Karl Figlio | University of Essex (original) (raw)
Papers by Karl Figlio
Auestad, L. (ed.) Psychoanalysis and Politics. London: Karnac
Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology
International Social Science Journal, Mar 1, 2011
ABSTRACT This paper proposes a distinction between the psychoanalyst who, as a citizen, is social... more ABSTRACT This paper proposes a distinction between the psychoanalyst who, as a citizen, is socially active, and a psychoanalytic social activist. The former is a concerned citizen who is also a professional, while the latter understands and acts psychoanalytically in a social sphere. I suggest that the former occurs anyway, and that the latter needs to be better defined and carefully implemented. I offer a simple example.
... understandings convey an ambiguity around whether hoping represents a quiet, virtual process ... more ... understandings convey an ambiguity around whether hoping represents a quiet, virtual process of ... that the likeness between neighbouring or ethnically similar groups the 'narcissism of minor ... health can be ignored, in what becomes a delusional disregard of ordinary reality. ...
British Journal for The History of Science, 1999
ABSTRACT
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 1991
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 1996
There is a contradiction at the root of psychoanalysis. While it aims to be a science, it is dedi... more There is a contradiction at the root of psychoanalysis. While it aims to be a science, it is dedicated to freedom. And since the psychoanalytic process struggles towards such a condition, there is a contradiction in the method as well. It is a process with patterns and predictable moments, but with a gap between them and the freedom towards which it aims. The notions of a causal gap and of freedom challenge the idea that psychoanalysis is a science, but also highlight its prime feature: the notion of an essential contradiction.
International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 2010
Both inside and outside psychoanalysis, the word, ‘seminal’, is used to praise a creative contrib... more Both inside and outside psychoanalysis, the word, ‘seminal’, is used to praise a creative contribution to science and culture. Rarely, however, does it refer to male procreativity, to the structures and functions that subserve it or to the anxiety related to a threat to it. This situation becomes evident in the concept of castration anxiety, which typically refers, with Freud, to cutting off the penis and not to extirpating the testicles. This phallic theory has been debated, repudiated and ignored. While there is an alternative literature on non-phallic masculinity, it is scattered and rarely refers to seminal function. Freud’s theory meets his requirement for a well-articulated representation of absolute loss as an experience, but this clear structure – and its repudiation – obscure the observation and theory of the internal world of the male. I propose the concepts of ‘seminal masculinity’ and ‘seminal castration’, which I ground in Melanie Klein’s concept of depressive anxiety. I contrast them with phallic masculinity and phallic castration anxiety, which I ground in her concept of paranoid–schizoid anxiety. I argue that they meet Freud’s requirement that castration be a potential experience and that understanding masculinity demands such a basis.
Journal of Interprofessional Care, 1986
ABSTRACT David Armstrong's argument (‘The Problem of the Whole Person in Holistic Medicin... more ABSTRACT David Armstrong's argument (‘The Problem of the Whole Person in Holistic Medicine’, Holistic Medicine, vol. 1, pp 000-000) is often persuasive, but it rests on a model of history which goes unnoticed as it informs the whole of his case. Although he seems to discover the roots and direction of holistic medicine, he actually imputes to it a strategy of constructing the whole person both as its object and as a new territory won for an expanding medical hegemony. Armstrong adapts two historiographical frameworks which tend to see historical processes as an encompassing relationship of subject over object: social constructivism and the archaeological approach of Michel Foucault. As an unexamined framework of interpretation, his model finds examples of itself everywhere, including holistic medicine. I propose a social history of medicine which emphasises the contribution of both subject and object to each others emergence, one which needs a vocabulary of inter-subjectivity, rather than of production. Holistic medicine, for example, should be placed in the broader contexts of anti-reductionist currents outside medicine and of new forms of distress presented to medicine. Seen in this way, holistic medicine would be more a mediator among historical events and less a powerful subject, whether in its own right or as an extension of medical hegemony.
Sociology of Health & Illness, 1980
Book reviews in this article:Susan Sontag, Illness as Metaphor.
Psychoanalysis and History, 2005
Since the time when Jung and Freud severed their friendship and their collegial relationship, the... more Since the time when Jung and Freud severed their friendship and their collegial relationship, the details and the causes of the rupture have occupied both clinicians and scholars. The intensity of their relationship, and the pain that its breakdown caused them, seem to have driven much of this work, and it remains difficult to understand and assess the differences between them, in theory and in practice. In the service of assessment, we provide here an English translation of Sándor Ferenczi's review of the work by Jung which symbolized the break, his "Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido" (1911/1912). It was the first, and the most thorough and systematic, treatment of Jung's work, written by one of Freud's star followers. We also provide an introduction, which overviews the preparation for a psychoanalytic reply to Jung, based heavily on correspondence, and suggests the need to attend to the differences in clinical methodology implied in the different concepts of the libido held by Freud and Jung.
