neil maizels | Victoria University (original) (raw)
Papers by neil maizels
The Life-Death Instinct., 2023
Routledge , 2024
Some psychotherapy patients are in great need of help and understanding, but the nature of their ... more Some psychotherapy patients are in great need of help and understanding, but the nature of their traumatic emotional experience inclines them to settle into lengthy uncomfortable silences, which are very difficult to handle, technically and emotionally.
By exploring the nature of their psychological fears of exploring and experimenting, which have often been severely curtailed or inhibited, it is possible to evolve an idiosyncratic technique of working effectively with such patients.
It is neither easy or impossible work - but the deficits of exploratory playfulness and adventurous "experimental" thinking can be somewhat overcome.
The implications for the origins of this experimental state of mind (child's play) in healthy psychological development are traced, particularly in relation to the earliest relationship to the Father.
Routledge , 2023
The emotional development of the internal father and of the “Fathering” role is traced - using Sh... more The emotional development of the internal father and of the “Fathering” role is traced - using Shakespearean examples - from Oedipally-infused incestuous self-aggrandisement through to a caring deep satisfaction in and for the development of his daughter - as part of the wider chain of Nature’s healthy promulgation and variation.
The tracing followed here is from Pericles to Lear to Leontes to Prospero - although Measure for Measure rotates all these paternal roles in the eye of the reader.
Clinical implications are sketched- particularly where the daughter-father affectionate intimacy has been ruptured, or inhibited, through such unconscious conflict in the Father, just at a time when the daughter most needs his close attention.
Journal of Melanie Klein & Object Relations, 1994
There are certain thoughts - intimations - that will seem corny, or laughable, and therefore dism... more There are certain thoughts - intimations - that will seem corny, or laughable, and therefore dismissed - and only seriously absorbed into the changing mind when felt, in the shelter of the quietly moving music of the soul.
It is the function of art, and of love, to make this music heard . . .
It is not the music of depression - it is the way through.
Arena, 2020
Film review-Article looking at Winterbottom's "Oedipal Lion" questioning of Capitalism - such ... more Film review-Article looking at Winterbottom's "Oedipal Lion" questioning of Capitalism - such questions as,
amongst other things ..
Are capitalism, Oedipal ruthlessness and the evasion of guilt, entrepreneurship & mass exploitation inextricably linked ?
And therefore, does the average greedy consumer need rogue entrepreneurship to scapegoat exploitation-guilt ?
Would Capitalism "work" without the pluck, ruthlessness and opportunism of greedy, oedipally-damaged Entrepreneurship ?
The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 1985
The Freudian and Kleinian conceptions of the struggle between 'life' and 'death' ... more The Freudian and Kleinian conceptions of the struggle between 'life' and 'death' instincts are not identical. This paper puts forward a model which attempts both to reconcile and add to the differences between them, whilst making some suggestions about the 'nature of goodness'. Attention is focused on the phantasy of returning to the womb and its consequent anxieties to the growing, active ego. Such anxiety, and its reverse, can only be moderated by the introjection of an object which is capable of creatively resolving the resulting conflicts. When envious feelings are not tolerated the impetus for such an introjection is reduced, which, in turn, increases the envy.
Aesthetic Conflict and its Clinical Relevance., 2018
This paper has been published in a somewhat different form in Meg Harris Williams' "Aesthetic... more This paper has been published in a somewhat different form in Meg Harris Williams' "Aesthetic Conflict and its Clinical Relevance." - Karnac, 2018.
It outlines the various "knife-edge" defenses the infant mind must struggle with in the face of the emotional impact of the mother's beauty, particularly when there is no absolute guarantee of this being reciprocated.
An attempt is made to disambiguate this vulnerability from those which call into play defenses against (Kleinian) unconscious envy.
Both serve to protect the internal good/beautiful mother from destruction, in the infant mind.
