鈥楢nd we came forth to contemplate the stars鈥�
Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Canto xxxiv 1
A little over 40 years ago, on 23 August 1974, Roberto聽Assagioli, doctor, scholar, esotericist and originator of聽psychosynthesis, died at his summer home in Capolona,聽Tuscany, aged 86. It is interesting at this 40th anniversary聽of his passing, which could all too easily pass unnoticed,聽to reflect upon the life and works and indeed the legacy聽of a remarkable man of his time and a significant, though聽often undervalued, pioneer of transpersonal, or perhaps聽more properly, spiritual psychology.
Since June 2012 I have been researching Assagioli鈥檚 life聽and work, have visited his home and archive in Florence,聽Italy a number of times and have had the great good聽fortune to be able to pore over his library and papers.聽Together with a friend and colleague, Mark Jones, I am聽shaping this research material into a book, the aim of聽which is to place Assagioli and his work, especially聽psychosynthesis, in proper context. It is our assertion聽that psychosynthesis represents the first coherent,聽self-consistent spiritual (or transpersonal) psychology聽in a Western form. Yet its entry into the world was聽prolonged, even delayed, from its foundations in聽Assagioli鈥檚 doctoral thesis, circa 1910, to publication as聽Psychosynthesis: a manual of principles & techniques,聽in 19652 鈥� a 55-year publishing hiatus. And this from a聽man who held publishing his work to be the highest聽priority and service he could offer to the world!
Roberto Assagioli is, in some ways, the forgotten man聽of psychology, his story little known and his ideas little聽pondered. It is true that certain themes of his work have聽entered more mainstream discourse, but usually without聽reference to their originator, as a sort of unacknowledged聽borrowing or outright theft (examples being aspects of聽the will, considerations of subpersonalities and methods聽of working with them, and concepts such as that of the聽higher unconscious). This anniversary appreciation is a聽first step towards redress.
Roberto Assagioli was born Roberto Marco Grego in the聽Venice ghetto on 27 February 1888 at 11.59am. His father,聽Leone, died when Roberto was just two years old. The聽infant Roberto also nearly died from an unspecified聽disease, but the attentions of Dr Emanuele Assagioli聽Todesco during his period of hospitalisation saved his life.聽His mother, Elena Kaula, then married Dr Assagioli, and it is聽in this infant adoption that the first major turn in Roberto鈥檚聽life occurs; he gains a new identity, a new father聽and a new name. Here, at the very outset of his life,聽we have an early double wounding (his own near聽death and the actual death of his biological father)聽and a recasting of the context of his life, now as the聽son of a well-to-do doctor.
Roberto Assagioli鈥檚 life flourished from this period;聽the comfortable home infused with the traditions聽of medicine and science stemming from聽his stepfather, coupled with his mother鈥檚聽deep interest in theosophy and the聽vivid current of Italian cultural and聽political life at this time, inhabiting the聽newly unified national identity, all聽went to support the precocious聽natural talents of the young man.聽With a great appetite for learning聽and a tremendous facility with聽language 鈥� by age 18 Roberto聽could speak eight languages 鈥撀爄n many ways the world was聽his oyster.
By 1904 he had moved聽to Florence, which, with聽only the interruptions聽brought about by two world聽wars, was to be his home for聽the rest of his life. He studied聽medicine with great success,聽wrote articles for radical聽magazines, and featured聽prominently within the scene聽of young and pioneering聽intellectuals in that most聽luminous city. Travel and further聽research broadened the young聽Roberto in areas as diverse as聽Indian philosophy and聽mediumship, and it is around this time (1906/7) that he聽studied the emerging works of one Sigmund Freud. Soon聽after, Assagioli spent time studying at the Burgh枚lzli clinic聽near Zurich, with Eugen Bleuler and Carl Jung. A letter of聽the time, from Jung to Freud, shows us something of the聽impact of this meeting. Jung writes: 鈥楢 very pleasant and聽perhaps valuable acquaintance, our first Italian,聽a Dr Assagioli from the psychiatric clinic in聽Florence. Prof Tanzi assigned him our聽work for a dissertation. The young聽man is very intelligent, seems to be聽extremely knowledgeable and is an聽enthusiastic follower, who is entering聽the new territory with the proper聽brio. He wants to visit us next聽spring.鈥�3
In stark contrast to the fervid聽openings of the early聽psychoanalytic scene, in 1908聽he studied at the M眉nich clinic聽of Emile Kraepelin, the founder聽of psychiatry and the聽methodical categorisation聽of psychopathology, and a聽pioneer of understanding聽the role of genetics in聽disease.
