Allen Wheelis
Allen Wheelis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Allen Wheelis October 23, 1915 Marion, Louisiana, USA |
| Died | June 14, 2007 (aged 91) San Francisco, USA |
| Education | |
Allen Wheelis (October 23, 1915 – June 14, 2007) was a psychoanalyst and writer who lived in San Francisco, CA. He achieved renown and success with his psychoanalytic practice, which spanned five decades despite the fact that he expressed ambivalence and doubt about the field and his own work in it.[1] Wheelis died on June 14, 2007, at the age of 91 in a San Francisco hospital after receiving back surgery.[2]
Education[edit]
Wheelis attended the University of Texas.[3] He graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in 1943, and was certified in Psychology. He served in the U.S. Navy as a medical officer in the South Pacific from 1943 to 1946. After World War II, he studied at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas, and worked at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He underwent further training at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute before moving in 1954 to San Francisco, where he remained in private practice until his death.[2]
Career[edit]
Allen Wheelis succeeded as a writer. Over a period of five decades, he crafted a series of novels while also writing a substantial body of wide-ranging works that has gone on to influence students and the educated public alike.[4] He wrote prolifically, authoring 14 books including novels and memoirs, as well as several pieces for Commentary, The New Yorker, and various professional journals.[2]
Many of Wheelis's writings have been acclaimed by critics. His writings are typified by a profound philosophical pessimism, and "drew heavily from his experiences as both a doctor and a man hobbled by neuroses".[5] However, his wife Ilse Wheelis is not alone in pointing out that though Wheelis "had a pessimistic outlook on the human condition . . . he also celebrated it. He believed people could find happiness".[2]
Influence[edit]
A story that appeared in Wheelis's nonfiction book The Illusionless Man: Fantasies and Meditations on Disillusionment, published in 1966, was the basis of John Korty's film The Crazy-Quilt.
Wheelis's essay "Spirit" was included in Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel Dennett's 1981 collection The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul.[6]
In his book, How People Change: Freedom & Necessity, published in 1975, Wheelis describes in detail a defining story about his relationship with his father. The author states that these childhood events not only caused his writing but also what he writes and the conclusions he comes to. He sees in this the determinism he wants to destroy and asks how to get free of it.
Quotes[edit]
 |
"One can often recognize herd animals by their tendency to carry bibles."[7]
"The sequence is suffering, insight, will, action, change."[8]
"Desire is endless and unappeasable, is most intense where most forbidden, and is never far from despair."[8]
"We must affirm freedom and responsibility without denying that we are the product of circumstance, and must affirm that we are the product of circumstance without denying that we have the freedom to transcend that causality to become something which could not even have been provisioned from the circumstances which shaped us."[8]
Bibliography[edit]
- The Quest for Identity (1959)
- The Seeker (1960)
- The Illusionless Man: Fantasies and Meditations on Disillusionment (1966)
- The Desert (1970)
- The Moralist (1973)
- The End of the Modern Age (1973)
- How People Change (1973)
- On Not Knowing How to Live (1975)
- The Scheme of Things (1980)
- The Doctor of Desire (1987)
- The Path Not Taken (1990)
- The Life and Death of My Mother (1992)
- The Way Things Are (1994)
- The Listener: A Psychoanalyst Examines His Life (1999)
- The Way We Are (2006)
References[edit]
- ^ Merkin, Daphne (December 30, 2007). "A Neurotic's Neurotic". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d Squatriglia, C. (2007). "Dr. Allen Wheelis -- acclaimed writer". SFGate. The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ Shook, John R. (2005). Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers. London: A & C Black. pp. 2564–2565. ISBN 978-1-84371-037-0.
- ^ Gabbard, G. O. (2000). "Lives [Review of the book The Listener: A psychoanalyst examines his life, by A. Wheelis] Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 48(3),959-962". Book Reviews. Sage Publications. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ^ Squatriglia, C. (2007). "Dr Allen Wheelis--acclaimed writer". SFGate. The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ Hofstadter, D. R.; Dennett, D. C., eds. (1981). The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul. New York: Basic Books.
- ^ Wheelis, Allen (2000). The Illusionless Man: Some Fantasies and Meditations on Disillusionment. New York: Other Press. ISBN 1-892746-71-9. OCLC 44493262.
- ^ a b c Wheelis, Allen (1975). How People Change. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0-06-090447-0. OCLC 1701306.
