Overview

Critical social theory has long been marked by a deep, creative, and productive relationship with psychoanalysis. Whereas Freud and Fromm were important cornerstones for the early Frankfurt School, recent thinkers have drawn on the object-relations school of psychoanalysis. Transitional Subjects is the first book-length collection devoted to the engagement of critical theory with the work of Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, and other members of this school. Featuring contributions from some of the leading figures working in both of these fields, including Axel Honneth, Joel Whitebook, Noëlle McAfee, Sara Beardsworth, and C. Fred Alford, it provides a synoptic overview of current research at the intersection of these two theoretical traditions while also opening up space for further innovations. Transitional Subjects offers a range of perspectives on the critical potential of object-relations psychoanalysis, including feminist and Marxist views, to offer valuable insight into such fraught social issues as aggression, narcissism, ""progress,"" and torture. The productive dialogue that emerges augments our understanding of the self as intersubjectively and socially constituted and of contemporary ""social pathologies."" Transitional Subjects shows how critical theory and object-relations psychoanalysis, considered together, have not only enriched critical theory but also invigorated psychoanalysis.

Full Product Details

Author:   Amy Allen ,  Brian O'Connor ,  Axel Honneth ,  Joel Whitebook
Publisher:   Columbia University Press
Imprint:   Columbia University Press
Volume:   67
ISBN:  

9780231183185

ISBN 10:   0231183186
Pages:   280
Publication Date:   06 August 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Introduction, by Amy Allen and Brian O’Connor Part I: Conceptual Foundations 1. Fusion or Omnipotence? A Dialogue, by Axel Honneth and Joel Whitebook 2. Hate, Aggression, and Recognition: Winnicott, Klein, and Honneth, by C. Fred Alford 3. Narcissism and Critique: On Kohut’s Self Psychology, by Alessandro Ferrara Part II: Historical Encounters 4. Progress and the Death Drive, by Amy Allen 5. Transitional Objects, God, and Modeling the Commodity Form, by Owen Hulatt 6. A “True- Enough Self ”: Winnicott, Object Relations Theory, and the Bases of Identity, by James Martel Part III: Political Implications 7. Intersubjectivity on the Couch: Recognition and Destruction in the Work of Jessica Benjamin, by Johanna Meehan 8. Politics and the Fear of Breakdown, by Noëlle McAfee 9. Who Is the Perpetrator? The Missing Affect in Torture’s Violation of Human Dignity, by Sara Beardsworth Index

Reviews

The essays in Transitional Subjects explain recent changes in Freudian psychoanalytic theory by investigating the shift toward a contemporary object-relational perspective. The political connections drawn from each paper are powerful, situating critical theory within capitalism and the various political aporias of everyday life.--Jamieson Webster, author of Conversion Disorder

Author Information

Amy Allen is Liberal Arts Professor of Philosophy and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and head of the Department of Philosophy at the Pennsylvania State University. Her books include, most recently, The End of Progress: Decolonizing the Normative Foundations of Critical Theory (Columbia, 2016). Brian O’Connor is professor of philosophy at University College Dublin. His books include Adorno (2013) and Idleness: A Philosophical Essay (2018).

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