* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Quantum Psychoanalysis
Density matrix wikipedia , lookup
Wheeler's delayed choice experiment wikipedia , lookup
Aharonov–Bohm effect wikipedia , lookup
Delayed choice quantum eraser wikipedia , lookup
Quantum dot wikipedia , lookup
Hydrogen atom wikipedia , lookup
Quantum electrodynamics wikipedia , lookup
Bell test experiments wikipedia , lookup
Coherent states wikipedia , lookup
Renormalization wikipedia , lookup
Quantum field theory wikipedia , lookup
Atomic theory wikipedia , lookup
Quantum computing wikipedia , lookup
Path integral formulation wikipedia , lookup
Measurement in quantum mechanics wikipedia , lookup
Wave function wikipedia , lookup
Ensemble interpretation wikipedia , lookup
Elementary particle wikipedia , lookup
Orchestrated objective reduction wikipedia , lookup
Quantum fiction wikipedia , lookup
Renormalization group wikipedia , lookup
Quantum machine learning wikipedia , lookup
Probability amplitude wikipedia , lookup
Identical particles wikipedia , lookup
Particle in a box wikipedia , lookup
Quantum group wikipedia , lookup
Relativistic quantum mechanics wikipedia , lookup
Quantum key distribution wikipedia , lookup
Bohr–Einstein debates wikipedia , lookup
Bell's theorem wikipedia , lookup
Matter wave wikipedia , lookup
Quantum entanglement wikipedia , lookup
History of quantum field theory wikipedia , lookup
Many-worlds interpretation wikipedia , lookup
Quantum teleportation wikipedia , lookup
Double-slit experiment wikipedia , lookup
Symmetry in quantum mechanics wikipedia , lookup
Theoretical and experimental justification for the Schrödinger equation wikipedia , lookup
Wave–particle duality wikipedia , lookup
Canonical quantization wikipedia , lookup
Quantum state wikipedia , lookup
EPR paradox wikipedia , lookup
Copenhagen interpretation wikipedia , lookup
BookReview:QuantumPsychoanalysis:EssaysonPhysics,Mind,andAnalysis Today,byGeraldJ.Gargiulo,NewYork,InternationalPsychoanalyticBooks, 2016,166pp. Whenwetrytopickoutanythingbyitself,wefindithitchedtoeverythingelsein theUniverse. JohnMuir,MyFirstSummerintheSierra Gerald Gargiulo’s recently published book, Quantum Psychoanalysis: Essays on Physics,Mind,andAnalysisTodayis, most simply put, a tour de force. How often does one book interrelate concepts from psychoanalysis, quantum physics, philosophy, literature, poetry, neurology and theology using a writing style that itselfcomesclosetopoetryattimes?GargiuloisclearlyaRenaissanceman,fluent in all these subject areas, and these are the very areas that Freud himself felt are necessaryto,inGargiulo’swords,“haveaproductivedialoguewiththepsyche”(p. 103). The book is a collection of essays written by Gargiulo on such topics as the use of quantumphysicsasametaphorforthepsychoanalyticprocess,thenatureofthe“I,” therelationshipbetweenpsychoanalysisandspirituality,psychoanalyticethics,and the state of psychoanalysis today. The book is divided into three sections: 1) Quantum Psychoanalysis, which I emphasize in this brief review because of its highly innovative and metaphorical value, 2) Theoretical Essays, and 3) Psychoanalysis Today. Though each section has a different focus, ideas and conceptsfromeachofteninterweaveandintersectininterestingways. 1 WhatdoesGargiulomeanbyquantumpsychoanalysis?Gargiuloisproposingthat thewondrousand,frankly,mind-blowingconceptsofquantumphysicscanbeseen asametaphorthatcanhelpusbetterunderstandthenatureoftheunconsciousas well as the psychoanalytic process itself. The great quantum physicist, Neils Bohr famouslystated,“Ifquantummechanicshasn’tprofoundlyshockedyou,youhaven’t understoodityet.”Inaculturerelativelydeprivedoftheexperienceofmysteryand wonder, quantum physics is home to some of the strangest and most astonishing mysteries we can imagine. Gargiulo’s reflections on quantum psychoanalysis will mostcertainlygenerateanexperienceofaweinitsreaders. Gargiulo clearly articulates the concepts of quantum mechanics and relates these concepts to the field of psychoanalysis in a lucid, creative, and thought-provoking