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 1993
American Imago, 2003
This paper is an experiment in cultural analysis. Rather than use an artifact, such as a novel, f... more This paper is an experiment in cultural analysis. Rather than use an artifact, such as a novel, film, or painting, we will base our analysis on two personal experiences. An artifact, which is available to anyone, has the advantage that anyone could compare what we say about it ...
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 2000
ABSTRACT I will consider registration with respect to professionalism. In particular, I will defi... more ABSTRACT I will consider registration with respect to professionalism. In particular, I will define the ethical quality of professionalism in psychotherapy and distinguish it from practical aspects such as contract and rules of practice; and I will argue that registration would be better guided by an ethical rather than a practical concern. My remarks will be confined to psychoanalytic psychotherapy and to the current British situation, which includes three dominant features: a large public sector; the division of the professional regulatory structure into two registering bodies; the growing importance of universities. I will draw some conclusions for discussion.
History Workshop Journal, 1998
... The confusion of knowing and believing This idealization is delusional, but not floridly irra... more ... The confusion of knowing and believing This idealization is delusional, but not floridly irrational. It calls for an analysis of the relationship between feeling and thinking, between the emotional and the cognitive aspects of the psyche. The force of the ''mobilizing passion'', of which ...
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 1989
This is a response to Dr Pedder's paper (this issue). We consider the possible impact of the Euro... more This is a response to Dr Pedder's paper (this issue). We consider the possible impact of the European Community (EC) after 1992 and the role of the United Kingdom Standing Conference for Psychotherapy (UKSCP) in the training of psychotherapists. We agree that the core professions should be involved in trainings; we oppose a three tier system and suggest a part-time modular MA/MSc degree; and we urge the UKSCP take on a major responsibility in an EC context. Whilst our main focus is analytical psychotherapy, we believe other orientations might be equally affected. Our comments draw on a paper in preparation for the British Journal of Psychotherapy.
History Workshop Journal, 1988
Auestad, L. (ed.) Psychoanalysis and Politics. London: Karnac
Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology
International Social Science Journal, Mar 1, 2011
ABSTRACT This paper proposes a distinction between the psychoanalyst who, as a citizen, is social... more ABSTRACT This paper proposes a distinction between the psychoanalyst who, as a citizen, is socially active, and a psychoanalytic social activist. The former is a concerned citizen who is also a professional, while the latter understands and acts psychoanalytically in a social sphere. I suggest that the former occurs anyway, and that the latter needs to be better defined and carefully implemented. I offer a simple example.
... understandings convey an ambiguity around whether hoping represents a quiet, virtual process ... more ... understandings convey an ambiguity around whether hoping represents a quiet, virtual process of ... that the likeness between neighbouring or ethnically similar groups the 'narcissism of minor ... health can be ignored, in what becomes a delusional disregard of ordinary reality. ...
British Journal for The History of Science, 1999
ABSTRACT
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 1991
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 1996
There is a contradiction at the root of psychoanalysis. While it aims to be a science, it is dedi... more There is a contradiction at the root of psychoanalysis. While it aims to be a science, it is dedicated to freedom. And since the psychoanalytic process struggles towards such a condition, there is a contradiction in the method as well. It is a process with patterns and predictable moments, but with a gap between them and the freedom towards which it aims. The notions of a causal gap and of freedom challenge the idea that psychoanalysis is a science, but also highlight its prime feature: the notion of an essential contradiction.
International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 2010
Both inside and outside psychoanalysis, the word, ‘seminal’, is used to praise a creative contrib... more Both inside and outside psychoanalysis, the word, ‘seminal’, is used to praise a creative contribution to science and culture. Rarely, however, does it refer to male procreativity, to the structures and functions that subserve it or to the anxiety related to a threat to it. This situation becomes evident in the concept of castration anxiety, which typically refers, with Freud, to cutting off the penis and not to extirpating the testicles. This phallic theory has been debated, repudiated and ignored. While there is an alternative literature on non-phallic masculinity, it is scattered and rarely refers to seminal function. Freud’s theory meets his requirement for a well-articulated representation of absolute loss as an experience, but this clear structure – and its repudiation – obscure the observation and theory of the internal world of the male. I propose the concepts of ‘seminal masculinity’ and ‘seminal castration’, which I ground in Melanie Klein’s concept of depressive anxiety. I contrast them with phallic masculinity and phallic castration anxiety, which I ground in her concept of paranoid–schizoid anxiety. I argue that they meet Freud’s requirement that castration be a potential experience and that understanding masculinity demands such a basis.
