THE PSYCHOANALYSIS OF POWER: AN ESSAY ON THE METAPSYCHOLOGY OF INEQUALITY.
Item
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Title
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THE PSYCHOANALYSIS OF POWER: AN ESSAY ON THE METAPSYCHOLOGY OF INEQUALITY.
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Identifier
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AAI8501130
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identifier
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8501130
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Creator
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FUCHSER, LARRY WILLIAM.
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Contributor
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Laurence Gould
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Date
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1984
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical
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Abstract
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This theoretical dissertation attempts to view psychoanalytic theory and traditional Western political thought in dialectic interrelationship using a concept of power as the central organizing principle. It is argued that the concept of power has been the traditional organizing concept of Western political thought, and ought to be regarded as a technical concept in psychoanalysis as well. In this study, we develop both a psychoanalytic view of politics and a political view of psychoanalysis.;For the purposes of this study, power is defined as an actualized state of inequality having no necessary relation to the phenomena of perception. Inequality is understood as a material concept referring to objective differences among individuals along such dimensions as economic resources, physical strength and access to critical information. Thus power can be understood as both a universal aspect of intrapsychic functioning, (both normal and abnormal), as well as a characteristic of all interpersonal relationships.;In reviewing the literature of psychoanalysis from Freud to the present, it is quite clear that power is not, by in large used as a technical concept. Yet paradoxically, psychoanalysts including Freud have used the concept of power again and again as if its meaning were self evident. On the other hand, Western empirical political science has largely ignored the unconscious, focusing almost exclusively on rational behavior.;It is argued that the effort to distill from Freud's writings a particular theory of politics has not led to a consensus in the literature. For purposes of this study, power is seen as a drive related phenomenon, a familiar concept in 19th century German social thought and one which can usefully be employed to illucidate a variety of clinical phenomena.;Power as a technical concept, is viewed as necessary for the understanding of the dynamics of transference. Power and powerlessness are discussed as essential features of transference in the analytic setting. Furthermore, it is argued that psychoanalysis is the only existing treatment modality which is fully capable of liberating individuals from the effects of power without simply replacing one form of dominance with another. The traditional nosological categories of obsessive and hysterical neuroses are understood as disorders in power relations. Finally, power is discussed as an essential concept for explicating the etiology and dynamics of the perversions.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
