View source for Richard Maurice Bucke

{{Short description|Canadian psychiatrist (1837–1902)}}
{{about|the Canadian psychiatrist|the Colonial Virginia minister|Richard Buck (chaplain)|the modern British sprinter|Richard Buck}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
[[Image:Portrait of Richard Maurice Bucke.gif|right|thumb|Richard Maurice Bucke.]]
'''Richard Maurice Bucke''' (18 March 1837 – 19 February 1902) was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[Psychiatry|psychiatrist]] in the late 19th century. An adventurer during his youth, Bucke later studied [[medicine]]. Eventually, as a psychiatrist, he headed the provincial Asylum for the Insane in London, [[Ontario]].  Bucke was a friend of several noted men of letters in Canada, the United States, and England.{{sfnp|Rechnitzer|1993|p={{page needed|date=December 2023}}}} Besides publishing professional articles, Bucke wrote three non-fiction books: ''Man's Moral Nature'', ''Walt Whitman'', and ''[[Cosmic Consciousness|Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind]]'', which is his best-known work.

==Early life==
Richard Maurice Bucke was born in 1837 in [[Methwold]], [[England]], the son of Rev. Horatio Walpole Bucke (a parish curate) and his wife Clarissa Andrews. The parents and their children emigrated to Canada when he was a year old, settling near [[London, Ontario|London]], [[Upper Canada]].

Horatio W. Bucke had given up the profession of religious minister, and trusted his family's income to their Ontario farm. A sibling in a large family, Richard Maurice Bucke was a typical farm boy of that era. He was an athletic boy who enjoyed a good ball game. When he left home at the age of 16, he traveled to [[Columbus, Ohio]] and then to [[California]]. Along the way, Bucke worked at various odd jobs. He was part of a travelling party who had to fight for their lives when they were attacked by a group of [[Shoshone people]], on whose territory they were trespassing.<ref name="RechnitzerPeter">{{harvp|Rechnitzer|1993}}</ref>

In the winter of 1857–58, he was nearly frozen to death in the mountains of California, where he was [[Comstock Lode#Grosh brothers|the sole survivor]] of a silver-mining party.{{sfnp|Bucke|1883}} He had to walk out over the mountains and suffered extreme [[frostbite]]. As a result, a foot and several of his toes were amputated. He then returned to Canada via the [[Isthmus of Panama]], probably in 1858.{{sfnp|Coyne|1923|pp=26-30}} Henry Mills Hurd says he returned to Canada in 1860.{{sfnp|Hurd|Drewry|1917|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dg8wAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA555 555]}}

==Medicine and psychiatry==

Bucke enrolled in [[McGill University]]'s medical school in [[Montreal]], where he delivered a distinguished thesis in 1862. Although he practiced general medicine briefly as a ship's surgeon (in order to pay for his sea travel), he later specialized in psychiatry. He did his internship in [[London]] (1862–63) at [[University College Hospital]]. During that time he visited France.

He was for several years an enthusiast of [[Auguste Comte]]'s [[Positivism|positivist philosophy]].<ref name="RechnitzerPeter" /> Comte's belief that religion, if by that is meant [[spirituality]], had been outmoded by science contrasts with Bucke's later belief concerning the nature of reality.

Bucke returned to Canada in 1864 and married Jessie Gurd in 1865; they had eight children. 
In January 1876, Bucke became the superintendent of the Asylum for the Insane in [[Hamilton, Ontario]]. In 1877, he was appointed head of the provincial Asylum for the Insane in [[London, Ontario]], a post he held for nearly the remainder of his life. In his work with asylum inmates, he was a [[reform]]er who encouraged organized sports and what is now called [[occupational therapy]].<ref name="RechnitzerPeter"/> Some of his surgical treatments proved deeply controversial. After adopting the Victorian-era theory that mental illness in women was often due to defective reproductive organs, Bucke began performing surgical removals of these organs from female patients. He continued this practice until his death, despite receiving increasing amounts of criticism from the medical health care community.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lib.uwo.ca/archives/virtualexhibits/londonasylum/hysteria.html |title=The Hysterical Female |website=Restoring Perspective: Life & Treatment at London's Asylum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111235449/https://www.lib.uwo.ca/archives/virtualexhibits/londonasylum/hysteria.html |archive-date=11 November 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Experience of "cosmic consciousness"==
{{independent sources|section|date=December 2023}}
In 1872, after an evening of stimulating conversation with his friend Walt Whitman in the countryside, Richard M Bucke was traveling back to London in a buggy when he had a [[religious experience]]. He later described the characteristics and effects of the faculty of experiencing this type of consciousness as:{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