Journal of Interprofessional Care, 1986
ABSTRACT David Armstrong's argument (‘The Problem of the Whole Person in Holistic Medicin... more ABSTRACT David Armstrong's argument (‘The Problem of the Whole Person in Holistic Medicine’, Holistic Medicine, vol. 1, pp 000-000) is often persuasive, but it rests on a model of history which goes unnoticed as it informs the whole of his case. Although he seems to discover the roots and direction of holistic medicine, he actually imputes to it a strategy of constructing the whole person both as its object and as a new territory won for an expanding medical hegemony. Armstrong adapts two historiographical frameworks which tend to see historical processes as an encompassing relationship of subject over object: social constructivism and the archaeological approach of Michel Foucault. As an unexamined framework of interpretation, his model finds examples of itself everywhere, including holistic medicine. I propose a social history of medicine which emphasises the contribution of both subject and object to each others emergence, one which needs a vocabulary of inter-subjectivity, rather than of production. Holistic medicine, for example, should be placed in the broader contexts of anti-reductionist currents outside medicine and of new forms of distress presented to medicine. Seen in this way, holistic medicine would be more a mediator among historical events and less a powerful subject, whether in its own right or as an extension of medical hegemony.
Sociology of Health & Illness, 1980
Book reviews in this article:Susan Sontag, Illness as Metaphor.
Psychoanalysis and History, 2005
Since the time when Jung and Freud severed their friendship and their collegial relationship, the... more Since the time when Jung and Freud severed their friendship and their collegial relationship, the details and the causes of the rupture have occupied both clinicians and scholars. The intensity of their relationship, and the pain that its breakdown caused them, seem to have driven much of this work, and it remains difficult to understand and assess the differences between them, in theory and in practice. In the service of assessment, we provide here an English translation of Sándor Ferenczi's review of the work by Jung which symbolized the break, his "Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido" (1911/1912). It was the first, and the most thorough and systematic, treatment of Jung's work, written by one of Freud's star followers. We also provide an introduction, which overviews the preparation for a psychoanalytic reply to Jung, based heavily on correspondence, and suggests the need to attend to the differences in clinical methodology implied in the different concepts of the libido held by Freud and Jung.
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 1993
American Imago, 2003
This paper is an experiment in cultural analysis. Rather than use an artifact, such as a novel, f... more This paper is an experiment in cultural analysis. Rather than use an artifact, such as a novel, film, or painting, we will base our analysis on two personal experiences. An artifact, which is available to anyone, has the advantage that anyone could compare what we say about it ...
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 2000
ABSTRACT I will consider registration with respect to professionalism. In particular, I will defi... more ABSTRACT I will consider registration with respect to professionalism. In particular, I will define the ethical quality of professionalism in psychotherapy and distinguish it from practical aspects such as contract and rules of practice; and I will argue that registration would be better guided by an ethical rather than a practical concern. My remarks will be confined to psychoanalytic psychotherapy and to the current British situation, which includes three dominant features: a large public sector; the division of the professional regulatory structure into two registering bodies; the growing importance of universities. I will draw some conclusions for discussion.
History Workshop Journal, 1998
... The confusion of knowing and believing This idealization is delusional, but not floridly irra... more ... The confusion of knowing and believing This idealization is delusional, but not floridly irrational. It calls for an analysis of the relationship between feeling and thinking, between the emotional and the cognitive aspects of the psyche. The force of the ''mobilizing passion'', of which ...
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 1989
This is a response to Dr Pedder's paper (this issue). We consider the possible impact of the Euro... more This is a response to Dr Pedder's paper (this issue). We consider the possible impact of the European Community (EC) after 1992 and the role of the United Kingdom Standing Conference for Psychotherapy (UKSCP) in the training of psychotherapists. We agree that the core professions should be involved in trainings; we oppose a three tier system and suggest a part-time modular MA/MSc degree; and we urge the UKSCP take on a major responsibility in an EC context. Whilst our main focus is analytical psychotherapy, we believe other orientations might be equally affected. Our comments draw on a paper in preparation for the British Journal of Psychotherapy.
History Workshop Journal, 1988