I Cstefgdo Christian University library \ 180 S. Garrison 'l^eweod. Colorado M2Z5 V V f The Hoax oF Freudism A STUDY OF BRAINWASHING THE AMERICAN PROFESSIONALS AND LAYMEN BY R. M. JURJEVICH, PH D CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST DORRANCE & COMPANY Philadelphia Copyright © 1974 by Ratibor-Ray M. Jurjevich All Rights Reserved ISBN 0-8059-1856-6 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 73-77536 Printed in the United States of America ALSO BY RATIBOR-RAY M. JURJEVICH No Water in My Cup: Experiences and a Controlled Study of Psycho¬ therapy of Delinquent Girls. Libra, 1968. Direct Psychotherapy, vols. 1 and 2: Twenty-Eight American Origi- nals. University of Miami Press, 1973 (editor). Direct Psychotherapy, vol. 3: International Developments. University of Miami Press, 1974 (editor). y Freud s Phallic Cult: A Pseudoreligion Posing as Superior Psychology (in manuscript). Ireud s Non-science: Pitfalls in Clinical Thinking and Practice (in manuscript). TO VERA Who graciously accepted a part-time husband while this and related volumes were coming into existence. “To me, psychoanalysis is a hoax—the biggest hoax ever played on humanity. By showing who analysts are, how they work, what they believe, and what they have done, I hope to show Freud as a fraud. If I succeed, I am idealistic enough to hope that the world may return to the belief in love, ideals, good taste and courtesy—the “books” that have been burned by the Freudian Inquisition.” Edward R. Pinckney, M.D. and Cathey Pinckney: The Fallacy of Freud and Psychoanalysis, 1965, p. 3. “Hoaxers have thrived on human gullibility through many cen¬ turies. It is the author’s hope that it will serve as a warning to potential victims so that they be fewer in number in the future than in the past. ... “More than anything else Hoaxes should serve as a warning to all of us on our beliefs, attitudes, opinions, prejudices and biases.... “Many a hoax.. . has attained gigantic proportions of influence. Though exposed time and again, it has refused to die. ... Whether the public likes to be fooled, as the Great Barnum declared, or is fooled for other reasons, it has always been. And it probably always will be. Nevertheless, knowledge of the nature and importance of many outstanding humbugs of the past may be insurance for the future. At least, let us hope so.” Curtis D. MacDougall: Hoaxes, 1940 and 1968. Preface to the second edition and p. VIII. CONTENTS Acknowledgements Introduction if Part I—ENCOUNTERS WITH FREUDISM Chapter I The Nuisance of the Freudian Establishment 1. The need for a critical look at Freudism, 15; 2. A per¬ sonal equation and jarring experiences, 19; 3. Arrogance with colleagues, 22; 4. Freudian oppression of American psychiatry and clinical psychology, 28; 5. Freudian terrorism, 34; 6. Freudism as a militant sect, 43; 7. The smearing of Jung, 47; 8. Book censorship (the Freudian way) 55; 9. Book burning (the psychoanalytic way), 61; Notes, 65. II Freudian Practice; Failure and Worse 1. Needed: more professional modesty, 69; 2. Psycho¬ analytical butchery, 71; 3. A design for psychotherapeutic failure, 77; 4. Was this patient (mis-, mal-, non-) treated? 79; 5. Useless Freud-aping, 83; 6. In support of non-Freudian treatment, 88; 7. Pfister failed to teach Freud, 95; 8. Putting a lid on the id, 98; 9. Freudian travesty of psychotherapy, 101; 10. Irresponsible diag¬ nosticians, 106; 11. What happened to this psychiatric team? 110; 12. Twisting children into Freudian molds, 112; 13. The psychoanalytical joy ride, 115; Notes, 125. Chapter III Freudian Corrosion of Civilized Values .128 1. Freud, an anti-Moses, 128; 2. Freudian poisons sold as antidotes, 130; 3. Freudians natural moral cynics, 133; 4. Decivilizing direction of hostility, 138; 5. Capitu¬ lation to psychopathology, 142; 6. The widespread infec¬ tion, 148. IV Freudism: A Promotional Success .154 1. Lessons from propaganda, 154; 2. No limits to human gullibility (suggestibility), 155; 3. Freudian hero worship, 161; 4. Freud the Magnificent, 164; 5. Artists, an easy prcj'j 172; 6. Freud deplumed, 176; 7. Freud’s pretended modesty, 184; 8. Example more powerful than words, 189; 9. Denigrating the opponents, 191; 10. A successful mission fizzling out, 195; Notes, 202. V Some Balked at Brainwashing 205 1. A skeptical American and Freud, 206; 2. Another psychiatrist refuses blinders, 211; 3. An angry ex-patient, 218; 4. Two analysands see through Freudian games,' 223; 5. Who was sicker: the schizophrenic or his Freud¬ ian healers? 