How People Change Paperback – 15 January 2020
by Allen Wheelis (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 92 ratings
"At a time when slick, superficial, psychological works are foisted on the lay-public, Allen Wheelis has written a serious treatise."--San Francisco Sunday Examiner-Chronicle
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How People Change Quotes Showing 1-8 of 8
“The sequence is suffering, insight, will, action, change.”
― Allen Wheelis, How People Change
tags: abuse, change, midlife-crisis, neglect, psychology, relationships, suffering5 likesLike
“One theft, however, does not make a thief . . Action which defines a man, describes his character, is action which has been repeated over and over and so has come in time to be a coherent and relatively independent mode of behavior. At first it may have been fumbling and uncertain, may have required attention, effort, will - as when first drives a car, first makes love, first robs a bank, first stands up against injustice.
If one perseveres on any such course it comes in time to require less effort, less attention, begins to function smoothly; its small component behaviors become integrated within a larger pattern which has an ongoing dynamism and cohesiveness, carries its own authority. Such a mode then pervades the entire person, permeates other modes, colors other qualities, in some sense is living and operative even when the action is not being performed, or even considered. . . .
Such a mode of action tends to maintain itself, to resist change. A thief is one who steals; stealing extends and reinforces the identity of a thief, which generates further thefts, which further strengthen and deepen the identity. So long as one lives, change is possible; but the longer such behavior is continued the more force and authority it acquires, the more it permeates other constant bodes, subordinates other conflicting modes; changing back becomes steadily more difficult; settling down to an honest job, living on one's earnings becomes ever more unlikely. And what is said here of stealing applies equally to courage, cowardice, creativity . . . or any other of the myriad ways of behaving, and hence of being.”
― Allen Wheelis, How People Change
tags: change-your-life, courage, coward, creative, physical-abuse, rut, stealing, theft, violence3 likesLike
“People may indeed be treated as objects and may be profoundly affected thereby. Kick a dog often enough and he will become cowardly or vicious. People who are kicked undergo similar changes; their view of the world and of themselves is transformed. . . People may indeed be brainwashed, for benign or exploitative reasons. . .
If one's destiny is shaped by manipulation one has become more of an object, less of a subject, has lost freedom. . .
If, however, one's destiny is shaped from within then one has become more of a creator, has gained freedom. This is self-transcendence, a process of change that originates in one's heart and expands outward. . . begins with a vision of freedom, with an "I want to become...", with a sense of the potentiality to become what one is not. One gropes toward this vision in the dark, with no guide, no map, and no guarantee. Here one acts as subject, author, creator.”
― Allen Wheelis, How People Change
tags: abuse, change, life, midlife-crisis, relationships, suffering3 likesLike
“Nothing guarantees our freedom. Deny it often enough and one day it will be gone, and we'll not know how or when.”
― Allen Wheelis, How People Change
tags: freedom2 likesLike
“A man in chains need not be a slave. If he has pride and self-respect he is a free man though a prisoner, and a constant danger to his jailers. Conversely, a slave who escapes is not a free man, but a runaway slave who may be caught and returned to servitude. A slave is one who accepts the identity ascribed to him by a master: "You are an inferior and unworthy person and so will remain, and therefore must serve me with obedience and humility.”
― Allen Wheelis, How People Change
tags: change, free, freedom, physical-abuse, slave, slavery1 likesLike
“Neurotic suffering indicates inner conflict. Each side of the conflict is likely to be a composite of many partial forces, each one of which has been structured into behavior, attitude, perception, value. Each component asserts itself, claims priority, insists that something else yield, accommodates. The conflict therefore is fixed, stubborn, enduring. It may be impugned and dismissed without effect, imprecations and remorse are of no avail, strenuous acts of will may be futile; it causes - yet survives and continues to cause - the most intense suffering, humiliation, rending of flesh.
Such a conflict is not to be uprooted or excised. It is not an ailment, it is the patient himself. The suffering will not disappear without a change in the conflict, and a change in the conflict amounts to a change in what one is and how one lives, feels, reacts.”
― Allen Wheelis, How People Change
tags: abuse, change, midlife-crisis, neurotic, physical-abuse, suffering1 likesLike
“We must affirm freedom and responsibility without denying that we are the product of circumstance, and must affirm that we are the product of circumstance without denying that we have the freedom to transcend that causality to become something which could not even have been provisioned from the circumstances which shaped us.”
― Allen Wheelis, How People Change
tags: abuse, change, circumstance, freedom, physical-abuse1 likesLike
“In a condition of struggle and of failure we must be able to say "I must try harder" or "I must try differently." Both views are essential . . . A change in either makes for a change in outcome.
When we say "I must try harder" we mean that the most relevant variable is something within us - intention, will, determination, "meaning it" . .
