tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59750026531494138352024-03-18T23:39:29.172+00:00Daseinsanalysis, Existential Psychoanalysis, Inner Circle Seminars: Anthony Stadlen, London W1, N22Anthony Stadlen is a senior Daseinsanalyst, existential psychoanalyst, family therapist, supervisor, teacher in London.
He has convened the internationally known all-day Inner Circle Seminars since 1996: an interdisciplinary, ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy.
This blog contains a complete archive of all past, and notice of some future, seminars.
Contact: +44(0)7809 433 250 or stadlenanthony@gmail.com.Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.comBlogger253125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-56525098336552487442024-01-01T08:01:00.000+00:002024-03-12T23:39:38.976+00:00‘Is the madman mentally ill? No.’ (Heidegger, 1953). Did Heidegger anticipate Szasz? Anthony Stadlen conducts Inner Circle Seminar 293 (11 August 2024) <p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">‘Is </span></span></span><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">the madman mentally ill? No.</span></span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">’</span></span></span></span></span></span></b></p><div class="blog-posts hfeed"><div class="date-outer"><div class="date-posts"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding-bottom: 1.5em;"><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8736246713079538130" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">(Heidegger, 1953)</span></span></span></span></span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"></span></span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Did Martin Heidegger anticipate Thomas Szasz</span></span></span></b><b><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">’s</span></span></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">‘The M</span></span></span></b><b><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">yth of Mental Illness</span></span></span></span></b><b><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">’ </span></span></span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">by seven years?</span></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: arial; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen</span></span></span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">conducts </span></span></span><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">by Zoom</span></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 293</span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sunday 11 August 2024</span></span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">10 a.m. to 5 p.m</span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><b></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1frm3GJD6bMAbHV1MnPypmuaamZpQzUL7dMBB0WoIzUKj5H98kJj5Ae65tr7cAnguKfmTbIADAvIqMecP1qNtihk_0g-Zu5uH965rpVlmBde1e4_A-A3glcK5TIW4YeIUGJfF-rY9y5I_rqbcbA244S5KkSzyTEq4xC8VJA1vkl8ZdxYH8G2r7_ycjNx/s171/webern%20countryside.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="171" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1frm3GJD6bMAbHV1MnPypmuaamZpQzUL7dMBB0WoIzUKj5H98kJj5Ae65tr7cAnguKfmTbIADAvIqMecP1qNtihk_0g-Zu5uH965rpVlmBde1e4_A-A3glcK5TIW4YeIUGJfF-rY9y5I_rqbcbA244S5KkSzyTEq4xC8VJA1vkl8ZdxYH8G2r7_ycjNx/w400-h304/webern%20countryside.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Anton Webern<br />3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbXx6IICnd0EHH38AfXvSN2mg0FApZ0gFpVdyH2v0qtgLjKqNAXw6zrIe9lM8uwWCS6BXlrfttrTkPafUxGneW5fwCCkfSO3Peqe2ShDpPOX5sMjXC6OUBu_Fl5ORUxkZVAsfXvGJm9Qg7i-DoRyInClAnW0j-mEoJzGIek9RD327D5bfhdWiBKlQUTV6Z" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="265" data-original-width="190" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbXx6IICnd0EHH38AfXvSN2mg0FApZ0gFpVdyH2v0qtgLjKqNAXw6zrIe9lM8uwWCS6BXlrfttrTkPafUxGneW5fwCCkfSO3Peqe2ShDpPOX5sMjXC6OUBu_Fl5ORUxkZVAsfXvGJm9Qg7i-DoRyInClAnW0j-mEoJzGIek9RD327D5bfhdWiBKlQUTV6Z=w287-h400" width="287" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Georg Trakl<br />3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4f36T5t1tTFk5lkfxEtucUo8LL533PK9TRuVIOmOY1toLZGNknYXIE0FgwHdnaaRwNYbtSsnCY0Vk6Sx-GgOEzUATnbkIYK6cZfud2Bm9kcxdEd9YUgEktjZKh8mGM7WOfFfK487QhUQv9nLcfP2_i8V0z8x07LFIiefRFke-Eg_FtuEYQS8m6hUf8gr/s292/heidegger%20smiling.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="164" data-original-width="292" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4f36T5t1tTFk5lkfxEtucUo8LL533PK9TRuVIOmOY1toLZGNknYXIE0FgwHdnaaRwNYbtSsnCY0Vk6Sx-GgOEzUATnbkIYK6cZfud2Bm9kcxdEd9YUgEktjZKh8mGM7WOfFfK487QhUQv9nLcfP2_i8V0z8x07LFIiefRFke-Eg_FtuEYQS8m6hUf8gr/w400-h225/heidegger%20smiling.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Martin Heidegger<br />26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEelLhFQ40-Suq9ZvVQEHdDJyQN8XcC2Nlh_7djIhMeaN9DA1e_MSlcoQe9QHlLLlGnheEEiA7QbfYo-n1yUMdzFP33xJp1orUz3V3X4v4KO3RCIhsxtT7gSfHj07rbyHC48pPJ-HU95geYVm88FClfIDuORdNcrV6Y3bjHRyaxkjmQDmyF15z0-5yts6g/s220/Tom%20Szasz%20at%2090th%20birthday%20seminar%202010.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="220" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEelLhFQ40-Suq9ZvVQEHdDJyQN8XcC2Nlh_7djIhMeaN9DA1e_MSlcoQe9QHlLLlGnheEEiA7QbfYo-n1yUMdzFP33xJp1orUz3V3X4v4KO3RCIhsxtT7gSfHj07rbyHC48pPJ-HU95geYVm88FClfIDuORdNcrV6Y3bjHRyaxkjmQDmyF15z0-5yts6g/w400-h240/Tom%20Szasz%20at%2090th%20birthday%20seminar%202010.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thomas Szasz<br />15 April 1920 – 8 September 2012<br /><span><span>at his 90th-birthday seminar</span><br /><span>13 June 2010 (Inner Circle Seminar No. 153)</span><br /><span>Photograph copyright jennyphotos.com</span><br /><span>Not to be used without permission</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On 7 October 1950 the philosopher </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Martin Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> gave a lecture, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>Die Sprache</i>’ (‘Language’), in </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; text-align: left;">Bühlerhöhe</span> (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">near Baden Baden). The lecture focussed on a single poem by <b>Georg Trakl</b>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>Ein Winterabend</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘A winter evening</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 1953 <b>Heidegger </b>published an essay, ‘<b><i>Georg </i></b></span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Trakl</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>: Eine Erörterung seines Gedichtes</i>’ (‘</span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Georg Trakl</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: An Elucidation of his Poetry’), in the journal </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Merkur </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">(No. 61: pp. 226-258).