228; 6. This Freudwashing went smoothly 241; Notes 247. Part II—THE FREUDIAN PSEUDOSCIENCE VI Psychoanalytic Pretenses at Science .251 1. Assuming the scientific status, 251; 2. Freud’s self¬ inflation, 253; 3. Tireless promotion by his pupils, 254; 4. Medical status helped the hoax, 258; 5. Tricks and promises, 261; 6. Even Christians duped, 265; 7. An at¬ tempt at definition ot science, 269; 8. Psychological sciences—not yet, 271; Notes, 275. VII A Pseudoscience at Work 281 1. The quasi-scientific Freudian method of investigation, Chapter 282; 2. The unstable patient, 285; 3. The couch as hypnotic reinforcement, 293; 4. Psychoanalysis as a con¬ cealed hypnotic practice, 298; 5. Hypnosis, subtle and pervasive, 307; 6. Transference's a hypnotic state, 311; 7. Patient’s conversion to Freudism, 315; 8. Glad head- shrinking, 317; Notes 320. VIII Suggestion — A Basic Tool of Freudism .322 1. Interpretation as suggestion, 322; 2. Both the analyst and the patient are fooled in psychoanalogy, 326; 3. Dr. Loy and Dr. Jung discuss suggestion, 332; 4. Freud in the webs of suggestion, 334; 5. Freud brainwashes Wolf- Man, 343; 6. Ferenczi also worried about suggestion, 349; 7. Jones winces at suggestion, 353; 8. A seeing psychoanalyst confronts suggestion, 359; Notes, 365. IX Suggestion, Now In, Then Out .366 1. Some empirical and experimental findings on sugges¬ tion, 366; 2. The fiction of neutrality, 371; 3. Some un¬ willing admissions, 376; 4. A valiant defense, 380; 6. Browbeating the child-patient, 386; 6. Hopelessly con¬ taminated Freudian data, 389; Notes, 400. X Freudwashing: Psychoanalysis as Camouflaged Brainwashing .401 1. Brainwashing—old and new, 402; 2. Psychodynamics of ancient cults and psychoanalysis, 407; 3. Witch¬ making and Freudwashing, 413; 4. Totalitarian and Freudian brainwashing, 427; 5. He saw that the emperor had no clothes, 437; 6. Brainwashers at work, 443; 7. Freudwashing in slow motion, 449; 8. An impious view of psychotherapy, 462; Notes, 467. Postscript.468 References.469 Name Index.501 Subject Index.511 V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am obliged to the Staff of the Psychiatric Clinic, 3415 Dispensary, Lowry Air Force Base, without whose cooperativeness and assistance I could not possibly have finished the manifold chores connected with the first phase of this volume. Mrs. Annabelle Torre, secretary of the clinic, made the whole process of bringing the book to the filial stage easier by her interest and patience. My two “chief clerks,” Airmen Darrel D. Naasz and E. James Sidey, showed a stoic tolerance in typing and retyping three revisions of the “Anthology,” as this and related volumes were called in the early stage, with no more complaint than a sigh and a smile. Airmen Terry “Kim” Mariner and George DePeyster were early co-workers on the Anthology, Airman Melvin Klein in the final phase. Airman James Soethy has rendered many useful services in checking references and correcting the manuscript. My wife Vera, apart from lending her husband to this work, has performed many a chore connected with the work itself. Professors O.H. Mowrer, Ph.D., Bernard Spilka, Ph.D. and John Vayhinger, Ph.D., were helpful in reading an early version of the Anthology and in providing appropriate suggestions. My glad acknowledgment goes to Mrs. Marlene Chambers for conscientious attention to the manuscript, in eliminating many a foreign turn of phrase and introducing a better English style in the work. Jim Merrin, Ph.D., gave valuable help in editing a part of an