So we can see a young man聽full of energy and ambition,聽eager to explore the cutting聽edge of his (by now) chosen聽field, that of the emergent聽science of psychology.聽Assagioli metabolises the two聽poles of formative psychological聽ground, psychoanalysis (after Freud鈥檚 method)聽and the systematic classification of mental disease,聽leading to psychiatry, through Kraepelin. Almost聽immediately he also begins to publish his own ideas聽and develop his own theories, seeing through the聽inherent limitations of even the most progressive聽methods of his time.
By 1910, still aged just 22, as part of his critique of聽psychoanalysis, he refers for the first time to his聽foundational idea, that of psychosynthesis. In some聽ways, these few years immediately prior to the Great聽War as Assagioli completed his formal studies and聽fully entered the world, giving papers at conferences,聽publishing articles and research, and even founding his聽own bi-monthly psychological journal, Psiche, (which,聽for example, first translated elements of Freud鈥檚 writings聽into Italian), represent the high point of his professional聽life. Clearly he is accomplished, even brilliant, a聽precociously bright and capable scholar, confident聽enough to see beyond the great figures of his field,聽even as he studied with them, and ambitious to take聽psychology further and in a more holistic direction.聽But the path was not to be so straightforward.
During the Great War, which for the young nation of聽Italy became a marked tragedy, a traumatic rupture in聽collective identity, Assagioli served as an army medic,聽becoming vice-director of the Ancona Neurological聽Centre and working directly with the effects of battleshock聽and what we might frame today as PTSD. Post聽war, he returned to Florence and set up practice as a聽psychotherapist, founding a theosophical group, and in聽1925 he married Nella Ciapetti, becoming a father a year聽later when his son Ilario was born. Although the following聽years can be seen as successful, with a number of travels聽and meetings with important figures (Nobel laureate聽Rabindranath Tagore, for example), it was a period of聽inwardness in relation to the development of聽psychosynthesis. Of course, more darkly, these years聽also saw the rise to power of Mussolini and the evolution聽of fascism as the defining political force of the day.聽Assagioli met many international figures through his聽participation at the Eranos summer schools in Ascona聽(started in 1933 and still ongoing) but the greatest of聽these for him was his meeting with the esoteric writer聽and theosophist Alice Bailey.
In time the repressions wrought by fascism led to聽Assagioli鈥檚 imprisonment (summer 1940) and the closure聽of his centres (officially for being pacifist organisations),聽much of his library was destroyed, papers burnt, property聽destroyed. The years of the Second World War represent聽a tremendously hard time. As a prominent Jewish figure,聽his safety was at constant risk, and he was forced into聽hiding with his family, often in remote mountainous areas,聽living a marginal existence especially during the Nazi聽occupation from 1943. Happily, he survived and rebuilt聽his practice, but the cost of those times on the run were聽made brutally apparent in 1951 by the untimely death of聽his son Ilario, aged 28, from tuberculosis of the bones, a聽devastating experience, especially for Assagioli鈥檚 wife.
From the late 1950s and early 1960s psychosynthesis聽institutes were founded around the world, in New York,聽Paris, Buenos Aries, London, Montreal and, of course,聽across Italy. Assagioli was also involved in numerous other聽projects and organisations, from the Group for Creative聽Meditation to the World Union for Progressive Judaism.聽He also wrote and published astrological material under聽the pseudonym The Considerator, fulfilling a lifelong聽therapeutic engagement with astrological forms.聽He counted among his friends, correspondents and聽colleagues such luminaries as educationalist Maria聽Montessori, psychologists and thinkers from Freud聽and Jung to Herman Keyserling, Martin B眉ber, Abraham聽Maslow and Viktor Frankl; spiritual teachers such as the聽Sufi master Inayat Khan, Zen teacher D T Suzuki and聽Buddhist Lama Govinda, among many others. One such聽peer was the great astrologer, composer and painter聽Dane Rudhyar, who founded transpersonal astrology.聽He wrote, perceptively, of Assagioli the man and his聽method: 鈥楧r Assagioli鈥檚 psychosynthesis is an answer聽to the chaos 鈥� but also the universalisation of interests聽and strivings 鈥� which our generation has created. The聽multiplicity of energies and stresses, and the complexity聽of a global openness, are facts which must be met.聽Assagioli has had to meet them in his own person.聽And the solution has come out of the confrontation.鈥�4
He continues: 鈥楾he way鈥� to a healing of the 鈥渇undamental聽inferiority of man,鈥� to 鈥減eace, harmony and power鈥� is聽four-fold. The four stages on the path are defined by聽Assagioli as:
- A complete knowledge of one鈥檚 personality聽
- Control of its various elements
- Realisation of one鈥檚 true self, or at least the creation聽of a unifying centre聽
- Psychosynthesis: the formation or reconstruction聽of the personality around the new centre.鈥�4
Roberto Assagioli, when considered from a psychological聽point of view, holds the distinction of having participated聽in and contributed to two of the major developments聽within psychology in the 20th century. Firstly, he was an聽active part of the first wave of psychoanalysis from 1907聽until the Great War, personally engaged with Freud and聽Jung and the Zurich Freud Society; secondly, through聽psychosynthesis and his work with Maslow and others,聽he participated in the emergence of humanistic and,聽indeed, transpersonal psychology in the 1960s.
