SEDUCING THE MIND

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28524, 1 March 1958, Page 3

SEDUCING THE MIND

Mental Seduction and Menticide. The Psychology of Thought Control and Brainwashing. By Joost A. M. Meerloo, M.D. Cape. 324 pp. Index.

This is a serious study of the methods by which the free human mind may be transformed into an automatically responding machine —a transformation which can De brought about by some of the cultural under-currents in our pre-sent-day society as well as by deliberate experiments in the service of a political ideology. The seduction of the mind and stealthy mental coercion are among the oldest crimes of mankind. In fact nearly two thousand years ago Jesus warned us: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The ugly truth is that the spirit of most men can indeed be broken and reduced to the level of animal behaviour. This frightening book has been written in non-technical language by a practising psychiatrist who himself spent some time in a concentration camp during the war, by someone who really knows what he is talking about. Brutal modern techniques of “brainwashing,” “thought-control.” and “menticide” (a neologism coined by Dr. Meerloo to signify the totalitarian technique of breaking the minds and wills of political victims) were deliberately used by the Nazis until 1945 and are still being used -in Soviet Russia and Communist China today. But more subtle methods are also used in everyday life in democratic countries, and since the continuance of democracy depends upon respect for the integrity and personality of the individual. Dr. Meerloo has written this book for the intelligent layman to inform him of what can and does happen, so that he may understand himself and be on guard on the principle that “to be forewarned is to be fore-armed.” Over 40 years ago psychologists like William McDougall explained the implications of the processes of suggestion, sympathy, herd psychology imitation both for the individual and society, but experiences during World War 11, and more recently the advent of television have brought us to a realisation that the subject requires much further study.

Dr. Meerloo deals first with “the techniques of individual submission,” especially the methods used for extracting false confessions He then turns to “the technique of mass submission.” in the main a study of the instruments used by totalitarian regimes to achieve their ends. The principle of indoctrination. the perversion of justice, the employment of fear as a tool of terror—all these are carefully analysed. Though much in this book is new much also is not. Aware of this, the author comments in his preface: “Every word man speaks is a plagiarism. The task of an author is to absorb, incorporate, and transform the knowledge and emotional currents of his own epoch and to present them in his own personal way, enriched by his own experiences.” Tliis is but another way of saying

what Sir Percy Nunn wrote over 30 years ago: “The most original minds can only find themselves by playing the sedulous ape to those who have gone before them.” Dr. Meerloo’s book is original not so much in what he says as in the way he says it. “Modern psychology is loaded with super learnedness—with the secret intention of leaving the reading public awe-stricken,” he writes Bv expressing himself in simple words, bypassing jargon wherever possible, he has taken the risk of being called popular and unscientific. But this is not a book for the layman only: experts and scientists will endorse its sound learning and clear exposition. All who believe in democracy will applaud the author's reason for writing it: “Compared with the million-year span of human existence and evolution, civilisation is still in its infancy. Despite historical reversals, man continues to grow, and psychology—no matter how imperfect now—will become one of man’s most powerful tools in his struggle for freedom and maturity.” Totalitarians deliberately use their knowledge of the mind for vicious and unscrupulous purposes. This publication .of Dr. Meerloo’s book is a landmark m the literature of psychology, for it helps the ordinary citizen to understand himself and brings a realisation of the value and meaning of freedom in democratic society.