A REVISION OF BERNE'S FIRST BOOK, WRITTEN BEFORE HE INVENTED "TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS”
Eric Berne (1910-1970; born as Eric Bernstein, he changed his name in 1943) was a Canadian-born psychiatrist, who wrote many popular (even "trendy," in the 1960s) books such as 'Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy,' 'Structure and Dynamics of Organizations and Groups,' 'The Games People Play,' 'Principles of Group Treatment,' etc. This 1957 book is an extensive revision of his 1947 book, 'The Mind in Action.'
He explains in the Foreword, "The object of this book is to make the dynamics of the human mind intelligible to those who are more interested in understanding nature than in using big words or memorizing definitions... The object is to give the reader a better understanding of himself and others, and not to make a tea-room psychiatrist out of him... It is taken for granted that most of the ideas... are based on the work of Sigmund Freud, but the emphases and manner of formulation are my sole responsibility." (Pg. xv)
He adds in the Introduction, "This book is about the human mind as the psychiatrist sees it. We shall therefore begin by studying what different people have to work with and what they are trying to do with what they have, and then go on to see how they grow and develop, what can go wrong in the course of development, and what can be done about it if things turn out unhappily." (Pg. xxi)
He states early in the book, "The belief in immortality is recognized by most religions, and in spite of all conscious attempts at resistance it also persists in the minds of even the most atheistical heretics. No one can really imagine his own death... Furthermore, this web of infinity extends to the past as well as to the future. No one can honestly imagine himself coming into being from nothingness. this is expressed by the frank or disguised ideas of reincarnation which are found in some religious systems." (Pg. 28) Interestingly, he seems sympathetic to the idea of extra-sensory perception (ESP), suggesting that it "may be a function of the Id." (Pg. 288, 290)
He says, "The Id... has little if any ability to learn, or to put things in ... their proper order. The Ego... controls the faculties by which people handle things... The Id can only wish, while the Ego can learn and arrange." (Pg. 54) He adds, "As the Ego grows, becomes more efficient at accomplishing its three tasks: relieving libido, relieving mortido [the destructive urge], and reducing the threat of the outside world." (Pg. 60) He suggests, "Adults are much more like children than children are like adults... [Adults] do not understand that ... it is a child's job to learn to handle himself, while an adult's job is to learn to handle his environment. Though an adult is often a Big Child, a child is never a Small Adult." (Pg. 72) [NOTE: Berne had not yet formulated his famous "Parent/Adult/Child" model of "Ego States," made famous in 'Games People Play.']
He observes, "Many beautiful things have come out of homosexual relationships, such as some of the philosophy of Socrates. Nevertheless, one rarely sees a happy homosexual. Homosexuality nearly always means a thwarted Physis and a troubled Superego. It is contrary to the customs of our society and so leads to poor social adjustment even under the best of circumstances." (Pg. 202)
He states, "psychoanalysis is a method of treatment, and every analyst is first a physician. He tries to relieve his patients of their complaints... Secondly, analysis is a method for the scientific observation and study of the personality... Thirdly, analysis is a system of scientific psychology. This means that the observations and ideas of psychoanalysis can be used in an attempt to predict human behavior and the outcomes of human relationships." (Pg. 231) He contends that "Freud's discoveries in psychology rank with Darwin's discoveries in biology, and have done perhaps more to change the thinking and viewpoint of people all over the world." (Pg. 240)
Berne's book is perhaps most interesting to the modern reader studying the development of Berne's own thought.