* its sudden appearance
* a subjective experience of light ("inner light")
* moral elevation
* intellectual illumination
* a sense of immortality
* loss of a fear of death
* loss of a sense of sin

Bucke's personal experience of the inner state had yet another attribute, mentioned separately by the author: the vivid sense of the universe as a living presence, rather than as basically lifeless, inert matter.{{sfnp|Bucke|2009|p=8}}

{{Blockquote|The supreme occurrence of that night was his real and sole initiation to the new and higher order of ideas. But it was only an initiation. He saw the light but had no more idea whence it came and what it meant than had the first creature that saw the light of the sun.{{sfnp|Bucke|2009|p=10}}}}

Bucke did not immediately record the details and interpretation of his experience. This was not done until years later, and only after he had researched much of the world's literature on [[mysticism]] and [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]] and had corresponded with many others about this subject.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

==''Cosmic Consciousness''==
{{more footnotes needed|section|date=December 2023}}
Bucke's [[Masterpiece|magnum opus]] was his book ''[[Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind]]''. The book is a compilation of various theories rather than strictly a simple record of his original mystical experience.

Bucke borrowed the term "cosmic consciousness" from [[Edward Carpenter]], who had traveled and studied religion in the [[Orient|East]]. Bucke's friend,<ref name="RechnitzerPeter"/> Carpenter, had derived the term "cosmic consciousness" from the Eastern term "universal consciousness." In his description of his personal experience, Bucke combined his recollection with thoughts of another of his friends, Caleb Pink ("C.P."){{sfnp|Pink|1895|p={{page needed|date=December 2023}}}}—and others—and recorded his experience in a poetic style.

''Cosmic Consciousness'' was a book which he researched and wrote over a period of many years. It was published in 1901 and has been reprinted several times since then. In it, Bucke describes his own experience, the experiences of contemporaries (most notably [[Walt Whitman]]), and the experiences of historical figures, including [[Jesus]], [[Paul the Apostle|Saint Paul]], [[Muhammad]], [[Plotinus]], [[Dante]], [[Francis Bacon]],  [[William Blake]], [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], and [[Ramakrishna]].

Bucke developed a theory that posited three stages in the development of consciousness:

* the simple consciousness of animals
* the self-consciousness of the mass of humanity (encompassing reason, imagination, and [[Foresight (psychology)|foresight)]]
* cosmic consciousness — an emerging faculty which is the next stage of human development

Within self-consciousness, there exist gradations among individuals in their degrees of intellectual development and talent. (Bucke considered that no doubt there would be gradations within the level of cosmic consciousness, as well.)

Among the effects of humanity's natural evolutionary progression, Bucke believed he detected a long historical trend in which religious conceptions and theologies had become less and less frightening.

In ''Cosmic Consciousness'', beginning with Part II, Bucke explains how animals developed the senses of hearing and seeing. Further development culminated in the ability to experience and enjoy music. Bucke states that, initially, only a small number of humans were able to see colors and experience music. But eventually these new abilities spread throughout the human race until only a very small number of people were unable to experience colors and music.

In Part III, Bucke hypothesizes that the next stage of human development, which he calls "cosmic consciousness," is slowly beginning to appear and will eventually spread throughout all of humanity.

Bucke's vision of the world was profoundly optimistic. He wrote in Part I (“First Words”) “that the universe is so built and ordered that without any peradventure all things work together for the good of each and all, that the foundation principle of the world is what we call love and that the happiness of every one is in the long run absolutely certain.”{{sfnp|Bucke|2009|p=10}}

==Involvement with poetry and literature==
Bucke was deeply involved in the poetry scene in America and had friends among the [[Belles-lettres|literati]], especially those who were poets. In 1869, he read ''[[Leaves of Grass]]'' by [[Walt Whitman]], an American poet, and was deeply impressed by it.<ref name="RechnitzerPeter" />  In [[Cosmic Consciousness]], he notes that his cosmic consciousness experience occurred following a night reading Whitman and Romantic poets.{{sfnp|Bucke|2009|p=7}} Later, he met Whitman in 1877 in [[Camden, New Jersey]], and the two developed a lasting friendship.

