Episode 2.6: The Principle of Multiple Function - A Rule of Inner World Magic

Every world, whether real or Sci-Fi or fantasy, has principles that tell us how things work in that world. Our inner worlds are no different. The Principle of Multiple Function tells us that each psychic act has not one or two, but exactly eight mental functions that it must perform. That may seem complicated, but understanding this Principle frees us to act more effectively in our daily lives. 

The Principle of Multiple Function was developed by Robert Waelder, a child protégé who quoted Faust at age 5 and engineered a better charcoal at fourteen. But when he became blocked in his scientific work as a young man, he sought help from none other than Sigmund Freud himself. But was he a “one-hit wonder?” We go searching from 1980s British punk to Australian comedy to American Horror to find an answer. 

In practical terms, Robert Waelder gave us a way free ourselves from indecision. But we also explore Waelder’s desire to solve social problems by using psychoanalytic ideas, an endeavor very much in line with The Psychonaut Show! His ideas about the “sins” of both liberals and conservatives are as relevant now as they were more than half a century ago.