Pierre Janet’s Secret Garden, or the Botanical Collection of a Psychopathologist

Abstract

Pierre Janet, the French philosopher, psychotherapist, and doctor (1859–1947), has often been presented as one of the central figures in contemporary clinical psychology, whose practices and ideas are said to have anticipated those of Sigmund Freud, before becoming a fierce critic of psychoanalysis. What is less well known, however, is that he was also an experienced botanist. The recent discovery of his personal herbarium, which was long thought to be lost, leads historians to address a curious paradox. Unlike his professional papers, of which only a fraction remains, his entire collection built up over 70 years of passionate collecting has been preserved. Thus although the world-famous clinician, bound to medical secrecy, still resists historical exposition, the hitherto unknown amateur naturalist appears in the full light of day. Even though Janet was careful not to hastily amalgamate the study of human behaviour to that of plants, detailed examination of his abundant written work shows that these two disciplines could overlap on occasions.