earlier version. The final form of the manuscript was read by B. Lynn Harriman, Ph.D., Mr. William Hart, William Matchett, M.D., and Dimitrije Pivnicki, M.D. and skillfully edited by Amy Shapiro of Dorrance. They provided many pertinent suggestions. The responsibility for the text remains fully with me as the author. I acknowledge the kind permission to publish from the books and articles under their copyrights: PUBLISHERS: Academy of Religion and Mental Health; Aldine Publishing Co.; George Allen and Unwin, Ltd.; AM A Archives of General Psychi¬ atry, American Humanist Association; American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis; American Journal of Orthopsychiatry; American Journal of Psychiatry; American Journal of Psychotherapy; The American Psychological Association; The American Psychopatho- logical Association; Arlington House; Basic Books, Inc.; Beacon Press; George Braziller, Inc.; Brunner/Mazel, Inc.; Broadman Press; William C. Brown Co.; The Chicago Theological Register; Collier Books; Collins-Knowlton-Wing, Inc.; Dell Publishing Co.; The Denver Post; Doubleday and Co., Inc.; Dover Publications, Inc.; Duell, Sloan and Pierce; Duquesne University Press; E. P. 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Norton and Co.; Pantheon Books; Perma-Books; Philo¬ sophical Library, Inc.; Prentice-Hall Co.; Princeton University Press; The Psychiatric Quarterly; Psychiatric Opinion; Psycho¬ therapy: Theory, Research and Practice; Regent House Publishing Co.; Henry Regnery Co.; Ronald Publishers; Schizophrenia; Schocken Books, Inc.; Science House, Inc.; Charles Scribner’s Sons; Sheed and Ward, Inc.; University Books, Inc.; D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc.; Vantage Press, Inc. INDIVIDUALS: C. Anderson, M.D.; K. E. Appel, M. D.; P. Bailey, M.D.; F. Braceland, M.D.; Mr. Lurton Blassingame (Literary Agent for Mr. John Knight); J. V. Coleman, M.D.; J. Ehrenwald, M.D.; A. Ellis, Ph.D.; M. H. Erickson, M.D.; J,D. Fratik, M.D.; Walter Freeman, M.D.; Eric Fromm, Ph.D.; Roy R. Grinker, Sr., M.D.; M. L. Gross; J. Haley; A. Hoffer, M.D.; H. K. Johnson, M.D.; Miss Elsie Junghans; J. G. Kepecs, M.D.; N. S. Lehrman, M.D.; S. Lesse, M.D.; J. H. Masserman, M.D.; J. A. M. Meerloo, M.D.; J. Moreno, M.D.; N. Morris; O. H. Mowrer, Ph.D.; T. Orne, Ph.D.; E. R. Pinckney, M.D. and Cathey Pinckney; Jerrold M. Post, M.D.; Helen W. Puner; Sandor Rado, M.D.; W. Sargant, M.D.; W. S. Taylor, Ph.D.; J. M. Vanderplas, Ph.D.; G. Weinberger, Ph.D.; J. C. Whitehorn, M.D.; L. Wolberg, M.D.; J. Wortis, M.D.; J. Zubin, Ph.D. i V V \ V i \ i C INTRODUCTION I My main theme is the futility of Freudism in its many aspects. The Hoax of Freudism: A study of brainwashing American professionals and laymen, represents the first of four volumes of criticism of Freudian theory, practice, and cultural influences. The other three volumes, which I hope will appear soon after this one, are Freud’s Non-science: Pitfalls in clinical thinking and practice; Freud’s Phallic Cult: A pseudoreligion posing as superior psychology; and Freud and Christ: Irreconcilable adversaries. My intention in these volumes is to present to the public, both professional mental-health workers and intelligent laymen, what seems to me the best selection from various critics of Freudism, integrated by my personal and professional thinking and experience. The selections are meant to be representative, rather than exhaustive. Many other critics, not quoted in these pages, have expressed similar views about Freudian inadequate or fallacious logic, scandalous lack of scientific validation, and the corrosive influences of its unexamined postulates on both patients and the general public. The Fraud of Freudism seemed a catchy title for this book but implied a more conscious deception than seemed present in the Freudian hoodwinking of professionals and the general public. Another title seemingly suitable for the book was The Pretense of Freudism, because in the analyses of many writers, the deep psychol¬ ogy, the vaunted