Exploring the Life of the Soul : Philosophical Reflections on Psychoanalysis and Self Psychology

In this book, John Hanwell Riker develops and expands the conceptual framework of self psychology in order to offer contemporary readers a naturalistic ground for adopting an ethical way of being in the world. Riker stresses the need to find a balance between mature narcissism and ethics, to address and understand differences among people, and to reconceive social justice as based on the development of individual self. This book is recommend for readers interested in psychology and philosophy, and for those who wonder what it means to be human in the modern age. Dedication Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Psychoanalysis, Self Psychology, and the Humanistic Tradition Part I: Psychoanalysis and the Nature of the Self and Soul 1 Knowledge in Psychoanalysis: Can There Be a Science of Subjectivity? 2 The Life of the Soul 3 Subjectivity, the Ego, and the Self 4 The Erotic Self: Plato, Freud, and Kohut 5 Ancient Theology and Contemporary Self Psychology: Monotheism, Mono-Selfism, and the Transgressions of Omnipotence 6 Emerson and Thoreau: The Self in Relation to Nature Part II: Self Psychology, Culture, and Society 7 Ethics, Modern Society, and Self Psychology 8 Self Psychology and the Problem of the Other 9 What do Humans Need to be Human?: Economic Society, Self Psychology, and the Problem of Social Justice 10 Self Psychology and Historical Explanation: The Death of God and the Birth of Impressionism—Forms and Transformations of Narcissism in the Nineteenth Century Conclusion Bibliography Index