Bucke later testified that he was "lifted to and set upon a higher plane of existence" because of his friendship with Whitman. He published a biography of Whitman in 1883 and was one of Whitman's [[literary executor]]s.<ref>Miller (ed.) in {{harvp|Whitman|2007|p=vii}}.</ref>

In 1882, Bucke was elected to the English Literature Section of the [[Royal Society of Canada]].<ref name="RechnitzerPeter"/>

==Death==
On 19 February 1902, Bucke slipped on a patch of ice in front of his home and struck his head. He died a few hours later without regaining consciousness.{{sfnp|Hurd|Drewry|1917|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dg8wAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA555 555]}}

==Legacy==
Bucke's concept of cosmic consciousness took on a life of its own (though not always well understood) and influenced the thought and writings of many other people. His work is directly referenced by the mystics [[Franklin Merrell-Wolff]]{{sfnp|Merrell-Wolff|1994|p=12}} and [[Ouspensky]],<ref>see {{harvp|Ouspensky|2005}}.</ref> and it was essential to [[Aldous Huxley]]'s concept of the [[perennial philosophy]]{{sfnp|Huxley|1946|p=68}} and [[Evelyn Underhill]]'s concept of [[mysticism]].<ref>see {{harvp|Underhill|2002|pp=7, 193, 255}}.</ref> In India, [[Aurobindo]] uses the term [[cosmic consciousness]] extensively in his work <ref>see {{harvp|Ghose|1973}}.</ref> and [[Ramana Maharshi]] was asked about Bucke's concept.{{sfnp|Maharshi|1989|p=21}} [[Erich Fromm]] says, in ''Psychoanalysis and Zen Buddhism'', "What Bucke describes as cosmic consciousness is, in my opinion, precisely the experience which is called ''[[satori]]'' in [[Zen Buddhism]]" and that "Bucke's book is perhaps the book most germane to the topic of this article."{{sfnp|Fromm|1960|p={{page needed|date=December 2023}}}}

Along with [[William James]]'s classic work ''[[The Varieties of Religious Experience]]'' (which cites Bucke{{sfnp|James|1985|pp=1–477}}), Bucke's ''[[Cosmic Consciousness (book)|Cosmic Consciousness]]'' has become part of the foundation of [[transpersonal psychology]].{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Bucke was part of a movement that sought to improve the care and treatment of [[Mental disorder|mentally ill persons]].{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

He was one of the founders of the Medical School of the [[University of Western Ontario]].{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} His papers are held at Western University's Archives and Research Collections Centre.

He was portrayed by [[Colm Feore]] in the 1990 Canadian film ''[[Beautiful Dreamers]]''.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

==Publications==
* {{cite book |last=Bucke |first=R. M. |title=Man's Moral Nature: An Essay |year=1879 |place=New York |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |url=https://archive.org/details/mansmoralnature00buckuoft}}
* {{cite book |last=Bucke |first=R. M. |title=Walt Whitman |year=1883 |publisher=D. Mackay |place=Philadelphia |oclc=859421735 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Bucke |first=R. M. |year=1901 |title=Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind |publisher=E. P. Dutton and Company |edition=1st}}
**{{cite book |last=Bucke |first=R. M. |year=1905 |title=Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind |url=http://djm.cc/library/Cosmic_Consciousness_edited02.pdf |publisher=Innes & Sons |place=Philadelphia |access-date=31 December 2023}}
** {{cite book |last=Bucke |first=R. M. |year=2015 |title=Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind |publisher=Merchant Books |isbn=978-1603866972}}
* {{cite book |last=Bucke |first=R. M. |year=1971 |orig-year=1863 |title=Diary of R. Maurice Bucke, M.D., C.M. |place=Canada |publisher=(n.p.) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DDvatgAACAAJ}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bucke |first1=R. M. |last2=Whitman |first2=W. |year=1977 |title=Richard Maurice Bucke, Medical Mystic: Letters of Dr. Bucke to Walt Whitman and his Friends |place=Detroit |publisher=Wayne State University Press |editor-first=Artem |editor-last=Lozynsky |isbn=0814315763}}
* {{cite book |last=Bucke |first=R. M. |title=The New Consciousness: Selected Papers of Richard Maurice Bucke |year=1997 |editor1-first=Cyril |editor1-last=Greenland |editor2-first=John Robert |editor2-last=Colombo |place=Toronto |publisher=Colombo & Company |isbn=978-1896308326}}