manner.Isometimeshearpsychoanalystsasksomethingtotheeffectof,“Howcan the concepts of quantum mechanics, which apply to the micro-world of subatomic particles,possiblyrelatetopsychoanalysistakingplaceinthemacro-worldinwhich we all live?” Well, Gargiulo provides answers to this question in an evocative and profoundly meaningful manner, and you do not need to have a background in physicstoreadthisbookandgraspitsideas. Quantum physics explores the quantum world, the world of subatomic particles, also known as the micro-world, in contrast to the macro-world where our lived experienceoccurs.Thequantumworldisjustplainbizarre!Itistheworldofwave- 2 particle duality, Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, entanglement, and superposition. Heisenberg’sUncertaintyPrincipleassertsthatwecannotsimultaneouslymeasure both the position and momentum of a subatomic particle, and this is not due to instrumentation problems with our measuring devices. The more precisely we measurethepositionofasubatomicparticle,thelessweknowaboutitsmomentum. Themorepreciselywemeasurethemomentumofasubatomicparticle,thelesswe knowaboutitsposition.Therefore,theobserveraffectstheobserved.Thereisno longer any sharp demarcation between observer and observed, as in Newtonian physics. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, one of the most important scientific findings of the twentieth century, influenced Harry Stack Sullivan in the developmentofhisconceptofparticipantobservation. Gargiulo takes these concepts even further by addressing what is termed entanglement. Entanglement demonstrates what is called nonlocality, the lack of separability between subatomic particles and the absence of an observerindependent reality (Rosenblum and Kuttner, 2011, p. 178). The bottom line, according to quantum physics, is that there exists an interconnectedness of all things making up the cosmos. To understand entanglement, which Einstein famouslytermed“spookyactionatadistance,”pictureapairofsubatomicparticles, each of which always takes the opposite spin of the other when measurement occurs.Butitgetsstrangerthanthat.Evenifalargedistanceseparatesthepairof 3 particles,whenoneparticle’sspinismeasured,theotherwillsimultaneouslytakeon theoppositespin.Mindyou,thisoccurssimultaneously;thisexperiment,whichhas in actuality been performed, illustrates an interconnectedness between subatomic particles in which information exchange somehow occurs faster than the speed of light! Gargiulo, with his love of Winnicott, uses the concept of entanglement in a metaphoricalsensetoexemplifytheideathatthereisnoinfantwithouttheinfantmother pair. From Gargiulo’s perspective, the “I” is always a communal “I.” The self-contained “I” of Western philosophical tradition is an illusion– we are always embedded in context, and entanglement brings new meaning to the idea of interconnectedness.Thisemphasisuponthecommunal“I’isfurtherhighlightedin oneofthetheoreticalessaysfromSectionTwoofthisbook. Gargiulo uses the paradox of wave-particle duality to make an analogy between quantum physics and the creation of the unconscious via psychoanalytic interpretation. I will first review the concept of wave-particle duality and then examinemorecloselythemetaphoricalmannerinwhichGargiulousesthis. Wave-particle duality, or complementarity, refers to the fact that subatomic particles exhibit properties of both waves and particles. The now famous doubleslit experiment demonstrates that if you shoot subatomic particles, one at a time, through a piece of metal with two slits, you still see wavelike features in the interferencepatternsgeneratedonthephotographicplatewheretheparticlesland. Howisthispossible?Foraninterferencepatterntooccur,eachparticlewouldhave 4 topassthroughbothslits.Buthowcananindividualparticlepassthroughbothslits simultaneously and thereby interfere with itself? This leads to the concept of superposition,wherebyasubatomicparticlecansimultaneouslybeinmorethanone state and more than one place at a time due to its wave-like properties. Even stranger, before a subatomic particle’s position is