Addressing the Theory of the Family Unconscious in the Context of Esotericism

This article contributes to the interpretation of the relationship between esotericism and psychology by analysing the theory known as “the family unconscious”. As a variation of the collective unconscious (or collective psyche), the concept of family unconscious was first elaborated by the Hungaria...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gyimesi, Júlia (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Brill 2023
In: Aries
Year: 2023, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 131-156
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Szondi, Leopold 1893-1986 / Hellinger, Bert 1925-2019 / Esotericism / Dynamic psychology / Collective subconsciousness / Family / Analysis of fate
IxTheo Classification:AZ New religious movements
ZD Psychology
Further subjects:B Bert Hellinger
B dynamic psychology
B Leopold Szondi
B Esotericism
B family unconscious
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This article contributes to the interpretation of the relationship between esotericism and psychology by analysing the theory known as “the family unconscious”. As a variation of the collective unconscious (or collective psyche), the concept of family unconscious was first elaborated by the Hungarian endocrinologist, neurologist, and psychiatrist Leopold Szondi. During the 1930s, Szondi developed his comprehensive theory and psychotherapeutic approach regarding “fate-analysis” within which the assumption of the family unconscious gained central significance. According to fate-analysis, ancestral experiences are preserved in genes and determine the life of descendants. Introduced by Bert Hellinger, the popular psychotherapeutic modality, “family constellation method” displays a variation of the psychological theory of the family unconscious. This paper argues that the approach utilised in Hellinger’s method retains characteristics of “classical” esotericism far more in its interpretation of the family unconscious than the fate-analysis of Szondi. By introducing a genetic interpretation, Szondi managed to “scientize” the family unconscious and put his system on mechanistic grounds.
ISSN:1570-0593
Contains:Enthalten in: Aries
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15700593-02301007