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 1959 <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> republished his 1950 lecture and 1953 essay as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the first two chapters of his book </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Unterwegs zur Sprache</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the Way to Language</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, with the titles, respectively, ‘<i>Die Sprache</i>’ (‘Language’) and ‘<i>Die Sprache im Gedicht: Eine Erörterung von </i></span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Georg Trakl</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>s Gedicht</i>’ (‘Language in Poetry: An Elucidation of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Georg Trakl</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s Poetry’). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><b>Trakl</b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> in his poetry mentions ‘<i>der Wahnsinnige</i>’ (‘the madman’) many times.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> asks in his second chapter (1953: p. 237; 1959: p. 53):</span></div><blockquote><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">[...]<i> </i><i>der Wahnsinnige.</i> </span><span face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><i>Meint dies einen Geisteskranken? </i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><i> Nein. Wahnsinn bedeutet nicht </i>[...]</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’</span></div><div><span face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="text-align: justify;">‘[...] the madman. </span><span>Does this mean a mentally ill man? </span><span>No. </span></span></span></span></span><span face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Madness does not mean</span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <span>[...]</span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">The translator <b>Peter D. Hertz</b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">, </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">in </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><i>On the Way to Language</i> (1982 [1971]: p. 173), translates these words of </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’s</span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> </b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">thus:</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘[...] </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">the madman. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Does the word mean someone who is mentally ill? </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Madness here does not mean</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <span>[...]</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’</span></blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Readers could not divine from this translation that <b>Heidegger</b> had written:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">(1) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>Nein</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ (</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">No</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">) – he did <i>not </i>leave his own question unanswered;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">(2) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘<i>dies</i>’ (‘this’) – he did </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">not </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">write ‘<i>das Wort</i>’ (‘the word’);</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">(3) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘<i>Wahnsinn</i>’ (‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Madness</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’)<span style="font-weight: 400;"> – </span><span>he did <i>not </i>write </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘<i>Wahnsinn hier</i>’ (‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Madness here</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">The French translators of this book, </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Jean Beaufret</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Wolfgang Brockmeier</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">, in </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Acheminement vers la parole</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> (1976: p. 56), translate this passage:</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"></span><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">[...] </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><i>Le </i>Farsen</span><a data-bind="text: text, css: $data.css || {}, attr: {href: Interglot.translate.genHref(fromLang,toLang,text,'T'), title: Interglot.translate.genTitle(fromLang, toLang, text,'T'), lang: fromLang}" href="https://m.interglot.com/fr/en/forcen%C3%A9" lang="fr" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: verdana; text-decoration-line: none; text-indent: -15px;" title="Translate "forcené" from French to English"><span style="color: black;">é</span></a><span face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">Le mot d</i><a data-bind="text: text, css: $data.css || {}, attr: {href: Interglot.translate.genHref(fromLang,toLang,text,'T'), title: Interglot.translate.genTitle(fromLang, toLang, text,'T'), lang: fromLang}" href="https://m.interglot.com/fr/en/forcen%C3%A9" lang="fr" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: verdana; text-decoration-line: none; text-indent: -15px;" title="Translate "forcené" from French to English"><span style="color: black;">é</span></a><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">signe-t-il un </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">ali<a data-bind="text: text, css: $data.css || {}, attr: {href: Interglot.translate.genHref(fromLang,toLang,text,'T'), title: Interglot.translate.genTitle(fromLang, toLang, text,'T'), lang: fromLang}" href="https://m.interglot.com/fr/en/forcen%C3%A9" lang="fr" style="color: #336699; font-family: verdana; text-decoration-line: none; text-indent: -15px;" title="Translate "forcené" from French to English"><span style="color: black;">é</span></a>n<a data-bind="text: text, css: $data.css || {}, attr: {href: Interglot.translate.genHref(fromLang,toLang,text,'T'), title: Interglot.translate.genTitle(fromLang, toLang, text,'T'), lang: fromLang}" href="https://m.interglot.com/fr/en/forcen%C3%A9" lang="fr" style="color: #336699; font-family: verdana; text-decoration-line: none; text-indent: -15px;" title="Translate "forcené" from French to English"><span style="color: black;">é</span></a>? Non. La d<a data-bind="text: text, css: $data.css || {}, attr: {href: Interglot.translate.genHref(fromLang,toLang,text,'T'), title: Interglot.translate.genTitle(fromLang, toLang, text,'T'), lang: fromLang}" href="https://m.interglot.com/fr/en/forcen%C3%A9" lang="fr" style="color: #336699; font-family: verdana; text-decoration-line: none; text-indent: -15px;" title="Translate "forcené" from French to English"><span style="color: black;">é</span></a>mence n'<a data-bind="text: text, css: $data.css || {}, attr: {href: Interglot.translate.genHref(fromLang,toLang,text,'T'), title: Interglot.translate.genTitle(fromLang, toLang, text,'T'), lang: fromLang}" href="https://m.interglot.com/fr/en/forcen%C3%A9" lang="fr" style="color: #336699; font-family: verdana; text-decoration-line: none; text-indent: -15px;" title="Translate "forcené" from French to English"><span style="color: black;">é</span></a>st pas</i><span face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">[...]