One aspect of Narcissism, not usually emphasized, is the lack of conscious awareness of one's rejection of love and beauty when offered by another.
Instead, the narcissist remains almost totally merely conscious of his or her own feelings of being rejected, especially aesthetically.
This forthcoming (rewritten) paper argues for the significance of swearing as a different type ... more This forthcoming (rewritten) paper argues for the significance of swearing as a different type of language (a "proto-language") - one that serves to project and express unbearable, pre-verbal frustration, fear and feelings about Life's struggle, as well as truly awesome beauty. It is pitched somewhere in the psyche as an intermediary between feeling and action, before thinking makes its mark as a modifying agent.
A detailed exploration of the various unconscious meanings of different types of swearing modes is undertaken, and swearing is revealed as a complex and important form of emotional communication, notwithstanding its basis in the "primitive" origins of infantile anxiety.
The paper - originally a conference presentation with audio and video excerpts - is currently being updated (from its pre HBO-Netflix original form) because times have changed significantly in the past decade re Swearing no longer being quite the taboo that it once was.
During "renovations" this draft for the conference presentation is being made available, temporarily, and comments are welcomed - although the audio-visual elements are absent, and some paragraphs are still in shorthand form.
Australasian Journal of Psychotherapy, 2016
Although the unconscious processes that comprise identification remain a theoretical cornerston... more Although the unconscious processes that comprise identification remain a theoretical cornerstone of personality development and of psychoanalysis, relatively little has been said about the process of dis-identification; whereby we relinquish important identifications, in order to change and to grow.
This paper explores the different psychological climates that prompt dis-identification, sometimes in the service of growth, or sometimes as a denial of dependence and an enactment of unconscious envy. It is argued that a disidentification prompted by a move to internalize the combined parental couple will require that identifications with ...
Journal of Melanie Klein and Object Relations, 1987
The Confounding of pre-Natal & post-Natal Feeding in the Infant Mind may lead, unconsciously, to ... more The Confounding of pre-Natal & post-Natal Feeding in the Infant Mind may lead, unconsciously, to a total shutdown of the capacity to think and to develop.
Instead, a sleepy, "parasitic" state of mind flourishes - with its insistence on a return to the womb and utter dependence on a placental type of relationship with others.
This may or may not be associated with various addictions which facilitate and maintain this sense of "foetal entitlement", many of which are facilitated by the internet and new media.
Some examples are given from the clinic and from literature, including the work of Marcel Proust.
Arena, 2021
This clinical-theoretical presentation illustrates the urgent demand of the infantile self for a... more This clinical-theoretical presentation illustrates the urgent demand of the infantile self for a magical, All-knowing, all-giving and all-protective parent. This demand is everpresent - but at times, such as the present, where uncertainty is linked to imminent death, this omniscient parent is really believed to really exist. This has signicant consequences. Two clinical examples are discussed, as well as two quite contrasting illustrations -
The Fifth Element
and
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer.
Finally, Donald Meltzer's idea of the "delusion of clarity of insight" is explored and extended in application to all of the above.
Neil Maizels. 2020
Australian Journal of Psychtherapy
Fort da, 2020
Review/reverie on Meg Harris Williams' book about Shakespeare's characters' dreams and their psyc... more Review/reverie on Meg Harris Williams' book about Shakespeare's characters' dreams and their psychoanalytic-emotional significance in the shaping or stifling of Mind.
Explores Melanie Klein's ideas re the child's acquisition of emotional knowledge, and how we get ... more Explores Melanie Klein's ideas re the child's acquisition of emotional knowledge, and how we get to know other people. Thomas Hardy's "The Woodlanders" is used to illustrate the different ways that we gain emotional knowledge of others, or destroy opportunities to do so.
Hardy's term: "watchful lovingkindness" - although hardly a technical phrase - is equated with a state of mind primed to take in new knowledge of others, at the deepest level. Therefore, Wilfred Bion's separation of Curiosity (K) from Love (L) is disputed.
