When hearing voices—auditory hallucinations—masquerades as metaphor: The case of Sigmund Freud and his “voice of the intellect…signifies not a little.”

As previously discussed in many posts, novelists often speak of “voice” as though it were just a metaphor, but they are really talking about hearing voices. In yesterday’s post, I discussed the voice heard by that man of reason, Socrates, since childhood (multiple personality starts in childhood). Today, I note this famous quote:

"The voice of the intellect is a soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing. Ultimately, after endlessly repeated rebuffs, it succeeds. This is one of the few points in which it may be optimistic about the future of mankind, but in itself it signifies not a little."

— Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion (1927)

People who do not have multiple personality do not hear a rational voice in their head, which is the voice of an alternate personality speaking from behind the scenes.

Are there any other reasons to suspect that Freud had multiple personality? There are many. See my essay on Freud in this blog.

The reason I mention Socrates and Freud in this blog is that I want to make it clear that novelists are not the only ones who have a normal version of multiple personality.