Following the work of prominent object relations theorists such as Fairbairn, Suttie and Winnicott, Gal Gerson explores the correlation between analytical theory and intellectual environment in two ways. He notes the impact that the British object relations school had on both psychology and wider culture suggests that the school's outlook involved more than a clinical choice. Gerson first interprets the object relations model as a political theory that completes a certain internal development within liberalism. He later outlines the relationship between the analytical theory and the historical setting where it formed and took root. By engaging with these questions, Gerson demonstrates the deeper structure and implications of object relation theory for social philosophy. This allows him to answer questions such as: 'What kind of social arrangements do we endorse when we accept object relations theory as a fair description of mind?', 'What beliefs about power, individuality, and household structure do we take in? What do we give up when doing so?', and last, 'What does it say about contemporary advanced societies that they have taken in much of the theory's content?' Proposing a novel rethinking of human nature, Individuality and Ideology in British Object Relations Theory provides a much-needed insight into how this school of psychoanalytic theory has impacted contemporary social and political life.

Book Information
ISBN 9781138333154
Author Gal Gerson
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 152g