The Pursuit of the Soul: Psychoanalysis, Soul-making and the Christian Tradition by Peter Tyler (review)

Peter Tyler’s most recent book, focused on “soul-making,” is both erudite and somewhat confusing. In the compass of only two-hundred pages, including all notes and bibliography, he surveys the “soul” language of theology, twentieth century psychoanalysis, and philosophy. Philosophically, he begins with Plato and Plotinus, who shaped Catholic theology through the 13^th century, providing a comprehensive and usable worldview for the many monastics and mystics who were shaped by this common philosophical background and world view. Skipping over Aquinas’ contribution completely, he jumps to Wittgenstein for the German turn to linguistic philosophy, and to Edith Stein for phenomenology and grace in the face of death in a concentration camp. These he brings into dialogue with the late 19^th century and twentieth century schools of psychoanalysis, Freud, Rank, Jung, James Hillman. Finally, he draws on the late writings of Thomas Merton, embracing his excursions into Zen and Hinduism through Tagore.

But why confusing? In his first chapter Tyler describes how he “plans to observe the use of ‘soul-language’ as a nexus of meanings rather than being in pursuit of an entity or essence--‘the soul.’ Thus in this volume we shall concentrate on the term ‘soul’ as a locus for performative discourse, especially of a transcendental nature, rather than as referent to any particular part of self” (14). Every word in this description is important. The signified carries a bewildering number of meanings over Western Christian history from Plato to the present moment. Tyler then cites the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1994 in Latin and in English. He considers this to be the catechesis or official teaching of the Catholic Church and draws primarily on the chapter on the teaching on human persons. He seemed to be completely unaware of how controversial this new catechism was. It was poorly received by religious educators, was deliberately sexist by refusing to use inclusive language for persons in the text, and, in many cases, it simply repeated the language from earlier councils without reconciling the different meanings over time of key words, minimizing some of the key teachings of Vatican II on human persons. Tyler treats the “soul language” of this document as the official “catechesis” of the Roman Catholic Church, which it is, in one sense, but which was not fully received and which is not the primary text used for actually preparing adults for the Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults. In this document he identifies ten distinct meanings for “soul:” two philosophical ones, five psychological/anthropological, and three theological ones. Since the Catechism is based on church teaching over the centuries, the definitions of “soul language” match the successive meanings of soul through the centuries. This is just like the “soul- language” in historical texts, especially those of mystics and philosophers who were the original performative teachers about the soul and its pursuits. This soul language means slightly different things depending on their authors’ philosophical and theological backgrounds. While I am sure Tyler keeps all of these meanings of “soul-language” straight, it is taxing to follow just what he means as he progresses through his argument.

Tyler’s own professional and personal journey has taken him from the study of philosophy and mysticism to psychoanalytic theory and practice through which he brings together his teaching, his work as a licensed therapist, and his work as a spiritual director. This book seems to be a work of personal integration, but he cannot quite do justice to his own intellectual journey in so slim a volume. Tyler has deeply studied his German sources in philosophy, theology, and psychoanalysis, offering wise comments on the meanings of many words in German which would be lost on those without this linguistic background. We can hope for another book from Tyler in which he would work with Thomas Aquinas and perhaps more contemporary theologians who have also been...