Psychological Energy: Early Theorists in the Analytical Tradition

Since the dawn of Western psychology, theorists have used variations of the term “energy” to describe the dynamic forces at work within the psyche and the soma and the psychotherapeutic processes of change. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, terms used for psychological energy included “libido,” “psychic energy,” “orgone energy,” “bioenergetics,” and “psycho-energetics.” This paper uses philosophical hermeneutics to compare the major theorists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century: William James, Pierre Janet, Sigmund Freud, C. G. Jung, Wilhelm Reich, Alexander Lowen, and Roberto Assagioli. Analysis reveals these theorists generally agreed psychological energy is (a) a nonrational force that the rational mind attempts to harness, tame, or understand; (b) can be felt as part of an emotional experience, but is not, strictly speaking, the cognitive components of emotion; (c) characterized by a movement whose directionality and intensity are directly related to psychological well-being; and (d) fuel for action that can be directed by the conscious will or desire. The major point of disagreement is the nature and source of this energy. Some theorists argued that it is a physical energy as defined by the natural sciences, some contented it has a metaphysical or supernatural source, and others have placed it somewhere between the physical and metaphysical.