</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’</span></blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">This is a little more faithful to </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">: an unequivocal ‘<i>Non</i>’ (‘No’); and <i>‘La d</i></span><a data-bind="text: text, css: $data.css || {}, attr: {href: Interglot.translate.genHref(fromLang,toLang,text,'T'), title: Interglot.translate.genTitle(fromLang, toLang, text,'T'), lang: fromLang}" href="https://m.interglot.com/fr/en/forcen%C3%A9" lang="fr" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none; text-indent: -15px;" title="Translate "forcené" from French to English"><span style="color: black;"><i>é</i></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><i>mence</i>’ (‘madness’), rather than merely ‘<i>La d</i></span><a data-bind="text: text, css: $data.css || {}, attr: {href: Interglot.translate.genHref(fromLang,toLang,text,'T'), title: Interglot.translate.genTitle(fromLang, toLang, text,'T'), lang: fromLang}" href="https://m.interglot.com/fr/en/forcen%C3%A9" lang="fr" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none; text-indent: -15px;" title="Translate "forcené" from French to English"><span style="color: black;"><i>é</i></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><i>mence ici</i>’ (‘madness here’). But it also insists, without evidence, that </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> is discussing the ‘<i>mot</i>’ (‘word’) ‘madman’ or ‘madness’ rather than the madman himself or </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">madness</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">itself.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Do these details matter? Yes, if one wants to know what </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> is doing here.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Is he making a very limited statement about a particular ‘madman’ in one of </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Trakl</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’s poems?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Is he making a somewhat more general statement about ‘the figure of the madman’ in </span><b>Trakl</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’s poems?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Or is he making a much more general statement: anticipating in 1953 the comprehensive proposition of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><b>Thomas Szasz</b>, in his 1960 paper </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">The Myth of Mental Illness</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> and his 1961 book <i>The Myth of Mental Illness</i>, that there is </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">no</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> ‘mental illness’?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">This proposition of <b>Szasz</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> has the corollary that, in particular, if there be such a phenomenon as ‘madness’, then, whatever ‘madness’ is, it </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">cannot </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">be ‘mental illness’, nor can the ‘madman’, or anybody else, be ‘mentally ill’ – for the simple reason that ‘mental illness’ is a </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">myth</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">I</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">t seems unlikely that either<b> Hertz</b> in 1971 or <b>Beaufret</b> and <b>Brockmeier</b> in 1976 supposed that <b>Heidegger</b> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">in 1953 meant </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">something quite so radical</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">. But might they have felt the need to play down even what he did seem to be saying, lest it make </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> himself </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">seem </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">a bit mad</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">?</span></div><span><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">That <b>Heidegger</b> <i>himself</i> may have thought of <i>himself </i>as <b>Trakl</b>’s ‘madman’ is suggested by <b>Jacques Derrida </b>in what he calls a lengthy ‘parenthesis’ in <i>Geschlecht III</i>, the recently reconstituted and posthumously published (2018) third part of his sustained four-part meditation, <i>Geschlecht</i>, on <b>Heidegger’</b>s 1953 <b>Trakl</b> essay.</div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">But, even though <b>Heidegger</b> insists that the ‘madman’ is not ‘mentally ill’, but engaged in an ‘other’ kind of thinking, did he draw back from what others and even he himself may have thought of as his own ‘madness’?</div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b>Heidegger</b> points out that <b>Trakl</b> appears to emphasise (by spaced lettering) only one word, only once, in his entire poetical oeuvre: the word <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">‘</span><i>Ein</i>’ (<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">‘</span>one’) in <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">‘</span><i>E i n Geschlecht</i>’, where the meaning of <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">‘</span><i>Geschlecht</i>’ is highly ambiguous, as discussed by <b>Derrida</b>. <b>Heidegger</b> claims this <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">‘</span><i>E i n</i>’ is the <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">‘</span><i>Grundton</i>’ (<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">‘</span>keynote’) of <b>Trakl</b>’s entire oeuvre. </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But what justifies </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s assumption that there <i>is</i> a keynote, even of a single poem of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Trakl</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s, let alone his poetry as a whole</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Trakl</b> is said to have been interested in <b>Arnold Schoenberg</b>’s <i>atonal</i> music, and – although in the 1910s and early 1920s great tonal music, such as <b>Jean Sibelius</b>’s last symphonies, was still being composed, and composers such as <b>Paul Hindemith</b> set poems of <b>Trakl</b>’s tonally – <b>Anton Webern</b>’s Opus 13 (1926) and Opus 14 (1924) <i>atonal</i> (though not serial or dodecaphonic) settings for soprano and orchestra of seven of <b>Trakl</b>’s poems appear quite extraordinarily ‘in tune’ with this poetry. (<b>Webern</b> wrote to his friend <b>Josef Humplik</b> that they were ‘just about the most difficult in this field’ to rehearse and perform.