Pathologizing Possession: An Essay on Mind, Self, and Experience in Dissociation
Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 2003 DOI: 10.1525/ac.2003.14.2.27 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that dissociative spirit possession should not be construed as inherently pathological and that psychoanalytic anthropological views must incorporate culture-specific factors. Proposes an embodiment approach to understand how dissociation constructs individual and cultural realities in possession experiences. |
Abstract
In this paper, critique the classic psychoanalytic anthropological construal of dissociative spirit possession as a pathological phenomenon. I review some of the relevant theoretical and ethnographic literature on this subject but focus on the work of two prominent psychoanalytic anthropologists to explore divergent views of the psychological nature of pathological and religious experience. Emphasis is placed on the necessity for taking into account the culture specific factors that shape dissociative possession, particularly with regard to spiritual experiences. I also move beyond this view to an embodiment approach that is useful for analyzing the experiential ground of spirit possession, and thus for providing insight into how particular individual and cultural realities are constructed through dissociation. Key words: dissociation, embodiment, possession, psychoanalytic anthropology, self"Perception is never an absolute revelation of 'what is' " ‐A.l. Hallovvell (1955: 84)