Orgone
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Orgone (
Reich argued that deficits or constrictions in bodily orgone were at the root of many diseases, most prominently
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health lists orgone as a type of "putative energy".[10] After Reich's death, research into the concept of orgone passed to some of his students, such as Kelley, and later to a new generation of scientists in Germany keen to discover an empirical basis for the orgone hypothesis (the first positive results of which were provided in 1989 by Stefan Muschenich).[11] There is no empirical support for the concept of orgone in medicine or the physical sciences,[12] and research into the concept concluded with the end of the institute. Founded in 1982, the Institute for Orgonomic Science in New York is dedicated to the continuation of Reich's work; it both publishes a digital journal on it and collects corresponding works.[13]
History
The concept of orgone belongs to Reich's later work after he immigrated to the US. Reich's early work was based on the
Reich took an increasingly bioenergetic view of libido, perhaps influenced by his tutor Paul Kammerer and another biologist, Otto Heinrich Warburg.[16] In the early 20th century, when molecular biology was in its infancy, developmental biology in particular still presented mysteries that made the idea of a specific life energy respectable, as was articulated by theorists such as Hans Driesch. As a psycho-analyst, Reich aligned such theories with the Freudian libido, while as a materialist, he believed such a life force must be susceptible to physical experiments.
He wrote in his best-known book,
The concept of orgone resulted from this work in the psycho-physiology of libido. After Reich migrated to the US, he began to speculate about biological development and evolution and then branched into much broader speculations about the nature of the universe.
For Reich, neurosis became a physical manifestation he called "body armor"—deeply seated tensions and inhibitions in the physical body that were not separated from any mental effects that might be observed.
Evaluation
Orgone was closely associated with sexuality: Reich, following Freud, saw nascent sexuality as the primary energetic force of life. The term itself was chosen to share a root with the word
In some cases, Reich's experimental techniques do not appear to have been very careful or taken precautions to remove experimental bias.[20] Reich was concerned with experimental verification from other scientists. Albert Einstein agreed to participate, but thought Reich's research lacked scientific detachment and experimental rigor; and concluded that the effect was simply due to the temperature gradient inside the room. "Through these experiments I regard the matter as completely solved," he wrote to Reich on 7 February 1941. Upon further correspondence from Reich, Einstein replied that he could not devote any additional time to the matter and asked that his name not be misused for advertising purposes.
Orgone and its related concepts were quickly denounced in the
Some
Film influence
Dušan Makavejev opened his 1971 satirical film W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism with documentary coverage of Reich and his development of orgone accumulators, combining this with other imagery and a fictional sub-plot in a collage mocking sexual and political authorities.[30] Scenes include one of only "ten or fifteen orgone boxes left in the country" at that time.[31]
See also
- Alexander Gurwitsch
- Franz Anton Mesmer
- Energy (spiritual)
- Energy medicine
- Fringe science
- Integratron
- List of ineffective cancer treatments
- Odic force of Carl Reichenbach
- Rupert Sheldrake
- Scientific skepticism
- Thetan
- Vitalism
- Vril
References
- ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
- ^ Multiple citations:
- Kenneth S. Isaacs (psychoanalyst), 1999: "Orgone—a useless fiction with faulty basic premises, thin partial theory, and unsubstantiated application results. It was quickly discredited and cast away."Isaacs 1999, p. 240.
- Bauer 2000, p. 159. Henry H. Bauer, 2000: "Reich's personal charisma seems to have misled some number of people into taking his 'science' seriously. His outward behavior was not inconsistent with that of a mainstream scientific investigator. In the light of everyday common sense rather than of deep technical knowledge, his ideas could seem highly defensible. For those who lack familiarity with the real science of matters Reich dealt with, why would orgone be less believable than black holes, a bounded yet infinite universe, or "dark matter" ...?"
- Roeckelein 2006, pp. 517–518. Jon E. Roeckelein (psychologist), 2006: "The current consensus of scientific opinion is that Reich's orgone theory is basically a psychoanalytic system gone awry, and is an approach that represents something most ludicrous and totally dismissible."
- Jon E. Roeckelein (2006). Elsevier's dictionary of psychological theories. Elsevier. pp. 493, 517–518. ISBN 978-0-444-51750-0.
- Robert E. Butts (1993). "Sciences and Pseudosciences. An attempt at a new form of demarcation". In ISBN 978-0-8229-3738-8.
- Arthur Wrobel (1987). Pseudo-science and society in nineteenth-century America (illustrated ed.). University Press of Kentucky. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-8131-1632-7.
- Turan, Peter (2013). Practical Applications of the Philosophy of Science: Thinking about Research (illustrated ed.). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 85.
- Gordin, Michael D. (2012). The Pseudoscience Wars: Immanuel Velikovsky and the Birth of the Modern Fringe (illustrated ed.). University of Chicago Press. p. 158.
- ^ ISBN 9780879103262
- ^ a b "Orgone Energy - Wilhelm Reich and the Orgone Accumulator". Thoughtco. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
- ^ ISBN 9780486203942
- ^ a b c Charles R. Kelley Ph.D., "What is Orgone Energy?" 1962
- ^ "orgone energy", The Skeptic's Dictionary
- ^
DeMarco, Donald; ISBN 9781586170165. Retrieved 2015-01-18.
[...] Reich claimed as his great discovery, made in 1939, that at the heart of all matter is a hitherto unknown energy that he called 'orgone'.[...] Three years later he founded the Orgone Institute, where the 'science' of orgonomy would be studied.
