Evrard, Renaud
The Occult Signifiance of Dreams : Freud, Myth-Slayer or Myth-Maker ?
- 2017.
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Sigmund Freud worked to distinguish psychoanalysis from occultism, in particular by explaining so-called prophetic dreams through unconscious processes. But his attitude toward occultism evolved gradually with his growing interest in a “kernel of truth” that he attached to telepathy. This led him, in 1925, to reproduce, with his daughter Anna and Sandor Ferenczi, Gilbert Murray’s experiments that linked telepathy and free associations. He developed a conviction that he shared in particular in “The Occult Significance of Dreams,” intended as a new addition to his Traumdeutung. Ernest Jones’ reluctance to link psychoanalysis and telepathy, however, contributed to a later marginalization of Freud’s interest. This article aims at restoring the context of this rarely commented text, while identifying its extensions in experimental research on telepathic dreams.