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

by John Hanwell Riker

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498543927
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/15/2018
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	201
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.45(d)

About the Author

John Hanwell Riker is professor of philosophy at Colorado College.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Psychoanalysis, Self Psychology, and the Humanistic Tradition
Chapter 1: Knowledge in Psychoanalysis: Can There Be a Science of Subjectivity?
Chapter 2: The Life of the Soul
Chapter 3: Subjectivity, the Ego, and the Self
Chapter 4: The Erotic Self: Freud, Kohut, and Plato
Chapter 5: Ancient Theology and Contemporary Self Psychology: Monotheism, Mono-Selfism, and the Transgressions of Omnipotence
Chapter 6: Emerson and Kohut: the Self in Relation to Nature
Chapter 7: Self Psychology, Ethics, and Modern Society
Chapter 8: Self Psychology and the Problem of the Other
Chapter 9: What Do Humans Need to Be Human: Economic Society, Self Psychology and the Problem of Social Justice
Chapter 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

Editorial Reviews

Philosopher John Riker argues for a notion of central and ethical selfhood brought to life in self-psychological psychoanalysis. This inspiring and accessible book will be a treasured resource for therapists and patients seeking meaning in their struggles to be human and to be good.

Donna Orange

This wide-ranging, enormously creative, and very personal book explores the philosophical basis of the work of Heinz Kohut, the most important figure in contemporary psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Riker clarifies for us the ethical significance of self psychology. Kohut’s work, Riker argues, connects with the philosophical inquiry into meaning stretching back to Plato and into the modern era via Emerson and many others. We learn much from this book about the soul.

Charles B. Strozier

Freed by temperament from quasi-religious allegiance to any particular theory, yet profoundly knowledgeable in many, John Riker glides nimbly through psychoanalytic and philosophic ideas. With uncommon courage and without self-consciousness, John shares his feelings and early emotional traumas to illustrate, in a deeply personal way, what he talks about. This human and humane book is a must read for anyone interested in psychoanalytic and philosophic perspectives about the human condition.

Allen M. Siegel