1994 11 00 Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association - Vol 42 No 4 - Gifford

Magazine Overview

This document consists of pages from the 'BOOK SECTION' of a magazine, featuring several book reviews and a list of references. The content spans pages 1290 to 1298.

Book Review: Masud Khan Biography

The first review discusses a book about Masud Khan, highlighting the traumatic roles of narcissism and the illusion of being an exception, which were repeated in his interactions with patients. The reviewer believes Cooper's telling of Khan's life illustrates these issues, though not critically. Cooper's book offers a summary of Khan's contributions to clinical work and theory. The central question posed is how to reconcile Khan's contributions with his personal weaknesses, and whether his story reflects a broader pattern in the profession regarding transference and countertransference.

The review notes that the book is compelling due to these underlying problems, but suggests a need for a more critically evaluative and biographically frank account. The reviewer acknowledges indebtedness to Cooper for her contribution and advises analysts to read the story and reflect on the issues it raises.

References are provided for M. M. B. Khan's works: 'The Privacy of the Self' (1974), 'Alienation in Perversions' (1979), and 'The Long Wait' (1989).

Howard B. Levine, M.D. from Brookline, MA, is listed as the reviewer.

Book Review: John E. Mack's 'Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens'

The second, more extensive review focuses on John E. Mack's book, 'Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens.' The reviewer frames Mack's work as a subversive assault on psychoanalysis as a science, challenging Western traditions of rationality. Mack, initially skeptical, experienced a 'conversion experience' after encountering Budd Hopkins and his 'survivors,' leading him to believe that nocturnal voyages and sexual explorations by 'aliens' were actual events.

Mack acknowledges similarities between these phenomena and visions of saints, mystics, shamans, and drug-induced trips. However, instead of dismissing them as products of imagination, he interprets ancient dreams and mythical visions as possibly real occurrences, evidence of 'new realms of psychical awareness' and 'other intelligences in the universe.' He even suggests that Ezekiel's vision might have been an actual UFO visitation.

The review traces Mack's history, including his work on T. E. Lawrence and his activities for peace. It notes his rejection of psychiatric explanations for UFO phenomena, including links to Satanic abuse, multiple personality, and hypnotically induced memories of childhood sexual abuse. Mack's own observations on 76 'experiencers' confirmed Hopkins' findings, leading him to conclude that the phenomenon was outside the Western scientific worldview.

Mack considered the need for a new scientific paradigm and consulted historian of science Thomas Kuhn. He adopted a stance of total credulity towards his subjects' narratives, using Kuhn's ideas to critique science, materialism, and Cartesian dualism.

The review details what Mack calls 'transformational and spiritual growth aspects' of the abduction phenomenon, including information about previous lives, flights to a 'cosmic source,' and dual human/alien identities. Some abductees express love for their alien kidnappers, viewing them as 'intermediate entities.'

Mack's investigative method is described as a combination of standard psychiatric interviews with hypnosis, modified by 'Grof holotropic breathwork,' which he calls 'co-creative.' The reviewer notes that this method leaves Mack open to 'mutual suggestibility,' drawing a parallel to Freud's criticism of Ferenczi's 'mutual analysis.'

The review critiques Mack's abduction scenarios as 'banal and highly monotonous,' featuring common themes of sexual union, hybrid offspring, and surgical probing, with imagery reminiscent of science fiction. The reviewer finds it strange that Mack interprets the similarity of these images among unrelated subjects as evidence of reality.

A more 'commonsense' interpretation suggests that the similarities reflect the universality of the human unconscious, akin to Greek myths or demonic possession. The review contrasts modern abduction narratives with the richness of ancient myths, suggesting the former reflect a 'poverty of our contemporary high-tech imagination.'

The review argues that while Mack's subjects are not clinically 'crazy,' their beliefs are 'irrational' and not shared by the 'compact majority,' comparing them to believers in Creationism or faith healing. It notes that in past ages, people believed in divine visitations, while modern beliefs are shaped by contemporary scientific and literary conventions.

The nearest analogy to Mack's phenomena is the Spiritualist movement, which emerged during the Enlightenment as a response to declining faith. The review traces the history of Spiritualism from Swedenborg to the Fox sisters in Hydesville, New York, and its adoption by figures like Robert Owen and Alfred Russel Wallace.

Eminent scientists like Sir William Crookes, Sir Oliver Lodge, and Sir James Jeans were involved in Spiritualism. Freud himself conducted a séance, though he remained skeptical about thought transference.

The review highlights two main points: first, that highly intelligent minds can adopt irrational beliefs while remaining sane, and second, that the source of these beliefs lies in the universal human unconscious, with superficial formats shaped by contemporary conventions. Examples include early Spiritualist journals and the iconography of alien abductions influenced by computer science.

Compared to nineteenth-century Spiritualism, which focused on communication with the dead, current abduction theory, as interpreted by Mack, involves aliens transmitting messages about materialism and ecology, reflecting Mack's own concerns.

The review mentions 13 case histories presented by Mack but states they raise questions of faith rather than evidence. It concludes by referencing a followup report on one of Hopkins' most famous cases.

Key Incident: Linda Cortile Abduction

The review details the case of Linda Cortile, a New York woman reportedly levitated from her bed by a beam of blue light and taken to a spaceship. This event was allegedly witnessed by two policemen. The incident occurred on November 30, 1989, and was reported by Hopkins. However, a followup report by Shaeffer casts doubt on the abduction due to Cortile's conflicting stories and the inability to locate the agents involved. A UFOlogist claimed that an investigation was discouraged due to potential political damage to UFO research.

References

• References are provided for various works, including:
• Casonato, M. (1993). Ferenczi's preanalytic writings.
• Freud, S. (1927). The future of an illusion.
• Freud-Ferenczi Correspondence (1908-1914).
• Fuller, J. G. (1966). The Interrupted Journey.
• Gardner, R. (1993). Sexual abuse hysteria.
• Gay, P. (1988). Freud: A Life for Our Times.
• Hopkins, B. (1981). Missing Time: A Documented Study of UFO Abductions.
• Jacobs, D. (1992). Secret Life: Firsthand Accounts of UFO Abductions.
• Olcott, H. S. (1875). People from the Other World.
• Shaeffer, R. (1993). Levitated Linda.
• Wallace, A. R. (1896). Miracles and Modern Spiritualism.
• Wright, L. (1994). Remembering Satan.

Sanford Gifford, M.D. from Cambridge, MA, is listed as a reference.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this section are the critical examination of psychoanalytic literature and the exploration of paranormal phenomena, particularly UFO abductions. The editorial stance appears to be one of critical inquiry, acknowledging the complexities of human belief systems and the challenges of integrating subjective experiences with scientific frameworks. The reviews engage with both the psychological and historical dimensions of these topics, questioning the boundaries of rationality and the nature of reality.