William Blake discovered that the two must go hand in hand if we are to be truly receptive to new knowledge of the "other".
Australasian Journal of Psychotherapy, 2013
“The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare... more “The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from
being a rare and curious phenomenon, is the central and inevitable fact of human
existence.”
Thomas Wolfe
A psychoanalytic look at aspects of Loneliness, with an emphasis on internal factors, further to those described by Melanie Klein, is presented. In particular, importance is given to Paternal Reverie as compared with Bion's concept of Maternal Reverie. Examples from literature and the TV series The West Wing are given, along with a brief clinical example.
Freud - half jokingly - declared that he had no idea of what a woman really wants. The often con... more Freud - half jokingly - declared that he had no idea of what a woman really wants.
The often conflicted fantasies and expectations – both conscious and unconscious – that women have of men are explored. In particular, the need to feel secure in a routine, material predictability can conflict with the need for adventure and a stimulating newness, or even chaotic danger.
Case examples are explored, along with Ravel's enchanting musical comedy "L'heure Espagnole".
Often the conflict is represented by a woman being unable to choose (romantically) between a reliable (but somewhat boring) man and one who is exciting and adventurous, but quite volatile and unpredictable.
The theme is taken up in a more serious key in Jane Austen’s “Persuasion”, and in the films “Nocturnal Animals”, & “Love the Hard Way”.
It is concluded that, eventually, she will have to examine and face and help out with that very same conflict in her man, if she is to be consoled by love and the world of the possible, and not perpetually dragged by her heart from one type of man to the other.
(For the sake of simplicity, the paper does focus predominantly on the complexities of female heterosexual romantic fulfillment.)
Australasian Journal of Psychotherapy, 1997
The capacity for the imaginative reception of feeling states, through symbolisation and dream t... more The capacity for the imaginative reception of feeling states, through symbolisation and dream thoughts, and for their transformation into a creative and alive responsiveness, was named "alpha function" or "alpha process" or “narrative alpha” by Bion.
From some clinical dream material and a short story by Sylvia Plath, entitled The Wishing Box, this paper outlines an unconscious process that may attack and "devour" the perception of emotional meaning. This has a drastic, but disguised effect on creativity and the capacity for love - replacing meaningful symbols with a flashy, but precocious, contrived and emotionally-sterile sheen of anti-symbols - a kind of mental cancer.
Both patient and therapist may become fascinated, or stupefied, by this 'impressive' imitation of genuine alpha process, unless the therapist recovers a thirst for sincere emotional contact and nourishment. Then, the difference can be conveyed, with words that feel alive and hand-made to revive that thirst in the patient.
Aus j. Psychotherapy, 1987
The Life-Death Instinct. Routledge 2024., 2024
The mind’s inclination to growth, through the development of Whole-object thinking and through e... more The mind’s inclination to growth, through the development of Whole-object thinking and through ever-widening abstraction, suggests the probability that
the unconscious mind is a continuous cognitive-emotional processing array whereby all dream thoughts, including dreams themselves, are indexed according to emotional meaning and stored and pooled for “alchemical” réactivation with every new emotional experience. Thereby interactive emotional dream elements form fresh and fresh wholes, (Bion’s alpha narrative) continuously.
A decent analytic session will bring some of this into consciousness, which forms a part in the array - but which is limited in its access to the full store of alpha elements. However, with help, the array can accessed indirectly through free associations, emotional replication and verbal ambiguity.
This living, organic repository itself is in renewal through dream-linking and integration of multifarious emotional responses to one’s experiences. And this functioning of the unconscious mind is constantly shaping and reshaping its responses to the other major element of the unconscious – one’s instinctual impulses.
In many ways this resembles Freud’s proposed eternal struggle between ego and id - but here, in accessing links in the array, the unconscious aspects of the ego play the major role – not just the conscious ego’s quest for control over unruly id impulses.
