The Visionary

It's hard to think of the right word to describe Emmanuel Swedenborg. Complex doesn't even come close.

Born in 1688, Emmanuel Swedenborg's father was a bishop who often claimed to see spirits and made claims of miraculous cures (he also did exorcisms). His religious upbringing didn't prevent Emmanuel Swedenborg from traveling extensively and immersing himself in the natural sciences.  Despite a stuttering problem that made him extremely reluctant to speak in public, Swedenborg devoted the next two decades of his life to projects in astronomy, physics, and mineralogy including various attempts to reconcile philosophy and the physical sciences (he even proposed early versions of a flying machine and a submarine). After turning down an appointment as professor of mathematics at Upsala University (his stuttering made the idea of public lectures unthinkable), he turned to the life sciences in 1736.

Traveling to medical centres in France and Italy, he went on to do extensive research in anatomy and physiology. It was Swedenborg who first proposed that the cerebral cortex could be divided into specific regions that controlled different parts of the body. These specialized "cortical territories" were highly interconnected and enable the brain to function as a coherent whole. He also identified the role of cortical region at the back of the frontal lobes in voluntary muscle control, and even suggested that the frontal lobes of the brain were linked to intellectual functions (including imagination memory and thought).

Although many of Swedenborg's discoveries were revolutionary, the mainstream medical community in other countries didn't really become aware of them until the late 19th century (his treatises on the brain weren't fully translated for decades). By then, most of Swedenborg's astounding discoveries had been made by other researchers working independently. His lack of an academic post worked against him as well but Swedenborg might still have become one of the pioneers of medical science if he had persisted in his research. Unfortunately, all of his scientific activities had ended by 1743.

Which was when the visions started...

While he had been a religious man all his life, Emmanuel Swedenborg was fifty-five when first began experiencing a strange spiritual crisis. After taking a leave of absence from his research and traveling to the Netherlands, he was haunted by strange dreams that he faithfully recorded in his journal. In one story that was often retold years later, Swedenborg was eating in a London tavern when "a darkness fell upon his eyes and the room shifted character. Suddenly he saw a person sitting at a corner of the room, telling him: "Do not eat too much!". Swedenborg, scared, hurried home. Later that night, the same man appeared in his dreams. The man told Swedenborg that He was the Lord, that He had appointed Swedenborg to reveal the spiritual meaning of the Bible, and that He would guide Swedenborg in what to write. The same night, the spiritual world was opened to Swedenborg." He reportedly became so agitated that the physician who was treating him had six men guard him as he slept.

After arranging for a government pension to support him, Swedenborg devoted himself to his strange visions and the religious books that he wrote based on what he experienced (and which he later claimed were dictated to him by an angel). He spent the remaining years of his life traveling between London, Stockholm, and the Netherlands and wrote fourteen books on various spiritual topics. The visions that he described took him from Heaven to Hell and across the solar system (and meeting the inhabitants he found there). Most of his works were published during his lifetime and he quickly developed a reputation as a mystic (or a lunatic depending on who you asked).His books were remarkably consistent and his descriptions of the nature of Heaven, Hell and the universe has had a tremendous influence over the years. Although some of Swedenborg's writings were bizarre (he claimed that the moon was inhabited by a race of creatures who spoke through their stomachs), his sincere manner and reputed psychic ability won over many doubters. Other critics were more skeptical (Immanuel Kant wrote that Swedenborg should be in a madhouse and two of his supporters were tried for heresy in Sweden), but Swedenborg's crusade continued.

The bulk of his spiritual writings focused on God's plan to initiate His kingdom on earth but he denied that anything he wrote was theological (they were based on his personal experiences after all). In later years, Swedenborg became increasingly deranged and lived on a diet of milk and bread. Evil spirits continually harassed him with temptations although he was comforted and protected by good spirits. Although he was already a lifelong bachelor, Swedenborg was so frightened of women that he would never see them alone. By the time of his death in 1772, Swedenborg was one of the most well-known mystical writers of his time and his works have since been translated into numerous languages. His works inspired later writers including William Blake, Goethe, Dostoevsky, Henry James Senior (father of William and Henry James), and Carl Jung. Swedenborg's supporters founded the New Jerusalem Church in 1778 (a branch in the United States was founded in 1792). Despite the inevitable schisms over interpretations of his writings, he still has a devoted following and the Swedenborg Society (founded in 1810) is actively engaged in disseminating his works.

The question of why an accomplished scientist like Swedenborg made such an abrupt change in his later life from science to mysticism has baffled later writers and researchers. While it's tempting to link Swedenborg's experiences to the mystical visions and religious grandiosity often experienced by schizophrenics and patients with certain neurological conditions, the available evidence doesn't really indicate a clear diagnosis. If there was a neurological basis to these visions, then it would be especially ironic that it would occur in someone who might well have become one of the great pioneers in brain research had his life not take such a strange direction.

Comments

[Dream Warrior]

I.S. has been,especially for the last four years, a tremendously "clear" influence on my interpretation of the bible, and my personal sentiments to every person and living thing. He may have appeared the fool to many, but to those with an open heart and mind, his writings are the "answer" to so many questions