Denial, Negation And the Forces of the Negative: Freud, Hegel, Lacan, Spitz, And Sophocles (Suny Series in Hegelian Studies) - Softcover

Eecke, Wilfried Ver

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0791466000 ISBN 13: 9780791466001

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 2006

Synopsis

A comprehensive account of denial viewed not only psychoanalytically but also philosophically.

It is often the case that painful truths emerge first in the form of denial; one needs to create distance from what is painful. In Denial, Negation, and the Forces of the Negative Wilfried Ver Eecke constructs a comprehensive, lucid account of denial’s psychological and philosophical dimensions while using Freud, Hegel, Lacan, Spitz, and Sophocles to help us understand this unavoidable aspect of human existence.

Ver Eecke acknowledges Hegel’s claim that the road to truth is not a path of doubt, but a highway of despair, and argues, via Hegel’s ontology of the person, that denial can be understood as a desiring being’s defense against despair. By examining the role of no-saying in children, Freud’s claims about freedom of the will and its necessary prerequisites, and Sophocles’ Oedipus, Ver Eecke demonstrates the idea that denial is connected with situations in which the self-image of a person is threatened. He concludes with a colleague’s autobiography to highlight the deep, tragic experiences that denial covers, and the enormous psychic work required to overcome profound denial, with the ultimate reward of experiencing oneself as the fulfillment of the promise of life.

About this title

About the Author:

At Georgetown University, Wilfried Ver Eecke is Professor of Philosophy and also teaches courses in psychology and psychoanalysis. He is the coauthor (with Alphonse De Waelhens) of Phenomenology and Lacan on Schizophrenia, after the Decade of the Brain and Saying “No”:Its Meaning in Child Development, Psychoanalysis, Linguistics, and Hegel.

Review:

"This book relates Freud's theory of denial and negation to Hegel, Lacan, and Spitz, producing conclusions on the nature of human freedom and wholeness that are both philosophically interesting and practically useful. The last two chapters move the theoretical discussion very much into the realm of practical life and should be useful both to therapists and to individuals."

About this edition

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0791466000
• ISBN 13: 9780791466001
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 190