observed and measured, the particle is, in actuality, everywhere and nowhere at the same time. This is where Schrödinger’s wave function enters the picture. The wave function is “the mathematical representation of the wave” (Rosenblum and Kuttner, 2011), the mathematicalprobabilityoffindingaparticleinacertainareathroughobservation andmeasurement.Beforeanobservation/measurementismade,theresimplyisno particle! There is only the probability wave function. To create an actual particle requiresobservation.IncontrasttoNewtoniandeterministicpredictability,weare nowintheworldofquantumprobability,aworldinwhichrealityitselfcomesinto question. What Rosenblum and Kuttner (2011) refer to as the “quantum enigma” is the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. The observer affects the observed. Consciousness impacts the results of a physical experiment in the material world. AccordingtotheCopenhageninterpretationofquantummechanics(oneofseveral interpretations),observationandmeasurementcollapsethewavefunction,leading totheexistenceofactualsubatomicparticlesaswellasthemacro-worlditself.In otherwords,observationappearstocreatereality,therealityofthemacro-worldin whichweresideandinwhichallourphenomenologicalexperiencearises. 5 Gargiuloproposesthatthecollapseofthewavefunctionisanalogoustocreatingthe dynamically repressed unconscious in psychoanalysis through the vehicle of interpretation. Mind you, interpretation creates the unconscious; it does not discover an already existing unconscious, as in Freud’s metaphor of archeological excavationleadingtothebedrockofabsolutetruth.Inphysics,beforethecollapse of the wave function, a subatomic particle does not exist per se. As John Wheeler putit,thereisonly“amistofinfinitepossibilities”(p.7).Inananalogousmanner, before apsychoanalyticinterpretationismade, thereareinfinite possibilities with regardtothecontentofunconsciousprocesses.Theinterpretationcreatesareality from this infinite expanse of possibility. Quantum psychoanalysis is a wonderful metaphor for the co-construction of the unconscious as well as for realizing the infinitenumberofpossibilitiespriortointerpretation.Andeachanalyticdyadwill createadifferentreality. Gargiulowrites,“Wearewalkingonabridgeofanalogy,sotospeak”(p.33).Given Gargiulo’s concern over the reification of psychoanalytic concepts, emphasized in histheoreticalessaysinSectionTwo,Iappreciatethathekeepshiscreativethinking at the level of analogy, as opposed to equating interpretation with the literal collapse of the wave function. We have to be careful of the possibility of concretizing the metaphor and using ideas from quantum physics to explain mysteriesinthemacro-world.AsRosenblumandKuttner(2011)pointout,“Many, no doubt most, physicists dismiss the creation of reality by observation as having 6 little significance beyond the limited domain of the physics of the microscopic entities”(p.269). In a theoretical essay on metaphor and meaning from Section Two of this book, Gargiulo points to the underlying metaphorical structure of knowledge. Psychoanalyticmodelsareinherentlymetaphorical,but,accordingtoGargiulo,“The reality is that if we are not constantly recreating psychoanalysis we are, in fact, killing it…Unless we are constantly refinding the metaphorical aspect of our knowledge,wecan,alltooeasilyslipintoaliteral,concreteunderstandingofit”(p. 84). If reality is a construct, then, “Understanding the metaphorical basis of knowledgefreesusoftheHerculeanburdenoffindingthetruth”(p.87).Ascanbe seen,Gargiulostrugglesagainstthereificationoftheoryandthenotionofabsolute truth;rather,“Eachnewperspectiveisultimatelyanactofcreating,revealingmore by placing what we are addressing in a wider context” (p. 87). Freud, of course, lived in the world of Newtonian physics and, naturally enough, used mechanistic and hydraulic models and metaphors. Gargiulo is helping to enrich, revitalize and renew psychoanalysis by using metaphors stemming from the wondrous world of quantumphysics. Insummary,aquantumsensibilityismultifacetedandincludes,butisnotlimitedto thefollowing: 1. An emphasis