The Life-Death Instinct., 2023
Routledge , 2024
Some psychotherapy patients are in great need of help and understanding, but the nature of their ... more Some psychotherapy patients are in great need of help and understanding, but the nature of their traumatic emotional experience inclines them to settle into lengthy uncomfortable silences, which are very difficult to handle, technically and emotionally.
By exploring the nature of their psychological fears of exploring and experimenting, which have often been severely curtailed or inhibited, it is possible to evolve an idiosyncratic technique of working effectively with such patients.
It is neither easy or impossible work - but the deficits of exploratory playfulness and adventurous "experimental" thinking can be somewhat overcome.
The implications for the origins of this experimental state of mind (child's play) in healthy psychological development are traced, particularly in relation to the earliest relationship to the Father.
Routledge , 2023
The emotional development of the internal father and of the “Fathering” role is traced - using Sh... more The emotional development of the internal father and of the “Fathering” role is traced - using Shakespearean examples - from Oedipally-infused incestuous self-aggrandisement through to a caring deep satisfaction in and for the development of his daughter - as part of the wider chain of Nature’s healthy promulgation and variation.
The tracing followed here is from Pericles to Lear to Leontes to Prospero - although Measure for Measure rotates all these paternal roles in the eye of the reader.
Clinical implications are sketched- particularly where the daughter-father affectionate intimacy has been ruptured, or inhibited, through such unconscious conflict in the Father, just at a time when the daughter most needs his close attention.
Journal of Melanie Klein & Object Relations, 1994
There are certain thoughts - intimations - that will seem corny, or laughable, and therefore dism... more There are certain thoughts - intimations - that will seem corny, or laughable, and therefore dismissed - and only seriously absorbed into the changing mind when felt, in the shelter of the quietly moving music of the soul.
It is the function of art, and of love, to make this music heard . . .
It is not the music of depression - it is the way through.
Arena, 2020
Film review-Article looking at Winterbottom's "Oedipal Lion" questioning of Capitalism - such ... more Film review-Article looking at Winterbottom's "Oedipal Lion" questioning of Capitalism - such questions as,
amongst other things ..
Are capitalism, Oedipal ruthlessness and the evasion of guilt, entrepreneurship & mass exploitation inextricably linked ?
And therefore, does the average greedy consumer need rogue entrepreneurship to scapegoat exploitation-guilt ?
Would Capitalism "work" without the pluck, ruthlessness and opportunism of greedy, oedipally-damaged Entrepreneurship ?
The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 1985
The Freudian and Kleinian conceptions of the struggle between 'life' and 'death' ... more The Freudian and Kleinian conceptions of the struggle between 'life' and 'death' instincts are not identical. This paper puts forward a model which attempts both to reconcile and add to the differences between them, whilst making some suggestions about the 'nature of goodness'. Attention is focused on the phantasy of returning to the womb and its consequent anxieties to the growing, active ego. Such anxiety, and its reverse, can only be moderated by the introjection of an object which is capable of creatively resolving the resulting conflicts. When envious feelings are not tolerated the impetus for such an introjection is reduced, which, in turn, increases the envy.
Aesthetic Conflict and its Clinical Relevance., 2018
This paper has been published in a somewhat different form in Meg Harris Williams' "Aesthetic... more This paper has been published in a somewhat different form in Meg Harris Williams' "Aesthetic Conflict and its Clinical Relevance." - Karnac, 2018.
It outlines the various "knife-edge" defenses the infant mind must struggle with in the face of the emotional impact of the mother's beauty, particularly when there is no absolute guarantee of this being reciprocated.
An attempt is made to disambiguate this vulnerability from those which call into play defenses against (Kleinian) unconscious envy.
Both serve to protect the internal good/beautiful mother from destruction, in the infant mind.
One aspect of Narcissism, not usually emphasized, is the lack of conscious awareness of one's rejection of love and beauty when offered by another.
