Swiss psychiatrist (1884-1922) who developed the famous 'Rorschach test,' using inkblots to unveil the unconscious parts of a subject's personality. Unsigned handwritten manuscript in German by Hermann Rorschach, one page, 8.75 x 7, no date. A passage concerning 'Delusion and Mythology,' titled in pencil in another hand. Rorschch writes, in full (translated): "The similarity between mythological creations and some of the delusions of our dementia praecox patients has long been known. Even totally uneducated people produce motifs in their delusions that correspond to a surprising degree to those of certain myths. The usual topics of mythology: rebirth and immortality, death wish and will to live, birth of self and hermaphroditism, creation of man and creation of the world, etc. reappear in the same symbolic guise in delusionary patterns. There is a lot of evidence that delusionary mythologies are ur-creations, just as other aspects point to the fact that often in dementia praecox, archaic ways of thinking reawaken. Perhaps grasping the psychological basis of these individual myth-creations will make it possible one day to draw conclusions about the psychological roots of myths." In fine condition.
Rorschach's training in art spurred the development of the famous inkblot tests for which he is known. In this manuscript, he uses the term "dementia praecox" to refer to what we now call 'schizophrenia,' a term popularized by Eugene Bleuler, with whom Rorschach studied. Carl Jung also studied under Bleuler, and dedicated much of his writing to archetypal images and mythological motifs. An accompanying description indicates that this manuscript originates from the papers of Swiss scholar Samuel Singer (1860-1948).
Rorschach died at the age of 37, and his autograph material is rare in any form—this is the first we have offered.
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