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is remarkable that no fewer than five of these seven poems set by <b>Webern</b> were discussed by <b>Heidegger</b> in his two essays on <b>Trakl</b>. Moreover, both the composer and the philosopher separated one <b>Trakl</b> poem, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>Ein Winterabend</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">from the others they selected. It is the only </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Trakl</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> song in </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Webern</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s Opus 13, of which it is the culmination, while </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Heidegger</b>’s first chapter is also devoted to just this one poem. <b>Heidegger</b>’s second chapter, however, discusses, among many other </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Trakl</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">poems,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">four of the six set by <b>Webern</b> in his Opus 14.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There seems to be an astonishing affinity</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">– up to a point</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">– </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">between </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Webern</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s respective </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">intensely sensitive responses to </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Trakl</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. But <b>Webern</b> responded atonally, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Heidegger</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">tonally</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is highly improbable that <b>Heidegger</b> knew <b>Webern</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> songs when, more than thirty years later, he wrote his essays on </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Trakl</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">François Fédier</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> noticed, years still later, that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Heidegger</b> had the first recording (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">a boxed set of LPs </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">conducted in the 1950s, <i>after</i> <b>Heidegger</b> wrote his <b>Trakl</b> essays, by <b>Robert Craft</b>) of <b>Webern</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> complete published works. <b>Heidegger</b> told </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Fédier</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> that someone had given it to him but that he had got little from it; and he presumably gave it away (as he did many books and records), as it was not among the LPs inherited from <b>Heidegger</b> by his son <b>Hermann </b>and, subsequently, his granddaughter <b>Gertrud</b>.<b> </b>(Personal communications from the late <b>François Fédier </b><span>and </span></span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Hermann </b><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, and from </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Gertrud </b><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">). </span></div><span><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">We shall compare <b>Webern</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span> composing with <b>Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span> thinking; and we shall ask whether <b>Heidegger</b> opened up a polysemous approach to<b> Trakl</b>’s polysemy only to close it off <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;">– just as </span>in the Zollikon seminars he encouraged or at least tolerated <b>Medard Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span> developing a <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">‘</span>Daseinsanalysis’ that remained medicalised and retained psychiatric diagnosis: making, in the words of the existential psychotherapist <b>Martti Siirala</b>, the <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">‘</span>violent’ and <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">‘</span>absolutist’ claim to unmediated access to phenomena; thus betraying <b>Heidegger</b>’s early (1919) glimpse of a possible <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">‘</span>diahermeneutics’, to which he never returned.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000;"><b><i>This will </i></b></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #990000;"><b>be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Cost:</i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i> </i>Psychotherapy trainees £140, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">others £175</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US">; </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">reductions for combinations of seminars; </span></span>some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Apply to: </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A </span><st1:address style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;" w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>Tel:</i> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">E-mail:</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">For further information on seminars, visit: </i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/" style="color: #336699;">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-84357451140598861562024-01-01T07:01:00.064+00:002024-03-18T23:38:57.627+00:00Mystification: Double Bind: Praxis and Process. The second seminar of the third (60th anniversary) subseries on Laing and Esterson’s Sanity, Madness and the Family: Families of Schizophrenics (1964). Anthony Stadlen conducts Inner Circle Seminar 292 (14 July 2024)<p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: xx-large;"><span>Mystification: Double Bind: </span></b><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: xx-large;">Praxis and Process</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The second seminar of the third (60th anniversary) subseries on </span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">R. D. Laing and Aaron Esterson</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>Sanity, Madness and the Family:</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>Families of Schizophrenics</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">(April 1964)</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. Further exploration of why this book is still not understood</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">conducts </span><span style="color: #990000;">by Zoom</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 292</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Sunday 14 July 2024</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"></span></p><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOXhPRlQjlRYxUnkrrWMR422OKgac_2xijDn1T0QlnEJjim_QB8A956sb0igpLQldEBi6nJIW_5aqyS4OqOG-5EN0SIRGVc1xRMdhh5QYhTWKuJWN4-aIXzMZQ-vUQGxoYtyjSUQmKkMR3Kp8gcpiAb8PUeoOpwxYS0cHQuLPw5rhySO3vT1cOzpPJW0XB" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOXhPRlQjlRYxUnkrrWMR422OKgac_2xijDn1T0QlnEJjim_QB8A956sb0igpLQldEBi6nJIW_5aqyS4OqOG-5EN0SIRGVc1xRMdhh5QYhTWKuJWN4-aIXzMZQ-vUQGxoYtyjSUQmKkMR3Kp8gcpiAb8PUeoOpwxYS0cHQuLPw5rhySO3vT1cOzpPJW0XB=w342-h400" width="342" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Karl