psychotherapy based on it, and the “science” of Freudism are found to be mostly shams. The Hoax of Freudism seemed to describe more accurately the main theme of the book, namely that the Freudian delusions were first indulged in by Freud and later induced in his students who then perpetrated them on others, with the confidence and zest of a secular sect. The “hoax” implies a deception in the form of a practical joke in which the agent participates skillfully and genuinely. The “hoax” is derived from the “hocus-pocus” of the old-line magicians, who put 1 their tricks over on the public by deft use of suggestion, clever maneuvers, and a show of confidence. This seemed to fit the ways by which Freudians put over their speculations (“insights,” and “re¬ search”) on the public. It will be obvious from the forthcoming exposition that the Freudian hoax shows features of other deceitful or delusional opera¬ tions: superstitions, myths, propaganda, advertising promotions, indoctrination, subtle conditioning, brainwashing/ Superstitions were transmitted by assertive individuals playing on the credulity of their fellow men (which includes practically all of us). The essence of superstition transmittal is the claim to superior knowledge and experience on the part of a persuaded and persuasive individual, and acceptance of the rightness of that claim by a suggestible listener. Myths (in the sense of mistaken notions and concrete interpretations of spiritual realities) were spread by political and other leaders in all periods of history and were believed in by the larger part of the population to whom they were taught. The most notorious myths of our times were about Hitler’s and Stalin’s charismatic personalities and roles, and about the prewar Japanese emperors, whom Shinto- worship and ideology tried to deify. The propaganda efforts in China about Mao, in Jugoslavia about Tito, in Cuba about Castro, in Egypt about Nasser or in Greece about the dictatorship colonels, represent all the same effort of impressing the populace with the extraordinary and beneficial features of a leader. The advertising promoters in the United States utilize the same psychological mechanism of persuasion as the agents of authoritarian regimes. They rely on unconsciously or preconsciously acting suggestions to condition their subjects and insure the more or less automatic response of the kind desired by authorities or advertisers. The indoctrination through the press and other communication media insists that the correct views, the favored political or cultural doctrines, are the truth, and all the deviating views are ignorance and delusion, or worse. Some of the subtlest ways of conditioning and indoctrination are found in brainwashing. The most notorious and efficient forms of brainwashing in our era are to be found in victims of police states in the Soviet Union and China. The old-time revolutionaries were broken down and were made to testify (seemingly freely) about their alleged despicable antirevolutionary activities during Stalin’s purges. The 2 enthusiasm shown by subjects of the Red Chinese “thought reform” camps for the convictions they evolved under the mentally cruel pressures of their “reeducation” shows how pliable human beings are it the right methods of terror, awe, and promise of delivery are unscrupulously applied. As we shall see, Freudians use modified forms of all these methods of persuasion to assert the superiority of their prophet over any other psychologists, to assume the authority of “deep,” psychodynamic” interpreters of human psyche, and to usurp leading positions in psychiatry and allied fields. The thesis of The Hoax of Freudism is relatively simple and straightforward. At the outset, Freud played the hoax on himself. In his late thirties and early forties he was suffering from aggravation of what Jung later called the middle-age neurosis. He was troubled by depressions, heavy moods and alternating periods of inability to work and feverish activity. His exaggerated hopes of making a brilliant