Sudhir Kakar on mysticism, psychoanalysis, and culture
Culture & Psychology August 28, 2025 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1177/1354067x251366687 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
This essay examines Sudhir Kakar's contributions to psychoanalytic theories of mysticism and culture. It first defines mysticism, then reviews Freud's analysis of the oceanic feeling and subsequent psychoanalytic models (classic, adaptive, and transformational). Kakar's specific advances and debates with other psychoanalysts are detailed, and his work is situated within the broader academic study of mysticism.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Kakar's psychoanalytic theorizing advances the understanding of mysticism by integrating cultural context and challenging earlier models. |
Abstract
This essay is designed to illumine Sudhir Kakar’s contributions with regard to psychoanalytic theorizing about mysticism and culture. It proceeds in five interrelated parts: (1) presents a broad definitional and comparative context with respect to the academically contested term “mysticism”; (2) explores the initial entry of the psychoanalytic engagement with mysticism (i.e., Freud’s famous analysis of the oceanic feeling); (3) describes the psychoanalytic models (classic, adaptive and transformational) of mysticism which developed out of and after Freud; (4) places Kakar within this development, unpacking his specific contributions, advances and debates with other reigning psychoanalysts; (5) discusses Kakar’s contributions and indeed psychoanalysis as a whole relative to the wider, contemporary academic study of mysticism.