Works
The New Psychology by Charles Haanel: A Reader's Guide (1924)
The New Psychology is the third major book by Charles Haanel, after The Master Key System and Mental Chemistry. It is usually dated to 1924, when Haanel was 58 and still living in St. Louis. Like Mental Chemistry, it is a collection of essays rather than a course, and it brings together his ideas on success, the mind and the body under a single title.
This guide covers what the book is, what its chapters discuss, how it connects to Haanel's earlier work, and how to read it today. One caution comes first: the original 1924 printing was not available for this guide, so the description below is based on a modern electronic edition and on catalog records. Where those sources disagree, the differences are noted.
The title and its time
In the early twentieth century, "the new psychology" was a common phrase. Writers used it for the laboratory psychology of the universities, for the theories of Freud and his followers, and for popular books on the power of the mind. An earlier book called The New Psychology, by E. W. Scripture, appeared in 1897 and has nothing to do with Haanel. Readers searching library catalogs should check the author's name.
Haanel used the phrase in his own way. For him the "new" psychology was a science of mind in the New Thought sense: the study of how thought shapes success, health and circumstance.
Dates and editions
Most bibliographies, including the standard encyclopedia summary of Haanel's life, give 1924 as the date of The New Psychology. The earliest printing found in the Open Library catalog for this guide is dated 1928 and credited to "The Master Key Institute," the name under which Haanel's later books were issued. Whether 1928 was a reprint or a first trade edition could not be confirmed.
Modern editions are not all the same length. Some list 17 chapters. Others list 25, adding chapters on suggestion, psycho-analysis, metaphysics, philosophy, science, religion, comparative religion and the great religious groups. One "extended and annotated" edition also adds commentary on New Thought by another writer. Readers who want Haanel's own text should check which version they are holding.
The chapters
In the 25-chapter electronic edition used for this guide, the first 17 chapters run as follows. Shorter editions cover the same ground from "The Psychology of Success" through "Biochemistry," though their numbering may differ.
- The Psychology of Success
- The Law of Abundance
- The Master Mind
- The Law of Attraction
- The Universal Mind
- The Conscious Mind
- The Creative Process
- Vibration
- Causation
- Equilibrium
- Physiology
- The Psychology of Medicine
- Mental Chemistry
- Mental Medicine
- Orthobiosis
- Biochemistry
- The New Psychology
What the book discusses
Success and abundance
The opening chapters set the tone. Success, Haanel argues, is first a mental matter: a clear ideal held steadily in thought, followed by persistent effort. "The Law of Abundance" treats plenty as a natural law of the universe and presents wealth as the result of inner qualities such as courage and constructive thinking. The railroad builder James J. Hill is quoted and discussed as an example.
The Master Mind
The third chapter describes the "Master Mind," a person who is not ruled by circumstances or by other people. Haanel lists intense desire, study of oneself and freedom from fear as requirements, and he describes receiving inner guidance in silence. Readers who know the later success literature will notice the phrase, but here it refers to a quality of one person's mind rather than a group of advisers.
The law of attraction and the Universal Mind
Chapters four through six restate the core teaching of the course. The law of attraction is described as a neutral force that brings each person the results that match his or her thought. Life is presented as an orderly progress in which a person first lives under law, then learns to use it, then masters it. The Universal Mind is described as the source of all power and form, shared by every individual mind. Haanel also discusses intuition and quotes the plant breeder Luther Burbank on the transmission of thought.
Thought, vibration and causation
The middle chapters argue that thought is the most valuable product there is, because it shapes everything else. "Vibration" repeats a line found in earlier Haanel texts: "Every thought tends to become a material thing." "Causation" and "Equilibrium" describe intelligence running through all matter, from atoms to cells, and nature as always seeking balance.
The body and medicine
The later chapters turn to health. "Physiology" discusses the glands and their hormones, and contrasts the cerebrospinal and sympathetic nervous systems, a distinction that also appears in the Master Key course. "The Psychology of Medicine," "Mental Medicine," "Orthobiosis" and "Biochemistry" cover ideas about the mind's effect on the body that were popular in the early 1920s.
How it relates to Haanel's earlier books
The most important thing to know about The New Psychology is how much of it Haanel had already published. Several chapter titles, including "Mental Chemistry," "Mental Medicine," "Orthobiosis" and "Biochemistry," are the same as chapters in Mental Chemistry (1922). "The Creative Process" quotes the same speeches by Senators Wadsworth and Frelinghuysen and the same remarks by University of Michigan president Marion Leroy Burton that appear in the "Economics" chapter of Mental Chemistry. "Causation" draws on the same writers on the ether and on biology, Stockwell, Hemstreet, Dolbear, Huxley and Haeckel, that open the "Chemist" chapter of the earlier book.
In other words, The New Psychology is best read as a rearrangement and extension of Haanel's existing material, with new chapters on success, abundance and the Master Mind placed at the front. That is not unusual for New Thought writers of the period, who often reworked their own texts for new audiences. It does mean that readers who already own Mental Chemistry will find much that is familiar.
Compared with The Master Key System, the book has no weekly drills. There is no equivalent of the sitting exercise or the graded practices in visualization and concentration. It assumes the reader wants explanation rather than training.
History and belief
History: The New Psychology is a book by Charles Haanel, usually dated 1924, later issued under the name of The Master Key Institute, and reprinted many times since. It belongs to the New Thought literature of the 1920s.
Belief: its central claims, that thought governs wealth and health, that a Universal Mind is the source of all form, and that attraction works as a law of nature, are Haanel's philosophy. They are not findings of academic psychology, either in his time or now. The book's title can mislead modern readers on this point: it is not a work of psychology in the scientific sense.
Dated science: the chapters on glands, cells and medicine summarize ideas current in the early 1920s. They are useful as history but should not be used as health advice.
Reading it today
The New Psychology suits readers who have finished the Master Key course and want Haanel's views on success and abundance in essay form. For readers new to Haanel, the course is the better starting point, since it is where these ideas first appeared and where he gives his practical method. Anyone comparing editions should note which chapter list their copy follows, and whether any added commentary is clearly marked as the work of a later editor. Which of the two chapter lists matches the first printing could not be confirmed for this guide.
References
- Charles F. Haanel on Wikipedia
- New Thought on Wikipedia
- Autosuggestion on Wikipedia