Instead, the narcissist remains almost totally merely conscious of his or her own feelings of being rejected, especially aesthetically.
This forthcoming (rewritten) paper argues for the significance of swearing as a different type ... more This forthcoming (rewritten) paper argues for the significance of swearing as a different type of language (a "proto-language") - one that serves to project and express unbearable, pre-verbal frustration, fear and feelings about Life's struggle, as well as truly awesome beauty. It is pitched somewhere in the psyche as an intermediary between feeling and action, before thinking makes its mark as a modifying agent.
A detailed exploration of the various unconscious meanings of different types of swearing modes is undertaken, and swearing is revealed as a complex and important form of emotional communication, notwithstanding its basis in the "primitive" origins of infantile anxiety.
The paper - originally a conference presentation with audio and video excerpts - is currently being updated (from its pre HBO-Netflix original form) because times have changed significantly in the past decade re Swearing no longer being quite the taboo that it once was.
During "renovations" this draft for the conference presentation is being made available, temporarily, and comments are welcomed - although the audio-visual elements are absent, and some paragraphs are still in shorthand form.
Australasian Journal of Psychotherapy, 2016
Although the unconscious processes that comprise identification remain a theoretical cornerston... more Although the unconscious processes that comprise identification remain a theoretical cornerstone of personality development and of psychoanalysis, relatively little has been said about the process of dis-identification; whereby we relinquish important identifications, in order to change and to grow.
This paper explores the different psychological climates that prompt dis-identification, sometimes in the service of growth, or sometimes as a denial of dependence and an enactment of unconscious envy. It is argued that a disidentification prompted by a move to internalize the combined parental couple will require that identifications with ...
Journal of Melanie Klein and Object Relations, 1987
The Confounding of pre-Natal & post-Natal Feeding in the Infant Mind may lead, unconsciously, to ... more The Confounding of pre-Natal & post-Natal Feeding in the Infant Mind may lead, unconsciously, to a total shutdown of the capacity to think and to develop.
Instead, a sleepy, "parasitic" state of mind flourishes - with its insistence on a return to the womb and utter dependence on a placental type of relationship with others.
This may or may not be associated with various addictions which facilitate and maintain this sense of "foetal entitlement", many of which are facilitated by the internet and new media.
Some examples are given from the clinic and from literature, including the work of Marcel Proust.
Arena, 2021
This clinical-theoretical presentation illustrates the urgent demand of the infantile self for a... more This clinical-theoretical presentation illustrates the urgent demand of the infantile self for a magical, All-knowing, all-giving and all-protective parent. This demand is everpresent - but at times, such as the present, where uncertainty is linked to imminent death, this omniscient parent is really believed to really exist. This has signicant consequences. Two clinical examples are discussed, as well as two quite contrasting illustrations -
The Fifth Element
and
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer.
Finally, Donald Meltzer's idea of the "delusion of clarity of insight" is explored and extended in application to all of the above.
Neil Maizels. 2020
Australian Journal of Psychtherapy
Fort da, 2020
Review/reverie on Meg Harris Williams' book about Shakespeare's characters' dreams and their psyc... more Review/reverie on Meg Harris Williams' book about Shakespeare's characters' dreams and their psychoanalytic-emotional significance in the shaping or stifling of Mind.
Explores Melanie Klein's ideas re the child's acquisition of emotional knowledge, and how we get ... more Explores Melanie Klein's ideas re the child's acquisition of emotional knowledge, and how we get to know other people. Thomas Hardy's "The Woodlanders" is used to illustrate the different ways that we gain emotional knowledge of others, or destroy opportunities to do so.
Hardy's term: "watchful lovingkindness" - although hardly a technical phrase - is equated with a state of mind primed to take in new knowledge of others, at the deepest level. Therefore, Wilfred Bion's separation of Curiosity (K) from Love (L) is disputed.
