Today we talk about Psychology and Mithraism, a book by Mario Antonio Fera published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author Mario Antonio Fera to get to know him better, where he found the inspiration to write his book Psychology and Mithraism, as well as how he chose the title of his book.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Where did you find the inspiration to write your book?
My goal was to test my interpretive skills in the field of depth psychology. Reading Professor Jung’s essays, I was struck by his extraordinary competence in observing the religious phenomenon from a psychological and scientific perspective. I was very impressed. So, I decided to look for a theology that contained well-defined myths, so that I could interpret them. The aim was to compare the psychic material I had analyzed with Jung’s theories. One day, when I walked into a bookstore in the city where I currently live, I found a book on Mithraism written by an Italian scholar. I immediately understood that it was a job that I had to do, Mithraism was a very deep and intimate cult, it was worth examining this solar psychology. It was just serendipity, I think. My classical and philosophical background would have given me the necessary resources to understand such an ancient Spirit, my scientific and psychological training would have allowed me not to get lost in the depths of its mystery.
- What would you like to hear from your readers?
Personally, I don’t know, I’ll be honest; I still don’t know which people I’m writing for. On the one hand, I think it’s just my attempt to make it clear where I am in my work as an intellectual and researcher, without thinking that anyone can even read my work, in fact it’s something difficult for me to keep in mind. I certainly find it important to know from readers what they think about this way of doing psychology, now effectively outdated. It often happens to me, in some public lectures that I happen to do, to notice astonishment when I talk about the psychology I deal with. Probably most of my listeners expect a lecture on the neurophysiology of depression or schizophrenia; On the other hand, when I discuss the dream or archetypal material, some people wonder if it is actually “science.” I think it’s the same feedback that Freud or Jung got in their time. I expect much the same from my readers, with the hope that it will provide them with an additional perspective on what we know about the mind.
- How did you choose the title of the book?
The choice was easy, I had to pay homage to Jung’s work in some way, so I chose “Symbols of Transformation” in honor of his theory of Individuation, which manifests itself with symbols of transformation, in fact. They are also the symbols that I discuss and analyze in my essay. The aim of the work was precisely to research and confirm the archetypal material on which Jung worked, demonstrating that Individuation as a process is symbolically identifiable, with good objectivity, in many religious constructions, even if they are different from each other. “Psychology and Mithraism” was an obvious choice, I wanted to make it very clear that in this work, psychology is closely related to this particular religion.
- What is the book that you are particularly attached to and what did it teach you?
This is an impossible question. At least, it is impossible for me to be able to answer. In reality, I am a very bad student, terribly unfaithful. I read everything from genetics and biology to philosophy and mysticism. I like to rely only on illustrious masters. Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Spinoza, Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Nietzsche. At university I became very interested in neuropsychology and psychobiology, then I moved towards cognitive psychology. I “converted” to dynamic psychology, in particular Freud’s sexual theory, and then embraced Jung’s theory and technique. I am still unfaithful to this day. I’m always looking for new perspectives; On the other hand, the end of study for someone like me is no less than a spiritual death. I like to vary, without dogmatism. I can read Schopenhauer and deeply love his genius, but then I allow myself to appreciate the great complexity of Hegel’s thought. Setting limits is the behavior of those who have a limit in their spirit. A boundless spirit, on the other hand, is certainly divine. Why, then, deprive ourselves of the divine?
- Are you already working on a new project you can tell us about?
Yes, I’m working on a new book. I think it can become a work in several parts, but I prefer not to delve too deeply into the matter, the project is very complex and for now I have only completed the first part. I’m still trying to develop as much psychology as I can. As I said, I chose to abandon all limits. This means that for me everything is material worthy of study: the prayer of a believer or the crime of a dangerous criminal; the chemical structure of dopamine or the physiological reaction of the nervous system to the use of a particular substance; the neurobiology of a depressed man or the dream material he produces. We must come to understand that the needs of modern man tend towards infinity, and do not intend to stop; This requires that the modern clinician be free of intellectual limitations, and above all free of prejudices of any kind. The limit of the clinician is the limit of the therapy. Today, more than ever, ethical responsibility towards a man’s suffering is an ethical responsibility towards one’s own intellectual competence. In my next essay I will analyze other new religious constructions, with the aim of tracing new profiles of the functioning of the psyche. The aim is to have as detailed a mental anatomy as possible.
Europe Books thanks the author Mario Antonio Fera once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside him on the editorial path that led to the publication of his book Psychology and Mithraism. We wish him the best of luck for his book and for his future works.
To you, my dear reader, may the author’s way of doing psychology provide a new and interesting perspective, so much so as to bring closer even those who were/are not particularly enthusiastic about the precious support psychology could offer to everyone.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your editor!