The Paranormal Surrounds Us: Psychic Phenomena in Literature, Culture, and Psychoanalysis

Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Joyce, E.M. Forster and Ingmar Bergman all made the paranormal essential to their depiction of humanity. Freud recognized telepathy as an everyday phenomenon. Observations on parapsychological aspects of psychoanalysis also include the findings of the Mesmerists, Jung, Ferenczi and Eisenbud.  Many academicians attribute such psychic discoveries to “poetic license” rather than to accurate understanding of our parapsychological capacities. The author—a practicing psychoanalyst and parapsychologist, and a lawyer familiar with Navajo culture—argues for a fresh appraisal of psi phenomena and their integration into psychoanalytic theory and clinical work, literary studies and anthropology.

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Reviews

“As the topic of unconscious communication makes its way toward the center of contemporary psychoanalytic debate, Richard Reichbart has presciently provided an exhaustive account of the concept, both within psychoanalysis and beyond. Having been immersed in the worlds of both psychoanalysis and parapsychological research, the author constructs a tour de force that coordinates the traces of psi phenomena across these and other disciplines. Moreover, not only has Reichbart written the definitive text on psychic phenomena as a topic of psychoanalytic inquiry, he has written a deeply insightful account of the relationship between psychoanalysis and science.” –Jared Russell, author of “Nietzsche and the Clinic: Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, Metaphysics”

“This meticulously researched work, destined to become a classic, is the definitive response to Freud. Fascinating and immensely readable, his sections on literature and culture provide the necessary foundation for building an interdisciplinary bridge, which moves us a giant step forward. In the true spirit of psychoanalysis, he shows us how a deeper appreciation of our own field’s past efforts to understand these ubiquitous phenomena will facilitate a better integration of new findings. This book is a must for all students, clinicians, and academics who want to or need to better understand and demystify our ‘sixth sense.”‘ –Ira Brenner, M.D., author of “Dissociation of Trauma” and ” Dark Matters: Exploring the Realm of Psychic Devastation”.