The Besieged Mind
Demonically-Induced Obsession in Late Antique Monastic Psychology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jch.26950Keywords:
cognitive historiography, demonology, Monastic psychology, obsessionAbstract
Late antique monks were constantly besieged by demons. This article seeks to gain an insight into the reality behind monastic accounts of this demonically-induced psychological state, characterized by an uncontrollable preoccupation with demonically-inspired thoughts. This distressful experience is depicted in early monastic sources by using Greek verbs expressing “to besiege”, which have been rendered into Latin as obsidere (to besiege) – the etymological root of “obsession” in modern usage. A juxtaposition of modern accounts of obsession and monastic accounts of the besieged mind points to striking similarities in the symptoms – similarities which, I argue, are not accidental. Rather, the internalized interpretation of the siege enabled monastic writers to cope with questions regarding the aetiology of obsession-like symptoms. Cognitive research of obsession helps to account for the prevalence of this demonically-induced psychological state in monastic sources. Thereby it underscores the sophistication of monastic psychology cum demonology, which developed its own representation of the human mind and its operations.
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Shafran, Thordarson, and Stanley Rachman. 1996. “Thought-Action Fusion in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”, Journal of Anxiety Disorders 10/5: 379–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/0887-6185(96)00018-7
Sorensen, Eric. 2002. Possession and Exorcism in the New Testament and Early Christianity. Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck.
Stephenson, Craig E., Possession: Jung’s Comparative Anatomy of the Psyche. New York: Routledge, 2012.
Stewart, Columba. 2003. “The Practices of Monastic Prayer: Origins, Evolution, and Tensions”. In Living for Eternity: The White Monastery and its Neighborhood. Proceedings of a Symposium at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 115–26. Edited by Philip Sellew. Minneapolis, MN: The University of Minnesota.
Stroumsa, Guy G. 2009. The End of Sacrifice: Religious Transformations in Late Antiquity. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Swain, Simon. 1997. “Biography and Biographic in the Literature of the Roman Empire”. In: Portraits: Biographical Representation in the Greek and Latin Literature of the Roman Empire. Edited by Mark Edwards and Simon Swain. New York: Oxford University Press.
Taylor, Charles. 2001. Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modem Identity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Trembinski, Donna. 2011. “Comparing Premodern Melancholy/Mania and Modern Trauma: An Argument in Favor of Historical Experiences of Trauma”, History of Psychology 14/1: 80–99. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020430
Wegner, Daniel M., David J. Schneider, Samuel R. Carter, and Teri L. White. 1987. “Paradoxical Effects of Thought Suppression”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 53/1: 5–13. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.53.1.5
Wortley, John, ed. and trans. 2013. The Anonymous Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Zachhuber, Johannes, and Alexis Torrance (eds.). 2014. Individuality in Late Antiquity. Farnham: Ashgate.
American Psychiatric Association. 2013. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-V. Washington, D.C: American Psychiatric Association.
Annas, Julia. 1994. Hellenistic Philosophy of Mind. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Bitton-Ashkelony, Brouria. 1999. “Penitence in Late Antique Monastic Literature”. In Transformations of the Inner Self in Ancient Religions, 179–194. Edited by Jan Assmann and Guy G. Stroumsa. Leiden: Brill.
Bouyer, Louis. 2004. The Christian Mystery: From Pagan Myth to Christian Mysticism. New York: T&T Clark.
Chadwick, Owen. 1950. John Cassian: A Study in Primitive Monasticism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Davis, Lennard J. 2008. Obsession: A History. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226137797.001.0001
de Durand, Georges-Matthieu, ed. 1999. Marc Le Moine. Traites, SC 445. Paris: du Cerf.
Dols, Michael. 1984. “Insanity and its Treatment in Islamic Society”, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 38: 135–48. https://doi.org/10.2307/1291501
Everson, Steven. 1991. “The Objective Appearance of Pyrrhonism”. In Companions to Ancient Thought, Vol. 2: Psychology, 121–47. Edited by Steven Everson (New York: Cambridge University Press).
Flynn, Maureen. 1998. “Taming Anger’s Daughters: New Treatment for Emotional Problems in Renaissance Spain”, Renaissance Quarterly 51/3: 864–86. https://doi.org/10.2307/2901748
Freedman, David A. 1999. “Obsessiveness in Context”, Annual of Psychoanalysis 26: 25–46.
Garlan, Yvon. 1974. Recherches de Poliorcétique Grecque. Athènes: École française d’Athènes.