When we say "I must try differently" we mean that the most relevant variable lies in the situation within which intention is being exerted, that we should look to the environment, to the ways it pushes and pulls at us, and in this study find the means to alter that interaction.”
― Allen Wheelis, How People Change
tags: abuse-recovery, change, environment, intention, willpowe
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tronel
5.0 out of 5 stars This is exactly the book I was waiting for
Reviewed in France on 20 April 2016
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it's exactly the book I was waiting for, it's a fascinating book, and very interesting psychologically, it's a fascinating book, thank you very much
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read
Reviewed in India on 8 April 2019
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I read this book in subsequence to the road less traveled. And i wish i read this book earlier.
3 people found this helpful
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desired
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2016
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Lovely read on the subject of how to change.
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R.B
5.0 out of 5 stars Enduring Wisdom
Reviewed in the United States on 18 November 2019
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For the time that it was written, I have complete understanding of the limited view on homosexuality as a choice but if you can get past that, this book, this little nugget of truth, can help you transcend any experience. The language was hard to follow, almost like he writes in riddles. Some paragraphs, I grasped immediately, some, I had to delete words or sentences to create a flow that was more simple and to the point. Some pages I had to read more than once and slowly but the effort I put in was GREATLY REWARDED. This book is magic and I am so inspired by it, I want to share his message with others.
He gives a very fair account and always shows you the possibilities of choice that is before you. The outcome you receive is in direct relation to the desire you want, and how you use the past to direct you in where you are going within this present moment.
I heard about this book in a Road Less Traveled and I am so glad I chose to explore it. It makes sense why it was referenced! A complete gem.
9 people found this helpful
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leevashni
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic, very insightful
Reviewed in Canada on 17 August 2021
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This book is of tremendous help in many aspects of life. A work of a very thoughtful and very insightful author. You get to learn and experience much of what meditation tries to teach you/aims for.
Truly, a must read.
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Luca
4.0 out of 5 stars Misleading title, but still a good book
Reviewed in Italy on 27 October 2016
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Allen Wheelis was a psychologist who used writing as a tool for self-analysis and healing.
At just over one hundred pages, this book is actually a short essay, in which Wheelis recounts fragments of his life, confesses honestly, and in the process shows how he managed to free himself from his innermost psychoses, which arose when as a child he had a difficult relationship with a strict father who, suffering from terminal tuberculosis, actually tried to teach him as much as possible about life.
The title is misleading, this is not a book that teaches you how to change. After all, no book can. Rather, it is a book that shows you, through the author's personal experience, how change can happen, that makes you reflect on yourself and can help you find some answers.
However, there is a flaw. In a passage early on, Wheelis puts homosexuals and thieves in the same category. After reading The Life and Death of My Mother , I am sorry that a person like him wrote something that was politically incorrect already in the place and year of publication of this book. But if you forgive his mistake, you will find a certain importance in this work.
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Jack Bussy
2.0 out of 5 stars No particular interest
Reviewed in France on 18 April 2012
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Big disappointment because this book was recommended by Scott Peck ("The Road Less Traveled") but it really has no interest, being satisfied with broad generalities without any particularly salient analysis.
2 people found this helpful
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Cate
4.0 out of 5 stars Not your typical self-help book
Reviewed in the United States on 22 October 2016
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A memorable, moving, intelligent mix of memoir and reflection. Excellent writing; sage observations. Four stars only because the title almost suggests a self-help book, and while there is plenty of wisdom here, it doesn't neatly fit that genre. But this book has stayed with me in a way typical self-help books don't.
8 people found this helpful
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James Lizard
3.0 out of 5 stars An irritating book which has its moments
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 May 2017
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Am I the only one who found this book rather irritating. In places high-flown "poetic" style starts to grate. It is also irritating in not really hanging together as a single book. The contents have been cobbled together from separately published essays. The chapter called Grass is a brilliant standalone account of his father's self-deluding cruelty - "It's all for your own good" syndrome - and it clearly shows from personal experience how childhood experiences can cramp a whole life if you let them. The title "How People Change" is misleading - I suspect the publisher came up with it. It does emphasise that people CAN change if they wish to make a sustained effort. As some other reviewers have pointed out, Wheelis sees homosexuality as a personality disorder and some his prescriptions to effect a "cure" would be hilarious if not so tragic. This book was published in 1975 by which time these attitudes were already discredited. As with most books, there are some nuggets of wisdom and insight along the way.
