On the Universal Tendency to Debasement in the Sphere of Love


Book Description

This early work by Sigmund Freud was originally published in 1912 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'On the Universal Tendency to Debasement in the Sphere of Love' is an essay on the causes of psychological impotence. Sigismund Schlomo Freud was born on 6th May 1856, in the Moravian town of Príbor, now part of the Czech Republic. He studied a variety of subjects, including philosophy, physiology, and zoology, graduating with an MD in 1881. Freud made a huge and lasting contribution to the field of psychology with many of his methods still being used in modern psychoanalysis. He inspired much discussion on the wealth of theories he produced and the reactions to his works began a century of great psychological investigation.




Freud Reader


Book Description

Selections span Freud's career from early case histories through his work on dreams, essays on sexuality, and his later philosophical writings. Most are reproduced in full and have been selected from the standard edition. Gay ties all together with an analytical introduction, chronology of life and work, and commentary throughout. Ideal size book for reading and browsing marred only by the inexplicable use of poor quality (and acidic) paper. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR




Women in Modern Drama


Book Description

An abundance of rich and memorable female roles is one of the most striking features of turn-of-the-century European drama. Gail Finney traces the source of this phenomenon to large-scale upheavals in prevailing contemporary attitudes toward women. She cites two major developments in particular: the culmination in the years 1880–1920 of the first feminist movement; and Freud's formulation of his theories of sexuality, which emphasize differences between the sexes. Taking into account these strong, sometimes conflicting intellectual currents, Women in Modern Drama explores the dynamics of gender identity and family relationships in major plays by European make dramatists, including Ibsen, Strindberg, Shaw, Wilde, Schnitzler, Synge, Hofmannsthal, Wedekind, and Hauptmann.





Book Description




On Kindness


Book Description

In this brilliant, epigrammatic book, the eminent psychoanalyst Adam Phillips and the social historian Barbara Taylor examine the terrors of kindness and return to the reader the intense satisfactions of generosity and compassion. Kindness is the foundation of the world's great religions and most-enduring philosophies. Why, then, does being kind feel so dangerous? If we crave kindness with such intensity, why is it often the last pleasure we permit ourselves? And why—despite our longing—are we often suspicious when we are on the receiving end of it? Drawing on intellectual history, literature, psychoanalysis, and contemporary social theory, this brief and essential book will return to its readers what Marcus Aurelius declared was mankind's "greatest delight": the intense satisfactions of generosity and compassion.




Reading Lacan’s Seminar VIII


Book Description

This book provides 18 lively commentaries on Lacan’s Seminar VIII, Transference (1960-61) that explore its theoretical and philosophical consequences in the clinic, the classroom, and society. Including contributions from clinicians as well as scholars working in philosophy, literature, and culture studies, the commentaries presented here represent a wide-range of disciplinary perspectives on the concept of transference. Some chapters closely follow the structure of the seminar’s sessions, while others take up thematic concerns or related sessions such as the commentary on sessions 19 to 22 which deal with Lacan’s discussion of Claudel’s Coûfontaine trilogy. This book is not a compendium to Lacan’s seminar. Instead it attempts to capture through shorter contributions a spectrum of voices debating, deliberating, and learning with Lacan’s concept. In doing so it can be seen to engage with transference conceptually in a manner that matches the spirit of Lacan’s seminar itself. The book will provide an invaluable new resource for Lacan scholars working across the fields of psychoanalytic theory, clinical psychology, philosophy and cultural studies.




Understanding Psychoanalysis


Book Description

"Understanding Psychoanalysis" presents a broad introduction to the key concepts and developments in psychoanalysis and its impact on modern thought. Charting pivotal moments in the theorization and reception of psychoanalysis, the book provides a comprehensive account of the concerns and development of Freud's work, as well as his most prominent successors, Melanie Klein and Jacques Lacan.The work of these leading psychoanalytic theorists has greatly influenced thinking across other disciplines, notably feminism, film studies, poststructuralism, social and cultural theory, the philosophy of science and the emerging discipline of neuropsychoanalysis. Analysing this engagement with other disciplines and their key theorists, "Understanding Psychoanalysis" argues for a reconsideration of psychoanalysis as a resource for philosophy, science, and cultural studies.




Joyce and the Perverse Ideal


Book Description

Representations of masochism - both overt and oblique - permeate the work of James Joyce. While a number of critics have noted this, to date there has been no sustained and focused analysis of this trope in his writings. David Cotter argues that such an examination is key to understanding the meanings and messages of Joyce's work. Adding further dimensions to moral, political and aesthetic considerations in the novels and stories - particularly Ulysses - this book provides a comprehensive account of masochistic elements in James Joyce's work. Cotter draws upon psychoanalytic theory and social history to illustrate the subversive power of perversity in the literature of the modern period. This edition first Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.




The Radicalism of Romantic Love


Book Description

Undoubtedly Romantic love has come to saturate our culture and is often considered to be a, or even the, major existential goal of our lives, capable of providing us with both our sense of worth and way of being in the world. The Radicalism of Romantic Love interrogates the purported radicalism of Romantic love from philosophical, cultural and psychoanalytic perspectives, exploring whether it is a subversive force capable of breaking down entrenched social, political and cultural norms and structures, or whether, in spite of its role in the fight against certain barriers, it is in fact a highly conservative impulse. Exploring both the grounds for the central place of Romantic love in contemporary lives and the meaning, extent and nature of its supposed radicalism, this volume considers love from a variety of theoretical perspectives, with attention to matters of gender, sexuality, class and ethnicity. With authors examining a range of questions, including the role of love in the same-sex marriage debate, polyamory and the notion of love as a political force, The Radicalism of Romantic Love illuminates a fundamental but perplexing aspect of our contemporary lives and will appeal to scholars across the social sciences and humanities with interests in the emotions and love as a social and political phenomenon.




The Revised Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud


Book Description

The long-awaited Revised Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (RSE) is founded on the canonical Standard Edition (SE) translation from the German by James Strachey, while adding a new layer of revisions and translations. Conceptual and lexicographic ambiguities are clarified inextensive new annotations. Drawing on established conventions and intellectual traditions, the Revised Standard Edition supplements Freud’s writing with substantial editorial commentaries addressing controversial technical terms and translation issues through the lens of modern scholarship—a living text in dialogue with itself and the reader. The RSE also includes 56 essays and letters which were not included in the SE. In the RSE text and footnotes a subtle underlining distinguishes, in an easy and accessible way, Mark Solms’s revisions and additions, from the historical translation and commentaries of James Strachey’s Standard Edition. Readers can examine what Strachey contributed before the revisions in tandem with Solms’s updates, new translations, annotations, and commentaries, collectively bringing Freud’s text and Strachey’s translation into dialogue with five decades of research, including the most recent developments in the field. Commissioned by the British Psychoanalytical Society and co-published by Rowman & Littlefield, the Revised Standard Edition brings together decades of scholarly deliberation concerning the translation of Freudian technical terms while retaining the best of Strachey’s original English translation.This landmark work will captivate a wide audience, from interested lay readers to practicing clinicians to scientists and scholars in fields related to psychoanalysis.