Psychosynthesis (or bio-psychosynthesis, as it was聽first conceived) was for Assagioli a description and聽systematising of what he perceived as a natural process.聽He writes that psychosynthesis proceeds: 鈥�...by not giving聽any undue importance to any one technique鈥� by the聽steady cultivation and use of the synthetic spirit, by the聽constant endeavour to keep the entire picture in view,聽to relate always the part to the whole and last, by聽emphasising in theory and in practice the central,聽decisive importance of the human factor, of the living聽interpersonal relation between the therapist and聽the patient.鈥�2
There is no space here to explore the legacy of聽psychosynthesis, with its notable successes in terms聽of global reach and diversity, and its near invisibility in聽relation to the mainstream of therapy and psychology.聽No space either to reflect on Assagioli as the founder,聽neither the near saint he is sometimes made out to be,聽nor the failed writer he could be represented as, but聽rather as a figure more impressively human and fraught,聽convincingly dedicated and deep. We can but note that,聽in the words of a eulogy from his remembrance service,聽鈥榟e was very early鈥�, ahead of his time 鈥� anticipating the聽world of anxieties and tensions we are so well acquainted聽with today, and offering a series of maps and guides聽toward healing and making whole the individual, the聽collective and the transpersonal experience.
That his aspirations remained directed at the highest in聽humanity can be seen in many of the so-called Assagiolini,聽the many 鈥榥otes to self鈥� penned by Assagioli, often on聽scraps of paper, or prescription pads, usually in English聽or Italian, much in the manner of how one might use a聽Post-it (note) today. Among this trove of material many聽unpublished gems turn up 鈥� for example this one, found聽on my last visit to Florence: 鈥楽peak of the fascinating and聽intriguing 鈥渕ystery of the Self鈥� and of the inner adventure聽of its probing鈥� (RA, handwritten note to self).
In another he writes to himself, with humour, that聽psychology is like Dante鈥檚 vision in the Divine Comedy;聽psychoanalysis represents hell, the lowest realm of our聽being, Jung鈥檚 work seems, at best, to open up a limbo聽or collective ground, but psychosynthesis alone dares聽to conceive of heaven.
It seems to me that this willingness to embrace the聽鈥榤ystery of the Self鈥�, theoretically and in practice, most聽distinguishes Assagioli as a truly synthetic (in the sense聽of someone who relates parts together as a whole)聽figure well worthy of our attention, bringing as he did聽the materialist medical science of his era into fruitful and聽dynamic dialogue with the perennial wisdom of the ages聽and traditions, and all this in a non-dogmatic, radically聽open way. We have much to be grateful for in the work聽that is his legacy.
is a psychosynthesis聽therapist, supervisor and mindfulness聽teacher. He lives and works in Newport,聽South Wales and is currently writing a聽book about Roberto Assagioli.
References
1. Dante Alighieri. Inferno, Canto xxxiv.
2. Assagioli R. Psychosynthesis: a manual of principles & techniques.聽New York: Hobbs, Dorman & Co; 1965.
3. McGuire W (ed). The Freud/Jung letters: the correspondence聽between Sigmund Freud and C Jung. Princeton: Princeton聽University Press; 1974.
4. Rudhyar D. Roberto Assagioli & psychosynthesis. Astrology and聽the modern psyche. Sebastopol, CA: CRCS Publications; 1976.