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Amanita
1.0 out of 5 stars Rubbish
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2012
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This book title seems to have nothng to do with the contents absolutely nothing in about how people change, Nazi's mentioned half a dozen times though. Rubbish
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Daniel
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January 5, 2016
I stumbled on this book because it was mentioned in a footnote in "The Road Less Traveled" by S. Peck and I was interested in the subject “Freedom and Necessity”. Allen Wheelis was after all like Peck a psychiatrist.
The book is almost written like a novel. Especially chapter 5 “Grass” is a very interesting read because the author describes in detail a very defining story about his relationship with his father. The author states that these childhood events not only caused his writing but also what he writes and the conclusions he comes to. He sees in this the determinism he wants to destroy and asks how to get free of it.
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Will Stevens
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November 25, 2017
This pseudo memoir / philosophy book is a short read with a ton of insight on the nature of man. It addresses the paradox between viewing life as a result of environment and conditioning, and viewing life as full of possibilities that we have the freedom to choose from. In the end, the most change is brought when we look within and make the slow decision to change our behavior. There are other things that can help with our mindset, such as therapy, but that can equally be used as a crutch that halts any progress. It was full of great analogies, metaphors, and anecdotes. It was not too dogmatic, but also not too spiritual. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Noam
41 reviews
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June 1, 2016
A simple and short piece with a powerful understanding of not only what motivates us to change, but what helps us build new habits (in a way that actually works).
All cards being on the table: fear, social anxiety, belonging, identity, habits, pain, decision and strength of character- in just a few pages, the author paves the road to understanding how each and every one of us can create real change in our lives.
Not an easy read, but highly recommended.
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Kate
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November 5, 2016
"A simply written, direct unjargoned analysis of analysis and therapy, strongly self-directive and not for the lean-on-me-I'll-help-you believer or practitioner. Better than most lengthy texts in the field, readable for one thing, not pedantic for another."
~~back cover
Not at all what I expected. The author basically states that no amount of therapy will produce a change in a person, and that no amount of insight will lead to change -- but the person needs to discover his or her own solution and be willing to "go it alone" to find that solution and work towards it. A much different perspective than most theories of therapy.
One discordant note was the inclusion of homosexuality as a condition that can be eliminated rather than a biological state as we consider it today. Given that the book was written in 1973, that belief isn't so extraordinary but it's certainly discordant by today's standards. It was rather like reading a book written in the early 1900s using "nigger" and "darkie" as terms of reference for African Americans -- standard in that time but shocking in ours.
The author shared a story from his childhood as an example of a situation that gives a child an opinion about himself that he carries into adulthood, usually disastrously. That story was chilling and heartbreaking -- a very normal example of parental theories of child-rearing in the late 1800s/early 1900s. Emotional abuse is difficult for me to read about, as I was raised by a parent who also subscribed to this theory. It was so difficult for me to read that I thought there should have been a warning given at the beginning of the chapter -- the kind of warning given on the tv news when they say "the images in this story may be disturbing to some viewers" and then proceed to show some really unsettling footage.
All in all this book gave me a lot to think about, and perhaps a different approach to try in ,y own life. If you read this book, please tell me what you think of it.
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Ryan Moore
10 reviews
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February 25, 2011
thought-proking read on the suffering present in all of of us and the extent to which we are free to change or are bound to cause and effect.
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Megan
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November 13, 2019
I have mixed feelings about this book. Overall, I think it brings up some really great points and has some eloquent arguments. There is much discussion on the interwoven nature of freedom and determinism. How much responsibility do we have for our actions? Are we purely a product of our environment, and if so is it impossible to change?
However, it was clearly written numerous decades ago and could use an updated version that is less homophobic and that perhaps discusses the role of medication in this conversation.
This would not be a book I would recommend to give to someone who is struggling; compassionate is not an adjective I would use to describe it. However, if you're someone who benefits from thinking about the more philosophical ideas behind your suffering, and are looking for an argument that will convince you that you can choose to change, (and you aren't LGBTQ+) this could be a beneficial read.
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ILostMyAccountInfo
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November 26, 2023
Interesting read. I happened to stumble upon this book by chance at a thrift store. Looking at this book, one would think it is a psychoanalysis and psychodynamic book based on how individuals change and adapt corresponding with their environment, conditions, and inner self; The title, reviews, and praising on the back surely reenforces this perception, for me at least. Yet, what the reader gets is instead a more or less memoir of Allen Wheelis where he opens himself up and exposes all his insecurities and vulnerabilities while being, more or less, renowned in his field. Surely, my perception of this is more evident given the fact this book flows more like a novel or prose poetry than actual psychological self help or standard psychology. It's a rare and incredibly intriguing thing to see a respected psychologist open up about his own conflicts and neurosis as well as let the reader join in on his reflections of his past and presence.