university career were dashed by having to go into private practice. His family was growing, his income was unsteady and, what hurt him the most, he was not given the recognition by other gifted Viennese doctors to the extent that he thought he deserved. His letters to Fliess (4) testify to the pitiful psychological states he was experiencing at that time. He needed badly something to lift him out of neurotic instability. He found it in the hope of achieving fame through creating a new psychology. He confided to Fliess that it was useful for shocking and retaining patients to inject a generous amount of sexuality into their neurotic problems. His patients obliged him by producing dreams and feelings which could be easily pressed into the pre¬ fabricated “psychosexual” molds. Freud became a victim of his suggestible, hysterical patients as much as they were victims of his subtle brainwashing. Alongside this clandestine conditioning of patients and obtaining back from them the supposed confirmations of his psychological notions, Freud conducted an extended self-analysis, the selected fragments of which were later published, mostly in The Interpretation of Dreams. He was caught again in the same trap into which he led his patients. Wishing to find confirmation of his theoretical suppositions within himself, he was blinded to the ubiquitous influence of sugges¬ tion and self-suggestion in psychological processes, and thus produced dreams in line with his theories. He wrote to Fliess that he sometimes 3 knew in advance what kind of dreams he would have at night; however, he failed to draw the inevitable conclusion that self- suggestion was molding his dream images, just as his own explicit and implicit suggestions were shaping the productions of his patients on the couch. Fliess recognized the subtle suggestive influences and communicated to Freud the suspicion that he (Freud) was getting back from patients what he had injected into them previously. Flowever, Freud had invested so many hopes in the intellectual structure he had built that he did not dare accept the full implications. He rationalized and glossed over them, preferring to stay in the comforting fold of his unwitting hoax. Years later, as we shall see in chapters VIII and IX, he was compelled to partially lift the veil placed over suggestion, but never long enough to realize and admit that all the pretentious, speculative “demonstrations” of his theories were no more than an exercise in heterosuggestion and autosuggestion. His admiring and uncritical pupils (see chapter VI) mistook this conglomeration of Freud’s self-delusions and ambitious speculations as revelations about psychic depths. In this way, what could at most have been a disclosure about the psychopathological hangups of Freud and of his suggestible subjects—hysterics, and borderline psychotics—was made into a universal model of the human psyche. The indoctrination grew in geometric progression, particularly within the American culture: Freud’s students transferred the traditions to medical and lay analysts; these, in turn, brainwashed their patients and wrote volumes of promotional articles and books; the fancies of many educated people, especially artists, were taken up, and the American scene was flooded and glutted by Freudianized writings. It became a substitute religion for many, alongside other viable fads. Emil Ludwig, a discerning biographer of many famous (and a few infamous) persons of modern history, was shocked not only to find the Freudianized jargon and attitudes among American progressive society women, but also to hear his car mechanic spout Freudian notions. He was pained to see what he considered to be one man’s sick speculations growing into a psychological and moral epidemic in the United States. He felt concerned that Freudism had become an unofficial, secular sect, reinforcing in the American mentality the trends known historically as hedonistic, and psychologically as im¬ mature and irresponsible. Ludwig decided to write his warning 4