Marx<br />5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></blockquote></blockquote><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXwYREuGiQagnvXdDKDlraD1dQoz-f4AHlHXdvQinKDS2LCKfSQpjsfcaL4ejGH1d4pUCivxOnFXoRulFD_-a9eRJco50lbTbol7COxLRpW5xR1s6L5oVB5iZGVLMtHAn9Ioz74-aoc8Z4etIsQ42_cY1j_pnkocWTebjFjjeFtYICbj6zH3TKiSwRdLDO" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="728" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXwYREuGiQagnvXdDKDlraD1dQoz-f4AHlHXdvQinKDS2LCKfSQpjsfcaL4ejGH1d4pUCivxOnFXoRulFD_-a9eRJco50lbTbol7COxLRpW5xR1s6L5oVB5iZGVLMtHAn9Ioz74-aoc8Z4etIsQ42_cY1j_pnkocWTebjFjjeFtYICbj6zH3TKiSwRdLDO=w270-h400" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Gregory Bateson<br />9 May 1904</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> – 4 July 1980</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_Pj_Uz2bLfH8cph-ep7IhH2pCfRtJ5CVQG1Jhb-WjDhrEjRMfMICSBt09jP6UCHV27gdj5m_klfj0eOSwqAP9_95bG4Jgx9q3ltTRiSSYYOg-J4mTmjWCWlym9iAtJjViYm42uGjEFYSmY2HVqks8W3Gi98TRvk1VJRAlmiIbxihyphenhyphen51bfc7soNa8aWk-/s1226/Sartre%20cafe.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="1226" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_Pj_Uz2bLfH8cph-ep7IhH2pCfRtJ5CVQG1Jhb-WjDhrEjRMfMICSBt09jP6UCHV27gdj5m_klfj0eOSwqAP9_95bG4Jgx9q3ltTRiSSYYOg-J4mTmjWCWlym9iAtJjViYm42uGjEFYSmY2HVqks8W3Gi98TRvk1VJRAlmiIbxihyphenhyphen51bfc7soNa8aWk-/w400-h318/Sartre%20cafe.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Jean-Paul Sartre<br />21 June 1905</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> – 15 April 1980<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bWIlyVVqQfgNnuPy9Lb13xbL7pQq-3YOGnpOxU-6-OH8VH96Q8iTYX4vfQXbP_52FTwk3G_D9oG5guMKVRMZMW7S_NVCTbtqFKHKwsLMQFO1FYx8NFuaJsGY3lKvLwNkhrQgaAkzgR4QuUOzxfOl5WmueLsqkcSO6pTHnpkbzV0DUlVQG0SvY03Z8X5U/s317/Szasz%201.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="293" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bWIlyVVqQfgNnuPy9Lb13xbL7pQq-3YOGnpOxU-6-OH8VH96Q8iTYX4vfQXbP_52FTwk3G_D9oG5guMKVRMZMW7S_NVCTbtqFKHKwsLMQFO1FYx8NFuaJsGY3lKvLwNkhrQgaAkzgR4QuUOzxfOl5WmueLsqkcSO6pTHnpkbzV0DUlVQG0SvY03Z8X5U/w370-h400/Szasz%201.JPG" width="370" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thomas Szasz<br />15 April 1920</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> – 8 September 2012</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0Rl7hTuDWmX2PCznfuMczHKLNj18hrEonhLcpBxzonsll3x9000HjUbrvqE38n5EYRt-AuvNOhISNRKZzbLZ2DwtTwaES-wP2MihYAHMzdXapZu2T6clxfZUOwVbT6avRHYOXcjE61oxJmmeBZUEse8CS3xPjWDZKtvBhR2S99a91qXWB4gGNT2Jan_y/s478/LaingSMF.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0Rl7hTuDWmX2PCznfuMczHKLNj18hrEonhLcpBxzonsll3x9000HjUbrvqE38n5EYRt-AuvNOhISNRKZzbLZ2DwtTwaES-wP2MihYAHMzdXapZu2T6clxfZUOwVbT6avRHYOXcjE61oxJmmeBZUEse8CS3xPjWDZKtvBhR2S99a91qXWB4gGNT2Jan_y/w228-h320/LaingSMF.JPG" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">R. D. Laing<br />7 October 1927</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: verdana;">– 23 August 1989</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_R6BCcu9kPX3IMZI11zbqcCNrFQ2FpYD-J2rrf5YFaEwPMBROu4dn4CFfLIp0PONOy0fgJKQfoqYVw5DGy8NQldBriBFCcXQp4THcTA_AtI1M1e1DRkkBjRpDPinmacyQUExz12d_aZi6T9jfMrHVNTmWdSK2_Y74a7mKBepLR0cjIBdmZYliNgodmhs/s466/EstersonSMF.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_R6BCcu9kPX3IMZI11zbqcCNrFQ2FpYD-J2rrf5YFaEwPMBROu4dn4CFfLIp0PONOy0fgJKQfoqYVw5DGy8NQldBriBFCcXQp4THcTA_AtI1M1e1DRkkBjRpDPinmacyQUExz12d_aZi6T9jfMrHVNTmWdSK2_Y74a7mKBepLR0cjIBdmZYliNgodmhs/w233-h320/EstersonSMF.JPG" width="233" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Aaron Esterson<br />23 September 1923 – 15 April 1999 </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><br /></div></div><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Because Marx by experiencing estrangement </i>[Entfremdung, </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">alienation</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">]<i> attains an essential dimension of history, the Marxist view of history is superior to that of other historical accounts.</i></span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">Martin Heidegger, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">Letter on </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana"; text-align: justify;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">Humanism</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana"; text-align: justify;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">(1949)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is the second seminar in a new subseries of fifteen seminars to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the publication in April 1964 of </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sanity, Madness and the Family,</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i> Volume 1: Families of Schizophrenics</i> by </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>R. D. Laing</b> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Aaron Esterson</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. We continue to ask why for sixty years readers have so spectacularly failed to understand this book. It should be emphasised that this does not mean they <i>think</i> they fail to understand it. On the contrary, almost all readers think there is no problem in understanding what the book is about: obviously, they explain, in this book <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> are claiming that </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">families cause schizophrenia</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">. Such readers will usually go on to say that this claim has long been discredited by the advance of scientific biological psychiatry. It seems to make no difference whether the readers are ordinary unprofessional people, psychotherapy students, or eminent psychiatrists, internationally renowned and honoured authorities on </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">schizophrenia</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’.</i></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">For example, the psychiatrist <b>Julian Leff</b> and the researcher <b>Christine Vaughn</b> wrote (1985) that <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b>’s work was ‘supported by little or no scientific evidence’. But <b>Leff</b> and <b>Vaughn</b> suppose that what needs support by scientific evidence is precisely the claim that <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> repeatedly stress that they are <i>not</i> making, namely, to have, as<b> Leff</b> and<b> Vaughn</b> put it, a ‘theory of the family’s role in the origin of schizophrenia’.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> reiterate in the Preface to the second edition (1970):</span></p><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>In our view it is an assumption, a theory, a hypothesis, but not a </i>fact<i>, that anyone suffers from a condition called </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">schizophrenia</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">’. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>No one can deny us the right to disbelieve in the fact of schizophrenia. We did not say, even, that we do </i>not<i> believe in schizophrenia.</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i> </i> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> </i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This radical misunderstanding will be the subject of the <i>first</i> seminar in the new subseries, Inner Circle Seminar No. 290 on 21 April 2024. We shall discuss how the misunderstanding is primarily due to people</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">s failure </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">to read what <b>Laing</b> and<b> Esterson</b> say, in plain English, they are doing in the book. We may suppose that readers do not expect the authors to say what they are in fact saying, and so, even if they begin to notice what the authors are in fact saying, they will dismiss the possibility that the authors might really be saying it. See:</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><b><u>https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/2023/01/60-years-since-laing-esterson-sanity.html</u></b></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But in today’s second seminar in the subseries we shall consider some more ‘technical’ or ‘theoretical’ (human-scientific, not natural-scientific) terms which some readers have found difficult to understand. We shall ask whether <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> themselves may, despite their usual admirable clarity, have unwittingly contributed to these readers’ confusion.</span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In March 1964, a</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> month before the publication of </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sanity, Madness and the Family</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the book </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Reason and Violence: A Decade of Sartre</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>’</i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">s Philosophy, 1950-1960, </i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">by <b>R. D. Laing</b> and <b>David Cooper</b>, was published. It expounded </span></span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Jean-Paul </b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><b>Sartre</b></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <i>Question de M</i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">é</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>thode</i> and <i>Saint Genet</i>, and contained </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><b>Laing</b>’s </span></span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">pr</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">é</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>cis</i> of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><b>Sartre</b></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s recently published, as yet untranslated, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Critique de la Raison Dialectique, Tome 1</i> (1960), of which </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Sartre </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">in an enthusiastic Foreword to </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Reason and Violence </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">praised </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> </b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘<i>parfaite intelligence</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>’. </i><b>Sartre </b>also commended <b>Laing</b></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">s studies of the family as </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘series</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>’</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">and</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">group</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>’ </i>in the sense of the <i>Critique</i>; presumably <b>Laing</b> had sent him his important but little known paper </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘Series and Nexus in the Family</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>’ </i>(<i>New Left Review, </i>May 1962: 1-15)<i>.</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i> </i><b>Sartre</b> wrote that he looked forward to a time when psychiatry would become </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>humaine</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>’</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">The next month, April 1964, saw the publication of </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sanity, Madness and the Family. </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">This book referred the reader to the theoretical background given in <b>Laing</b></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’s</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>The Self and Others</i> (1961) and in </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><i>Reason and Violence. </i>In 1970 <b>Esterson</b></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’s</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"> <i>The Leaves of Spring: A Study in the Dialectics of Madness</i> was published. It developed to book-length one of the eleven family studies (Chapter 4, The Danzigs) from </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sanity, Madness and the Family</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">;</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"> referred to the same theoretical background; and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">acknowledged indebtedness to the dialectical tradition of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Hegel</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Marx</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Sartre</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Key terms which <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> use are <i>mystification</i> (from </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Karl </b></span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Marx</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">) and </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">praxis</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">process</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (from </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Sartre</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">). </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> also discusses the </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">double bind</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (from </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Gregory</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Bateson</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">), although </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sanity, Madness and the Family </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">gives only one alleged instance of it (p. 167). We shall briefly discuss these terms, and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s use of them, in what follows.