1st Edition

Hegel and Psychoanalysis A New Interpretation of "Phenomenology of Spirit"

By Molly Macdonald Copyright 2013
    242 Pages
    by Routledge

    242 Pages
    by Routledge

    Both Hegel's philosophy and psychoanalytic theory have profoundly influenced contemporary thought, but they are traditionally seen to work in separate rather than intersecting universes. This book offers a new interpretation of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit and brings it into conversation the work of two of the best-known contemporary psychoanalysts, Christopher Bollas and André Green. Hegel and Psychoanalysis centers a consideration of the Phenomenology on the figure of the Unhappy Consciousness and the concept of Force, two areas that are often overlooked by studies which focus on the master/slave dialectic. This book offers reasons for why now, more than ever, we need to recognize how concepts of intersubjectivity, Force, the Third, and binding are essential to an understanding of our modern world. Such concepts can allow for an interrogation of what can be seen as the profoundly false and constructed senses of community and friendship created by social networking sites, and further an idea of a "global community," which thrives at the expense of authentic intersubjective relations.

    Introduction  1. Hegel’s Concept of Force in the Phenomenology Of Spirit  2. Hegel’s Re-Running of the Play of Forces as a Way of Understanding Intersubjectivity and Its Discontents  3. Negation, Binding, and Thirdness: The André Green –Hegel Couple  4. Thought Structures and Shapes of Knowing: Christopher Bollas, the Elaboration of "The Third" and the Binding Process  Conclusion

    Biography

    Molly Macdonald is Lecturer in Literary Theory at Queen Mary, University of London, UK.