on probability, randomness and indeterminacy as opposed to deterministicpredictabilitywithclearcauseandeffect 7 2. Theinseparableconnectionbetweenobserverandobserved,betweenthe“I” andtheworld 3. Anunderstandingoftheinherentinterconnectednessofeverything 4. Anappreciationforthemysteryofthecosmos In some ways, the most important aspect of this quantum sensibility for psychoanalystsisthatitleadstoanappreciationofmysteryandtheexperienceof awe. This can only help the analyst in fostering a deep experience of aliveness in bothhimorherselfaswellasintheanalysand.Gargiulowrites: Mystery, not formula, guides our interactions with the world, with each other and with one’s patients. By mystery I mean an ever-inviting horizon to our knowledge that beckons us. One must walk cautiously, knowing that what one knows is mostly the unknown; quantum physics models help in the appreciation of the great unknown(p.78). Theconceptsjustdescribedarejustatasteofwhatthereaderwillcomeawaywith. The ideas thus far described in this brief review are dealt with in much greater depth in Section One of this book, and other concepts explored in this section include: information theory, how the present can change the past, Alfred North 8 Whitehead’s process philosophy, how Gargiulo views conscious and unconscious processes as a unity, the impact of quantum mechanics upon epistemology, the debateoveronemindversusmanyminds,andmindversusbrain. In Section Two, Gargiulo continues his exploration and appreciation of mystery in what he terms everyday transcendence, which he defines as, ”an openness to the mystery of existence, as well as a perception of the dignity that life demands” (p. 99). Intricately connected with the idea of everyday transcendence is Gargiulo’s concept of psychoanalysis as a spiritual journey, a pilgrimage leading to greater alivenessaswellasgreatercompassionandthecapacitytocare.Itis“apilgrimage to touch the center of one’s being, so that a life can be lived with competence, joy and love” (p. 151). The relationship between psychoanalysis and spirituality is greatlyemphasizedbothSectionsTwoandThreeofthisbook. SectionThreecontainsessaysonavarietyofissues,includingtheethicsofahome office(spoileralert–Gargiulo,unlikeLangsandMaroda,isveryopentousinghome offices), psychoanalytic ethics, the consequences to our culture if psychoanalysis were to disappear, and psychoanalysis today. Gargiulo, like Merton Gill, does not seepsychoanalysisasdefinedbyfactorssuchasthefrequencyofsessionsortheuse ofthecouch.Hestates,“Themoreformalaspectsofanalysisarealwayssubordinate to the goals of self-awareness and self-reflection, in the service of deepening our understandingofwhatitmeanstobehuman”(pp.149-150). 9 If I had to point to a negative, it would be that there are minor editing issues throughoutthebook.Otherthanthis,Ihaveonlytheutmostregardforthisbook. These essays deserve the highest of accolades. I have enormous admiration and respectforGargiulo’smagnificentessaysandcannotrecommendthisbookenough topsychoanalystsofallorientations.Thebookitselfisaspiritualjourney,leading the reader to an experience of awe and mystery. Gargiulo’s goals for analysis are always those of greater aliveness and greater subjective sense of realness that emerge in a context of compassion, caring and interconnectedness. Awe and mysteryareessentialtoanexperienceofaliveness,andaquantumsensibilityonthe part of the therapist can only help to foster this sense of awe and mystery. Therefore, quantum physics’ focus on the lack of anything real in the micro-world andthelackofanobserver-independentrealityleadstoasenseofaweandmystery, whichinturnparadoxicallyleadstoagreatersubjectiveexperienceofrealnessand aliveness.Thisparadoxitselffillsonewithwonderandastonishment. REFERENCES Rosenblum, B. & Kuttner, F. (2011). Quantum enigma: Physics encounters Consciousness.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress. JohnTurtz,Ph.D. Co-director,ManhattanInstitute forPsychoanalysis Director–CouplesTherapy TrainingProgramofthe WestchesterCenterfortheStudy ofPsychoanalysisand Psychotherapy 10 11