William Blake discovered that the two must go hand in hand if we are to be truly receptive to new knowledge of the "other".
Australasian Journal of Psychotherapy, 2013
“The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare... more “The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from
being a rare and curious phenomenon, is the central and inevitable fact of human
existence.”
Thomas Wolfe
A psychoanalytic look at aspects of Loneliness, with an emphasis on internal factors, further to those described by Melanie Klein, is presented. In particular, importance is given to Paternal Reverie as compared with Bion's concept of Maternal Reverie. Examples from literature and the TV series The West Wing are given, along with a brief clinical example.
Freud - half jokingly - declared that he had no idea of what a woman really wants. The often con... more Freud - half jokingly - declared that he had no idea of what a woman really wants.
The often conflicted fantasies and expectations – both conscious and unconscious – that women have of men are explored. In particular, the need to feel secure in a routine, material predictability can conflict with the need for adventure and a stimulating newness, or even chaotic danger.
Case examples are explored, along with Ravel's enchanting musical comedy "L'heure Espagnole".
Often the conflict is represented by a woman being unable to choose (romantically) between a reliable (but somewhat boring) man and one who is exciting and adventurous, but quite volatile and unpredictable.
The theme is taken up in a more serious key in Jane Austen’s “Persuasion”, and in the films “Nocturnal Animals”, & “Love the Hard Way”.
It is concluded that, eventually, she will have to examine and face and help out with that very same conflict in her man, if she is to be consoled by love and the world of the possible, and not perpetually dragged by her heart from one type of man to the other.
(For the sake of simplicity, the paper does focus predominantly on the complexities of female heterosexual romantic fulfillment.)
Australasian Journal of Psychotherapy, 1997
The capacity for the imaginative reception of feeling states, through symbolisation and dream t... more The capacity for the imaginative reception of feeling states, through symbolisation and dream thoughts, and for their transformation into a creative and alive responsiveness, was named "alpha function" or "alpha process" or “narrative alpha” by Bion.
From some clinical dream material and a short story by Sylvia Plath, entitled The Wishing Box, this paper outlines an unconscious process that may attack and "devour" the perception of emotional meaning. This has a drastic, but disguised effect on creativity and the capacity for love - replacing meaningful symbols with a flashy, but precocious, contrived and emotionally-sterile sheen of anti-symbols - a kind of mental cancer.
Both patient and therapist may become fascinated, or stupefied, by this 'impressive' imitation of genuine alpha process, unless the therapist recovers a thirst for sincere emotional contact and nourishment. Then, the difference can be conveyed, with words that feel alive and hand-made to revive that thirst in the patient.
Aus j. Psychotherapy, 1987
The Life-Death Instinct. Routledge 2024., 2024
The mind’s inclination to growth, through the development of Whole-object thinking and through e... more The mind’s inclination to growth, through the development of Whole-object thinking and through ever-widening abstraction, suggests the probability that
the unconscious mind is a continuous cognitive-emotional processing array whereby all dream thoughts, including dreams themselves, are indexed according to emotional meaning and stored and pooled for “alchemical” réactivation with every new emotional experience. Thereby interactive emotional dream elements form fresh and fresh wholes, (Bion’s alpha narrative) continuously.
A decent analytic session will bring some of this into consciousness, which forms a part in the array - but which is limited in its access to the full store of alpha elements. However, with help, the array can accessed indirectly through free associations, emotional replication and verbal ambiguity.
This living, organic repository itself is in renewal through dream-linking and integration of multifarious emotional responses to one’s experiences. And this functioning of the unconscious mind is constantly shaping and reshaping its responses to the other major element of the unconscious – one’s instinctual impulses.
In many ways this resembles Freud’s proposed eternal struggle between ego and id - but here, in accessing links in the array, the unconscious aspects of the ego play the major role – not just the conscious ego’s quest for control over unruly id impulses.