Gianfrancesco, Angelo. 2008. “Monachisme ancien et psychopathologie”, L’évolution psychiatrique 73: 105–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evopsy.2008.01.005
Martin, Luther H. 2007. “The Promise of Cognitive Science for the Study of Early Christianity”. In Explaining Christian Origins and Early Judaism: Contribution from Cognitive and Social Science, 37–55. Edited by Petri Luomanen, Ilkka Pyssiäinen and Risto Uro. Leiden: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004163294.i-328.11
Neaman, Judith. 1975. Suggestion of the Devil: The Origins of Madness. New York: Anchor.
Osborn, Ian. 2008. Can Christianity Cure Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? Ada Township, MI: Brazos Press.
Polivy, Janet, and Peter Herman. 1985. “Dieting and Binging: A Causal Analysis”, American Psychologist 40/2: 193–201. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.40.2.193
Prins, Herschel. 1992. “Besieged by Devils: Thoughts on Possession and Possession States”, Medicine, Science and the Law 32/3: 237–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/002580249203200309
Hallam, Richard S., and Kieron P. O’Connor. 2002. “A Dialogical Approach to Obsessions”, Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice 75/3: 333–48. https://doi.org/10.1348/147608302320365307
Harris, William V. 2013. “Thinking about Mental Disorders in Classical Antiquity”. In Mental Disorders in the Classical World, 89–99. Edited by William V. Harris. Leiden: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004249875_002
Rachman, Stanley A. 1981. “Part I. Unwanted Intrusive Cognitions”, Advances in Behavior Research and Therapy 3/3: 89–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/0146-6402(81)90007-2
—1997. “A Cognitive Theory of Obsessions”, Behaviour Research and Therapy 35/9: 793–802. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(97)00040-5
—1998. “A Cognitive Theory of Obsessions: Elaborations”, Behaviour Research and Therapy 36/4: 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(97)10041-9
—2003. The Treatment of Obsessions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rachman, Stanley A., and Ray Hodgson. 1980. Obsessions and Compulsions. Hempstead: Prentice Hall.
Rachman, Stanley A., and Padmal de Silva. 1978. “Abnormal and Normal Obsessions”, Behaviour Research and Therapy 16/4: 233–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(78)90022-0
Salkovskis, Paul M. 1989. “Cognitive-Behavioural Factors and the Persistence of Intrusive Thoughts in Obsessional Problems”, Behaviour Research and Therapy 27/6: 677–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(89)90152-6
Salkovskis, Paul M., and Jimm Harrison. 1984. “Abnormal and Normal Obsessions —a Replication”, Behaviour Research and Therapy 22/5: 549–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(84)90057-3
Schwartz, Jeffrey M., and Sharon Begley. 2002. The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force. New York: Harper Collins.
Shafran, Thordarson, and Stanley Rachman. 1996. “Thought-Action Fusion in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”, Journal of Anxiety Disorders 10/5: 379–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/0887-6185(96)00018-7
Sorensen, Eric. 2002. Possession and Exorcism in the New Testament and Early Christianity. Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck.
Stephenson, Craig E., Possession: Jung’s Comparative Anatomy of the Psyche. New York: Routledge, 2012.
Stewart, Columba. 2003. “The Practices of Monastic Prayer: Origins, Evolution, and Tensions”. In Living for Eternity: The White Monastery and its Neighborhood. Proceedings of a Symposium at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 115–26. Edited by Philip Sellew. Minneapolis, MN: The University of Minnesota.
Stroumsa, Guy G. 2009. The End of Sacrifice: Religious Transformations in Late Antiquity. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Swain, Simon. 1997. “Biography and Biographic in the Literature of the Roman Empire”. In: Portraits: Biographical Representation in the Greek and Latin Literature of the Roman Empire. Edited by Mark Edwards and Simon Swain. New York: Oxford University Press.
Taylor, Charles. 2001. Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modem Identity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Trembinski, Donna. 2011. “Comparing Premodern Melancholy/Mania and Modern Trauma: An Argument in Favor of Historical Experiences of Trauma”, History of Psychology 14/1: 80–99. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020430
Wegner, Daniel M., David J. Schneider, Samuel R. Carter, and Teri L. White. 1987. “Paradoxical Effects of Thought Suppression”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 53/1: 5–13. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.53.1.5
Wortley, John, ed. and trans. 2013. The Anonymous Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Zachhuber, Johannes, and Alexis Torrance (eds.). 2014. Individuality in Late Antiquity. Farnham: Ashgate.
Published
2017-06-05
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Section
Articles
How to Cite
Graiver, I. (2017). The Besieged Mind: Demonically-Induced Obsession in Late Antique Monastic Psychology. Journal of Cognitive Historiography, 2(2), 116-131. https://doi.org/10.1558/jch.26950
