Denial, Negation, and the Forces of the Negative: Freud, Hegel, Lacan, Spitz, and Sophocles (SUNY Series in Hegelian Studies)

Ver Eecke, Wilfried

ISBN 10: 0791465993 / ISBN 13: 9780791465998

Published by State Univ of New York Pr, 2005

Signed Copy First edition copy. . Inscribed by author on half title page. Seller Inventory # A01OS-00125

Synopsis:

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

Finalist for the 2006 Goethe Award for Psychoanalytic Scholarship presented by the Section on Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Psychology of the Canadian Psychological Association

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 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.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Denial, Negation, and the Forces of the ...
Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr
Publication Date: 2005
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: As New
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: 1st Edition