==See also==
* [[Recept]]
* [[Walter Russell#Russell and the New Age|Walter Russell]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
* {{cite journal |last=Bucke |first=Richard M. |date=June 1883 |title=Twenty-five years ago |journal=Overland Monthly |volume=(Second series) |issue=6 |pages=553–560}}
* {{cite book |title=Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind |last=Bucke |first=Richard Maurice |year=2009 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=[[Mineola, New York]] |isbn=978-0-486-47190-7}}
* {{cite book |first=James H. |last=Coyne |title=Richard Maurice Bucke: A Sketch |place=Toronto |publisher=Henry S. Saunders |year=1923 |orig-year=1906, J. Hope & Sons |edition=Rev.}} Reprinted from the ''Transactions of The Royal Society of Canada'', 1906.
* {{cite book |last1=Fromm |first1=Erich |author-link=Erich Fromm |title=Psychoanalysis and Zen Buddhism |date=1960 |publisher=George Allen & Unwin |isbn=0-04-616029-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Ghose |first=Aurobindo |author-link=Sri Aurobindo |year=1973 |title=The Life Divine |volume=1 |place=India |publisher=Sri Aurobindo Ashram}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hurd |first1=Henry Mills |first2=William Francis |last2=Drewry |display-authors=etal |title=The Institutional Care of the Insane in the United States and Canada |publisher=Johns Hopkins Press |year=1917 |volume=4}}
* {{cite book |last=Huxley |first=Aldous |author-link=Aldous Huxley |title=[[The Perennial Philosophy]] |edition=1st |year=1946 |publisher=Chatto and Windus |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |first=William |last=James |author-link=William James |title=The Varieties of Religious Experience |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1985 |orig-year=1902 |url=https://archive.org/details/varietiesofrelig0000jame_u1o3 |isbn=978-0674932258}}
* {{cite book |last=Maharshi |first=Ramana |author-link=Ramana Maharshi |editor-last=Godman |editor-first=David |year=1989 |title=Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi |publisher=Penguin Publishing Group |isbn=978-0140190625}}
* {{cite book |last=Merrell-Wolff |first=Franklin |author-link=Franklin Merrell-Wolff |year=1994 |title=Franklin Merrell-Wolff's Experience and Philosophy: A Personal Record of Transformation and a Discussion of Transcendental Consciousness |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0791419632}}
* {{cite book |last=Ouspensky |first=P. D. |author-link=P. D. Ouspensky |title=The Cosmic Consciousness of Dr. Richard M. Bucke |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=1-4253-4399-6}}
* {{cite book |title=The Angel of the Mental Orient |last=Pink |first=Caleb |year=1895 |publisher=William Reeves |location=London}}
* {{cite book |first=Peter |last=Rechnitzer |title=Journey to Cosmic Consciousness: The Life of Dr. R. M. Bucke |year=1993 |publisher=Quarry Press |isbn=1-55082-064-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Smith |first=Huston |author-link=Huston Smith |year=2001 |title=Why Religion Matters |place=San Francisco |publisher=Harper Collins}} 
* {{cite book |last=Underhill |first=Evelyn |author-link=Evelyn Underhill |title=Mysticism: A Study of the Nature and Development of Man's Spiritual Consciousness |orig-year=1911 |publisher=Dover Publications |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-486-42238-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Whitman |first=Walt |author-link=Walt Whitman |editor-first=Edward Haviland |editor-last=Miller |year=2007 |orig-year=1961 |title=The Correspondence |volume=I |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=978-0814794272}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |first=Samuel Edward Dole |last=Shortt |title=Victorian Lunacy: Richard M. Bucke and the Practice of Late Nineteenth-Century Psychiatry |year=1986 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-30999-9 |ref=none}}
* {{cite journal |first=George Hope |last=Stevenson |title=The Life and Work of Richard Maurice Bucke: An Appraisal |year=1937 |journal=American Journal of Psychiatry |volume=93 |pages=1127–1150 |doi=10.1176/ajp.93.5.1127 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Whitman |first=Walt |title=Walt Whitman's Canada |year=1992 |editor1-first=Cyril |editor1-last=Greenland |editor2-first=John Robert |editor2-last=Colombo |place=Toronto |publisher=Hounslow Press |isbn=978-0888821560 |ref=none}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=6588 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'']
*[http://www.education.mcgill.ca/profs/cartwright/edpe650/bucke.htm Notes on Bucke at McGill University]
*[http://www.collectionscanada.ca/collectionsp-bin/colldisp/l=0/c=98 Collections at University of Western Ontario]
*{{Internet Archive author |sname=Richard Maurice Bucke}}
*{{Gutenberg author | id=37860| name=Richard Maurice Bucke}}
*[https://www.lib.uwo.ca/files/archives/archives_finding_aids/Dr._R.M._Bucke_Finding_Aid1.pdf Archives finding aid]

{{American Psychiatric Association Presidents}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bucke, Richard Maurice}}
[[Category:1837 births]]
[[Category:1902 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century mystics]]
[[Category:Canadian psychiatrists]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni]]
[[Category:Pre-Confederation Ontario people]]
[[Category:Province of Canada people]]
[[Category:University of Western Ontario]]