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>1. Mystification</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b>Laing</b> and </span><b style="text-align: justify;">Esterson</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">, in these books and elsewhere, </span>employ the term </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>mystification</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’ and its cognates, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">sometimes in a relatively colloquial sense, without spelling out what </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">it actually means. On one occasion,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> in his </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">paper</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> </i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘M</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ystification, confusion, and conflict</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>’ </i>(1965), </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">attempts to adapt <b>Marx</b></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">s use of the word </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">mystification</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’ to the study of family interactions, comparing and contrasting it with <b>Bateson</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> (1956) concept of the </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>double bind</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’. But<b> Laing</b></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> account of <b>Marx</b></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">s usage misses the central point which we shall explain below. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><b>Laing<i> </i></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">also has a chapter </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘The mystification of experience</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">in </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>The Politics of Experience </i>(1967). He writes: </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">Marx </b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">described mystification and showed its function in his day.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’ But he still does not say what <b>Marx</b> actually said.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is unfortunate, because the first use of any form of the word </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">mystify</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">in <i>Sanity, Madness and the Family</i> (1964: 8) is consistent with <b>Marx</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s meaning (though without saying so):</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>Phenomenologically, a group can feel to its members to be an organism; to those outside it, it can appear to act like one. But to go beyond this, and to maintain that, </i>ontologically<i>, it </i>is <i>an organism, is to become completely mystified.</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Also, <b>Esterson</b> in <i>The Leaves of Spring</i> [to be continued]</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>M</i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">ystification</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, for <b>Marx</b>, means the seduction, the insinuation, the misrepresentation, the pretence, the self-deception, or the lie that certain relationships between <i>human beings</i> (primarily, the relationships between capitalists or landlords and labourers or tenants) are relationships between <i>things</i>. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>M</i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">ystification</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in his sense</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">, therefore, is by definition also <i>reification </i>and<i> alienation.</i></span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">This may be seen from the following quotations</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> from <i>Das Kapital.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(<b>1</b> and <b>2</b> do not contain the word </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">mystification</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>’ </i>but point to what <b style="text-align: justify;">Marx</b> meant by it. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">In <b>3</b>, <b>4</b>, <b>5</b>,<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">and <b>6 </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">he does use the word </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">mystification</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>’</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">. In <b>6</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><b> </b>he </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">does not limit <span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="text-align: justify;">mystification</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>’</i></span> to the capitalist-labourer relationship; he means that <b>Hegel</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">mystifies through reifying the human in general as </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Idea</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">.)</span></p><div style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><div style="text-align: right;"></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>1.</b> ‘...</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <i>das bestimmte gesellschaftliche Verhältnis der Menschen selbst, welches hier f</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-wrap: nowrap;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>ü</i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>r sie die phantasmagorische Form eines Verhältnisses von Dingen annimmt</i>’</span></blockquote></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[‘...</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the specific social relationship of the human beings themselves, which here assumes for them the phantasmagoric form of a relationship between things.</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">]</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><p style="text-align: right;"><b>Karl Marx</b><i>, Das Kapital</i>, Volume 1, Chapter 1</p></blockquote></span><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b>2. </b>‘.</span><span><i>..</i></span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333;"> <i>daB das Kapital nicht eine Sache </i></span><i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333;">ist, sondern ein durch Sachen vermitteltes gesellschaftliches Verh</span></i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">ä</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333;">ltnis </span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333;">zwischen Personen.