Articles: Self and Sacrifice: A Phenomenological Psychology of Sacred Pain
By Ariel Glucklich
Issue: Volume 92.4
Pages: - 479-506
Author: - Ariel Glucklich
In a previous article published in this journal, I discussed the relation between the neurological system and some culturally prescribed forms of self-inflicted pain.(1) I showed that the way humans experience and communicate pain depends on the cybernetic features of the peripheral and central nervous system. The body-self, our sense of coherent and embodied agency, was also discussed in its relation to neural function--Ronald Melzack's "neurosignature." These topics traced a basic epistemology of self-inflicted pain. I showed that an intentional manipulation of systemic neural features could result in states of "self-transcendence," or effacement, to which many mystics have aspired. These dynamics take place beneath the level of consciousness. They constitute a neuropsychology. But what happens at the conscious level, in the awareness of the self-mutilator? How do the neurological processes translate into decisions to hurt oneself, and what are the consequences of such pain? These questions are the subject of the present work. The discussion now moves to the psychological level of the experience of pain, but it builds carefully on the neurocybernetics of the previous article. There will be no deus ex machina Self who becomes magically reborn through the ordeals of pain. For reasons that will become explicit shortly, I will adhere to the strict rules of phenomenology that regulated the first article. The subject who undergoes pain will only be discussed as an expansion of the body-self.
* Pathological Self-Mutilation
Andre Vauchez's Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages states that Blessed Clare of Rimini had herself bound to a pillar and whipped on Good Friday. Hedwig of Silesia scourged herself, and Blessed Charles of Blois wrapped knotted cords around his chest.(2) Caroline Walker Bynum's Holy Feast and Holy Fast describes how Christina of Spoleto perforated her own foot with a nail.(3) Heinrich Suso tortured himself in more ways than many of the other saints and mystics combined.(4) The lives of saints and mystics abound with descriptions of self-tortures and even self-mutilations. I will examine one instance in some detail later. In order to de-theologize these phenomena, it may first be useful to put these religious individuals in a far broader context of apparently self-destructive behavior. Consider, for example, the self-mutilations that prevail in a wide range of populations in contemporary America.
The New York Times Magazine of July 27, 1997, discussed a study in which patients were interviewed about self-mutilation.(5) The article focused on a teenage girl, Jill, who was an attractive and charismatic cheerleader in a South Chicago Irish neighborhood, and a member of a close-knit and caring family. Her social success appeared to be accompanied by extremely high levels of stress and a complete preoccupation with efforts to please others, especially boys. At age fourteen Jill discovered that by cutting herself with a razor and watching the blood come out, her psychic pain would vanish, at least temporarily. Jill began to cut herself in the bathroom, or at other places, with razor blades, or, when these were not available, broken glass, compass needles, and other items. She usually cut the upper thigh area where she claimed the cuts could not be detected. She thus became part of a recent epidemic, especially among young women. The epidemic was dubbed by Armando Favazza as "bodies under siege."(6) What is the explanation for the widespread phenomenon of young women who appear to be well-adjusted, secretly hurting themselves? Is a comparison with the sacred self-hurt of saints and mystics fair, or entirely baseless?
Pages: - 479-506
Author: - Ariel Glucklich
In a previous article published in this journal, I discussed the relation between the neurological system and some culturally prescribed forms of self-inflicted pain.(1) I showed that the way humans experience and communicate pain depends on the cybernetic features of the peripheral and central nervous system. The body-self, our sense of coherent and embodied agency, was also discussed in its relation to neural function--Ronald Melzack's "neurosignature." These topics traced a basic epistemology of self-inflicted pain. I showed that an intentional manipulation of systemic neural features could result in states of "self-transcendence," or effacement, to which many mystics have aspired. These dynamics take place beneath the level of consciousness. They constitute a neuropsychology. But what happens at the conscious level, in the awareness of the self-mutilator? How do the neurological processes translate into decisions to hurt oneself, and what are the consequences of such pain? These questions are the subject of the present work. The discussion now moves to the psychological level of the experience of pain, but it builds carefully on the neurocybernetics of the previous article. There will be no deus ex machina Self who becomes magically reborn through the ordeals of pain. For reasons that will become explicit shortly, I will adhere to the strict rules of phenomenology that regulated the first article. The subject who undergoes pain will only be discussed as an expansion of the body-self.
* Pathological Self-Mutilation
Andre Vauchez's Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages states that Blessed Clare of Rimini had herself bound to a pillar and whipped on Good Friday. Hedwig of Silesia scourged herself, and Blessed Charles of Blois wrapped knotted cords around his chest.(2) Caroline Walker Bynum's Holy Feast and Holy Fast describes how Christina of Spoleto perforated her own foot with a nail.(3) Heinrich Suso tortured himself in more ways than many of the other saints and mystics combined.(4) The lives of saints and mystics abound with descriptions of self-tortures and even self-mutilations. I will examine one instance in some detail later. In order to de-theologize these phenomena, it may first be useful to put these religious individuals in a far broader context of apparently self-destructive behavior. Consider, for example, the self-mutilations that prevail in a wide range of populations in contemporary America.
The New York Times Magazine of July 27, 1997, discussed a study in which patients were interviewed about self-mutilation.(5) The article focused on a teenage girl, Jill, who was an attractive and charismatic cheerleader in a South Chicago Irish neighborhood, and a member of a close-knit and caring family. Her social success appeared to be accompanied by extremely high levels of stress and a complete preoccupation with efforts to please others, especially boys. At age fourteen Jill discovered that by cutting herself with a razor and watching the blood come out, her psychic pain would vanish, at least temporarily. Jill began to cut herself in the bathroom, or at other places, with razor blades, or, when these were not available, broken glass, compass needles, and other items. She usually cut the upper thigh area where she claimed the cuts could not be detected. She thus became part of a recent epidemic, especially among young women. The epidemic was dubbed by Armando Favazza as "bodies under siege."(6) What is the explanation for the widespread phenomenon of young women who appear to be well-adjusted, secretly hurting themselves? Is a comparison with the sacred self-hurt of saints and mystics fair, or entirely baseless?
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