This presentation was given in multimedia form in 1999 at the annual conference of the Australasi... more This presentation was given in multimedia form in 1999 at the annual conference of the Australasian Association of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists. It is now being written into a journal paper and will be available in April 2016.
It gives particular emphasis to the unconscious elements of the smoker's state of mind, and offers some ideas about the cultural/tribal significance of the habit.
The serious health impact of smoking, as an addiction, is not overlooked - but attention is also given to some of the more psychologically comforting roles it plays in the digestion of emotional experience, and the bearing and containing of life's more rugged experiences. From this vertex, it enables a kind of transcendent space, for extended sighing.
Surprisingly little has been written about smoking, from a psychoanalytic perspective, in spite of its pervasiveness in nearly all human groups.
This paper will look at psychological aspects of the current Corona virus pandemic - and particul... more This paper will look at psychological aspects of the current Corona virus pandemic - and particularly focuses on the regression to an infantile state of urgent demand and yearning for an All-knowing and all protective parent.
Forthcoming paper exploring the impact and grip of the Harry Potter books and films on the develo... more Forthcoming paper exploring the impact and grip of the Harry Potter books and films on the developing mind of the child.
Particular emphasis placed on the unconscious aspects of the narrative and its many characters and "claustral" spaces.
Any suggestions, comments or ideas are welcomed - but particularly from a psychoanalytic or child/adolescent therapy or educator's point of view.
thanks to all, NM
This presentation was given in multimedia form in 1999 at the annual conference of the Australasi... more This presentation was given in multimedia form in 1999 at the annual conference of the Australasian Association of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists. It is now being written into a journal paper and will be available in April 2016.
It gives particular emphasis to the unconscious elements of the smoker's state of mind, and offers some ideas about the cultural/tribal significance of the habit.
The serious health impact of smoking, as an addiction, is not overlooked - but attention is also given to some of the more psychologically comforting roles it plays in the digestion of emotional experience, and the bearing and containing of life's more rugged transitions and catastrophes. From this vertex, it enables a kind of transcendent space, for extended sighing.
Surprisingly little has been written about smoking, from a psychoanalytic perspective, in spite of its pervasiveness in nearly all human groups.
The Life-Death Instinct ..
Routledge discount on new book ..
This is the foreword to the 2009 book - Psychoanalytic Aesthetics: an introduction to the British... more This is the foreword to the 2009 book - Psychoanalytic Aesthetics: an introduction to the British School
by Nicky Glover. (Routledge, London.)
AJPP, 2024
It is commonly thought that Time seems to accelerate as we get older. Although there has never be... more It is commonly thought that Time seems to accelerate as we get older.
Although there has never been any detailed explanation, or even proof, of this phenomenon - a few thoughts are offered here.
If this is true, at least subjectively, then one possible explanation is that our memory "frame-rate" declines along with other cognitive capacities as we age. This then gives us a sped-up experience of Time, similar to watching an old Chaplin film, where the frame-rate of the camera was greatly reduced, so that action seems stupidly accelerated.
However, there is another - perhaps more "Proustian" - possible explanation.
If, as we age, each new emotional experience triggers more and more internal reflection and emotional resonance with other stored memories and experiences, then our "frame-rate" while taking in such a new experience would appear to be reduced.
Less attention is given to the actual new experience, and more is given to its emotional resonance.
If this is so - then apparent memory loss (non-demented) would just indicate a stronger mental emphasis on emotional integration as compared with earlier emphasis on storing vivid and intense new experience.
A few examples from Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" and from Bergman's film "Wild Strawberries" are given.
An aspect of Capitalism that is kept not quite conscious is that it urges, and needs, families to... more An aspect of Capitalism that is kept not quite conscious is that it urges, and needs, families to compete with each other.
The implications of this are briefly discussed, and some questions raised, as a prelude to further thinking about viable alternatives.
Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus & Romeo and Juliet are alluded to, as extreme but vibrantly disturbing illustrations of Family Warfare.