The superordinate self in psychoanalytic theory and in the self psychologies.
نویسنده
چکیده
The concept of the self has been used in several attempts to resolve the epistemological problems of what is subjective and what is objective, what is personal and what is organismic. In addition, it has been used to mediate between the hermeneutic and natural-science approaches to psychoanalytic explanation, between the motivational and causal dimensions of our theory and experience. In the case of Kohut, the self was initially invoked to deal with clinical difficulties associated with the analysis of patients with narcissistic personality disorders more recently, it has become the central article in a "self psychology" that addresses presumed deficiencies in the traditional psychoanalytic picture of psychopathology. But the concept of the self is not suited to be a panacea for resolving theoretical or clinical difficulties. The self as person refers to an entity that is both enduring and changing; it describes continuity in the face of change and change in the face of continuity. Abend (1974) comes closest to capturing this attribute of the self in his image of the tidal beach with a configuration that changes but an essence that remains the same. Eisnitz (1980) evokes something similar in his figure-ground conception of the self-representation. The crux of the matter is that the notion of self-experience includes a variety of phenomena that cannot be contained within a single self-construct--be it normal pathologic, grandiose, or otherwise. As a result of these considerations, I have argued against the use of the self as a superordinate concept in psychoanalytic theory and have focused on the shortcomings of three self psychologies that use the self in this way. I believe that Klein, Gedo, and Kohut all offer the self as a kind of conceptual tranquilizer for the philosophical, theoretical, and clinical dualities that are inherent in psychoanalytic work. Grossman addressed himself to these dualities as far back as 1967 and elaborated on the problems with Simon (1969) in a pathbreaking paper on anthropomorphism in psychoanalysis. Grossman and Simon contended that the controversy about anthropomorphism in psychoanalytic theory pertains to the basic confusion in psychology between meaning and causality. They submitted that until this confusion was dispelled and until some superordinate concept was found that could "encompass both kinds of discourse", attempts to transform psychoanalysis into a general psychology would result in failure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
منابع مشابه
Alternate Self, The Immortal Self: A Critique on The Double, a Psychoanalytic Study by Nasrin Shakibi Momtaz
The Discourse of Chaos in The Realm of The Unhearing: A Criticism of Fourteenth Hijri-Century Earache Based on A Postmodern Reading Mahshad Shahbazi Ph.D. Student of Persian Literature, Alzahra University [email protected] Abstract The present research is based on the critique of Fourteenth Hijri-Century Earache by Abbas Habibi Badrabadi. Based on a critical analysis and a postmode...
متن کاملA theoretical review of the concept of superego from the perspective of psychoanalytic approaches
The aim of this research was to investigate the concept of the superego from the perspective of psychoanalytic approaches, in particular the theory of Freud and Anna Freud and other theories of object relations (Klein and Bion) and the British Independent School (Fairbairn and Winnicott). Given the significant role of the pathological superego in psychological disorders, a better understanding ...
متن کاملNarcissistic Disturbances as the Bedrock of Difficulties in Emotional Regulation and Self-Destructive Behavior in Melancholic Patients: A Psychoanalytic Re-Evaluation of Narcissus Myth
Objective: The association of narcissistic disturbances in patients with melancholia symptoms has been described in various studies. The mechanism by which narcissistic disturbances may contribute to difficulties in emotional regulation and self-destructive behavior in melancholic patients have not been explored well. This lack of attention represents a vital theoretical ambiguity about the int...
متن کاملHierarchical Recursive Organization and the Free Energy Principle: From Biological Self-Organization to the Psychoanalytic Mind
The present paper argues that a systems theory epistemology (and particularly the notion of hierarchical recursive organization) provides the critical theoretical context within which the significance of Friston's (2010a) Free Energy Principle (FEP) for both evolution and psychoanalysis is best understood. Within this perspective, the FEP occupies a particular level of the hierarchical organiza...
متن کاملThe Effectiveness of Choice Theory Education on Happiness and Self-Esteem in University Students
Objective: The present study examined the effect of choice theory education on the happiness and self-esteem in university students. Methods: The statistical population consisted of all students of Qom universities. The study sample consisted of 30 students (7 males and 8 females per group) with low self-esteem (0 out of 10) and happiness (14 out of 87) levels. The subjects were randomly selec...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
دوره 30 4 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 1982