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Ana Ruby
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January 30, 2023
This was an interesting book. I enjoyed Mr. Wheelis’ transparency when talking about the root of his adult anxiety, and his perspective on choosing between mental enslavement or freedom. I was a bit moved by how he stated that the more we dig deep into the causes that shaped us, the more we create opportunities for change to occur, for better or worse… it’s up to you, which hits home for me. This book is a book written ages ago, and seems as though written in a poetic way so certain chapters I would read over again a second time to not miss anything. Overall, it was a good read.
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house targaryen
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February 29, 2016
In this book criminals and homosexuals were frequently paraded as deviants and examples of deplorable behavior. It was written in 1969 so it was a different era then.
If you remove the excessive anti LGBT+ passages, there are some good points to be had in the book. That is, if you can stomach the homophobia, reader beware!
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Shannon
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August 21, 2009
Such a painful story - but so insightful. Totally worth reading and contemplating several times...
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====
How People Change
Wheelis, ALLEN
Perennial
1975.08.01
'사람은 어떻게 변하는가'라는 제목을 '사람은 변할 수 있는가'라고 의역해야 할 것 같다. 그만큼변한다는 것이 어렵다는 이야기다. 타인들을 보아도 특히 나 자신을 보아도 과거의 자신을 중류절단하고 과거와는 다른 나로 산다는 것은 불가능하다는 것을 알 수 있다. 그러기에 자포자기하거나 혹은 그럴듯한 합리화로 인생을 이어나갈 수 밖에 없다.
자기계발이나 힐링으로 자신을 변화시킬 수 있다는 풍조가 만연한 것 같다. 그러나 일급강사의 멋진 강의를 들어도 잠시의 흥분뿐 과거의 관성으로 돌아가 있는 자신을 발견하지 않는가?
변화의 과정은 그만큼 많은 괴로움과 인내, 실천을 필요로 하는 일인 것이다. 때로 변화의 계기는 충격이 너무 커서 아무런 변화도 가져오지 못한채 오히려 나쁜 영향을 주기도 한다.
저자의 나이는 잘 모르겠지만 60대 중반정도로 사료된다. 타인을 상담하는 심리치료사로서 오랫동안 일했던 사람이다. 그가 그의 이야기를 한다. 오십 평생을 과거에 묶인 채 '자유'라는 주제로 자신을 합리화하며 살아온 인생을 조용히 설명하고 있다.
1장 고통 편에서는 사람은 고통을 선택하지 않는다는 점을 설명하고 있고 2장 행동 편에서는 깨달음과 자각 만으로 사람이 변화할 수 없다는 점을 설명한다. 3장 자유와 의무 편에서는 고통을 선택하지 않는 사람들이 세상만사를 의무로 치부해버리고 자유를 상실하는 상황을 설명하고 4장 스틸 핑거 편에서는 저자 자신이 불안을 느끼는 상황으로부터 자신을 지배하고 있는 과거의 경험을 찾아가게 된다.
5장 잡초들 편에서는 과거 엄한 아버지로부터 영향 받았던 자신의 정체성을 찾아가는 자신의 과거의 이야기다. 6장 변화의 전조 편에서는 자신을 지배하고 있던 환경에 의한 정체성을 알게 됨으로써 갖게 되는 변화의 시작점을 설명한다. 7장 상승은 과거의 영향과 그것을 알게 됨으로써 갖게 되는 선택의 자유가 어떻게 사람을 변화시킬 수 있는지를 물리법칙에 비유하여 설명하고 있다. 요약은 이 정도로 하자.
가장 감명깊었던 점은 60대의 심리치료사인 저자가 자신의 심리를 조목조목 밝히는 과정이다.
자신이 벌레가 우글되는 몸뚱아리일 뿐이었음을 고백하는 부분은 가히 압권이다.
자극적인 깨달음이 인간의 궁극적인 목표는 아니다. 자극은 사라지지만 여전히 우리는 인생을
살아나가야 한다. 자신의 심리적 장애를 인정하고 그것에 직면하여 의지적으로 남은 생을 살아가야 한다. 쓰라리고 불안하며 때로는 분노가 일지만 그것이 인간의 보편적인 변화의 과정인 것이다.
더 이상 아무것도 숨길 필요가 없어진 노인의 솔직한 고백. 과장도 없고 따라서 부연도 필요없는이 얇은 책에서 인간의 보편을 보았다.
