperar de psicanalistas, principalmente os da escola inicial, Rank não deixa de cometer certos reducionismos, como o próprio projeto de explicar a alma como se um mecanismo de defesa, e generalizações (sua visão de religião, por exemplo, segue a lógica hegeliana de "Aufhebung", que não é amplamente aceita pelos estudiosos da religião pois nega o caráter revelativo de algumas, como o Cristianismo). No entanto, Rank se coloca como o oposto de Freud: enquanto o último tendia a reduzir o espiritual ao biológico através de explicações casuais, o primeiro faz o contrário, demonstrando a primazia do espiritual ao real, de forma que os meios de organizações (civilização, tabus, relações etc.), pelo menos as pré-modernas, são articulações do homem com princípios sobrenaturais/espirituais.
Acredito que o valor dessa obra esteja justamente na discussão que ela propõem (hoje, talvez o tópico não seja tão inovador assim) e nos problemas e soluções que Rank vai sugerindo no decorrer da obra. Uma obra digna de interesse, mas que não chega a ser fundamental para a área.

[Kimi · Rating 2 out of 5]

terlalu berat untuk otakku yang pas-pasan. bahasa inggrisnya tingkat dewa banget. huft.

[Miroslav Petrik]

Rank cracked the code. Bravo.