Guilt (Ideas in Psychoanalysis)

A sense of guilt is a uniquely human experience, and a major theme in explorations of the human imagination, from Greek tragedy to headline condemnations of murderers and child abusers. A sense of guilt in the real world of moral transgressions would seem to be necessary to hold society together, but many people experience guilty feelings which cannot be explained in terms of their conscious values. Where do these feelings come from? Psychoanalysis suggest that this neurotic form of guilt has its origins in childhood and the ambivalent unconscious feelings the child has towards internal representations of parental figures. In one interpretation, guilt occurs when the child's unconscious sexual, aggressive and destructive feelings conflict with its fear of destroying the source of love and security. The author explains the analytic ideas involved, and goes on to illuminate the consequent adult states of mind generated by neurotic guilt and its effect on society and culture. Introduction......Page 4 Ruling Passions: The Inheritance......Page 6 Can Fuck, Won’t Cook: Freud’s Account of Guilt......Page 12 The Running Wife......Page 22 The Stoned Man......Page 25 The Good Criminal......Page 27 The Unbecoming Mourning Girl......Page 30 See Melanie Play: Klein’s Account of Guilt......Page 36 Stop Making Sense: Other Voices......Page 44 Speak Up Ye Buggers! Start Making Sense: Therapy......Page 61 a.) A Ruthless Computation of the Forces......Page 68 b.) Taking the Group Seriously......Page 71 Coda......Page 74 Dedication......Page 75 Notes......Page 76 Further Reading......Page 81 A mini-essay which illuminates the psychoanalytical concept of guilt and its relationship to the way people lead real lives. It is jargon-free and includes examples taken from the lives of well-known people, and from art, music, poetry and literature. A sense of guilt is a uniquely human experience, and a major themr in explorations of the human imagination.