- ^ "The orgone accumulator, as has been clearly stated in the relevant publications (The Cancer Biopathy, etc.), cannot provide orgastic potency" from Reich, W. (1950, April) Orgone Energy Bulletin 2(2).
- ^ http://nccih.nih.gov/health/backgrounds/energymed.htm "putative energy fields (also called biofields) have defied measurement to date by reproducible methods. Therapies involving putative energy fields are based on the concept that human beings are infused with a subtle form of energy. This proposed vital energy or life force is known under different names in different cultures, such as qi ... prana, etheric energy, fohat, orgone, odic force, mana, and homeopathic resonance".
- ^ Müschenich, S. & Gebauer, R.: "Die (Psycho-)Physiologischen Wirkungen des Reich'schen Orgonakkumulators auf den Menschlichen Organismus" ("The [Psycho-]Physiological Effects of the Reich Orgone Accumulator on the Human Organism,") University of Marburg (Germany), Department of Psychology, Master's Degree Dissertation, 1986. Published as: "Der Reichsche Orgonakkumulator. Naturwissenschaftliche Diskussion - Praktische Anwendung - Experimentelle Untersuchung" ("The Reichian Orgone-Accumulator. Scientific Discussion - Practical Use - Experimental Testing"), 1987, published by Nexus Verlag, Frankfurt (Also see the published work: Müschenich, Stefan: Der Gesundheitsbegriff im Werk des Arztes Wilhelm Reich (The Concept of Health in the Works of the physician Wilhelm Reich), Doktorarbeit am Fachbereich Humanmedizin der Philipps-Universität Marburg (M.D. thesis, 1995, University of Marburg (published by Verlag Gorich & Weiershauser, Marburg) 1995.
- S2CID 39057986.
[orgone is] a useless fiction with faulty basic premises, thin partial theory, and unsubstantiated application results. It was quickly discredited and cast away.
- ^ "Bibliographies". The Institute for Orgonomic Science. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
- ^ See The Mass Psychology of Fascism and Listen Little Man
- ^ Paul A. Robinson, The Sexual Radicals: Reich, Roheim, Marcuse, Paladin, 1972. Previously published as The Sexual Radicals, London: Maurice Temple Smith, 1970. Originally published as The Freudian Left, New York; London: Harper and Row.
- ^ James Strick, The Historic Context of Reich's Laboratory Work, talk, Archived December 23, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Quoted in Malgosia Askanas, Ph.D. Expose of the Secret and Not-so-secret misery of (An)Orgonomy and Reichianism
- ^ Webster's Dictionary, orgone.
- ^ Edward W. L. Smith, The Body in Psychotherapy, Macfarland, 2000.
- ^ "ORGONE RADIATION: A Skeptical Scrutiny of the Works and Theories of Wilhelm Reich". www.rogermwilcox.com.
- ^ Mildred Brady, The New Cult of Sex & Anarchy, article in The New Republic printed 1947
- ^ Norman D. Livergood, America, Awake!, Dandelion Books (2002), p.263
- ISBN 0-394-71238-2.
- ^ a b "Decree of injunction order (March 19, 1954) by Judge Clifford". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.
- ^ Gardner, Martin. On the Wild Side. Prometheus Books.
- ^ Lugg, A. (1987). Bunkum, Flim-Flam and Quackery: Pseudoscience as a Philosophical Problem. Dialectica, 41(3), 221-230.
- ^ Müschenich, S. & Gebauer, R.: "Die (Psycho-)Physiologischen Wirkungen des Reich'schen Orgonakkumulators auf den Menschlichen Organismus" ("The [Psycho-]Physiological Effects of the Reich Orgone Accumulator on the Human Organism,") University of Marburg (Germany), Department of Psychology, Master's Degree Dissertation, 1986. Published as: "Der Reichsche Orgonakkumulator. Naturwissenschaftliche Diskussion - Praktische Anwendung - Experimentelle Untersuchung" ("The Reichian Orgone-Accumulator. Scientific Discussion - Practical Use - Experimental Testing"), 1987, published by Nexus Verlag, Frankfurt (Also see the published work: Müschenich, Stefan: Der Gesundheitsbegriff im Werk des Arztes Wilhelm Reich (The Concept of Health in the Works of the physician Wilhelm Reich), Doktorarbeit am Fachbereich Humanmedizin der Philipps-Universität Marburg (M.D. thesis, 1995, University of Marburg (published by Verlag Gorich & Weiershauser, Marburg) 1995.
- ^ Kavouras, J.: "HEILEN MIT ORGONENERGIE: Die Medizinische Orgonomie (HEALING BY ORGONE ENERGY: Medical Orgonomy)," Turm Verlag (publisher), Beitigheim, Germany, 2005; Lassek, Heiko: "Orgon-Therapie: Heilen mit der Reinen Lebensenergie (Orgone Therapy: Healing by [the] pure Life/Vital energy)," Scherz Verlag (publisher), 1997, Munchen, Germany; Medeiros, Geraldo: "Bioenergologia: A ciencia das energias de vida" (Portuguese: Bioenergology: The science of life's energies), Editora Universalista, Brazil
- ^ DeMeo, J.: "The Orgone Accumulator Handbook," Natural Energy, 1989
- ^ Ebert, Roger (July 15, 2007). "WR -- Mysteries of the Organism :: rogerebert.com :: Great Movies". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
- ^ Morris, Gary (July 2011). "Bright Lights Film Journal :: Sweet Movies: Four by Dusan Makavejev". Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved 2011-11-13.