ABSTRACT
In his anthology Psychoanalysis and the Occult, Devereux refers to 235 papers on telepathic experiences in psychoanalysis, of which he reprints thirty-one, including essays by Jule Eisenbud, Jan Ehrenwald, Nandor Fodor, and other notable scholar-practitioners. A layman will no doubt find it hard to understand how pathological disorders of the body and mind can be eliminated by “mere” words. He will feel that he is being asked to believe in magic. Language has always been intimately connected with magic, not least in the capacity of words to evoke deep and powerful emotions. As Bernstein reminds us, the word “magic” originally meant “of the magi”—the wise men of the Persians reputed to be skilled in enchantment. “One of the most remarkable facts in the history of the psychoanalytic movement”, complained Eisenbud in 1946 “is the indifference with which Freud’s publications on the subject of telepathy were received”.