</span></i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></blockquote></div><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">[‘</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>... </i>that capital is not a thing (<i>Sache</i>), but a societal relationship between persons mediated by things (<i>Sachen</i>)<i>.</i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’]</span></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: right;"> <b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">Karl Marx</b><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">, Das Kapital</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">, Volume 1, Chapter 33</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span></p><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>3.</b> ‘<i>Das gesellschaftliche Verh</i><i>äl</i><i>ltnis ist vollendet als </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Verh</i><i>äl</i><i>ltnis eines Dings, des Geldes, zu sich selbst. ..</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>. Es wird ganz so Eigenschaft des Geldes, Werth zu schaffen, Zins abzuwerfen, wie die eines Birnbaums Birnen zu tragen. ... die Kapitalmystifikation in der grellsten Form.</i>’</span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[‘The social relationship is consummated as relationship of a thing, of money, to itself. ... It becomes just as much a property of money to create value, to yield interest, as of a pear-tree to bear pears. ... capital-</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mystification</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in the most glaring form</span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>.</i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’]</span></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: right;"> <b style="font-family: verdana;">Karl Marx</b><i style="font-family: verdana;">, Das Kapital</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, Volume 3, Chapter 24</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span></p><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>4.</b> ‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Die Vorstellung vom Kapital als sich selbst reproduzierendem und in der Reproduktion vermehrendem Wert ... hat zu den fabelhaften Einfällen des Dr. Price geleitet, die bei weitem die Phantasien der Alchimisten hinter sich lassen ... </i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Pitt nimmt die Mystifikation des Dr. Price ganz ernst.</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[‘The conception of capital as self-reproducing </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and in the reproduction increasing value ... has led to the fabulous notions of Dr Price, which leave the fantasies of the alchemists far behind them; ... Pitt takes Dr Price</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s mystification in all earnest.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’]</span></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: right;"> <b style="font-family: verdana;">Karl Marx</b><i style="font-family: verdana;">, Das Kapital</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, Volume 3, Chapter 24</span></p></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b>5.</b> ‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">... die Mystifikation der kapitalistischen Produktionsweise, die Verdinglichung der gesellschaftlichen Verhältnisse ... </span></i><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">die verzauberte, verkehrte und auf den Kopf gestellte Welt, wo Monsieur le Capital und Madame la Terre als soziale Charaktere und zugleich unmittelbar als bloße Dinge ihren Spuk treiben.</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span> </span></blockquote></div></div></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">... the mystification of the capitalist mode of production, the reification of social relationships ... the enchanted, back-to-front and stood-on-its-head world where </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Monsieur le Capital and Madame la Terre are up to their spookery as social characters and </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">at the same time directly as mere things.</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">]</span></div></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><b>Karl Marx</b><i>, Das Kapital</i>, Volume 3, Chapter 48</div></blockquote></span><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b>6.</b> ‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #595959;">Die mystifizierende Seite der Hegelschen Dialektik habe ich vor beinah 30 Jahren, zu einer Zeit kritisiert, wo sie noch Tagesmode war. [...] </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Die Mystifikation, welche die Dialektik in Hegels Händen erle</span></i></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">idet, verhindert in keiner Weise, daß er ihre allgemeinen Bewegungsformen zuerst in umfassender und bewußter Weise dargestellt hat. Sie steht bei ihm auf dem Kopf. Man muß sie umstülpen, um den rationellen Kern in der mystischen Hülle zu entdecken</i><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">. [...]</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="text-align: justify;"> </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #595959;"><i>In ihrer mystifizierten Form ward die Dialektik deutsche Mode, weil sie das Bestehende zu verklären schien.</i></span><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">[‘The mystifying side of the Hegelian dialectic I criticised nearly thirty years ago, at a time when it was still the fashion of the day. [...] </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">The mystification </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">which dialectic suffers in Hegel</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">s hands in no way precludes him from being the first to represent its general forms of movement in a comprehensive and conscious way. With him it stands on its head. One must turn it the right way up, to discover the rational kernel in the mystical shell. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">[...] In its mystified form the dialectic became German fashion, because it seemed to transfigure what exists.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">]</span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;"> </b></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Karl Marx,</b> <i>Das Kapital</i>, Afterword to second German edition</span></blockquote></div></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Translations by A. Stadlen</span></div></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Sartre</b></span>’<span style="font-family: verdana;">s <i>Critique </i>implies that </span><b>Marx</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> theory</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">, and subsequent </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">Marxism</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">was <i>itself </i>a mystification</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">For <b>Marx</b> writes:</span></p><p></p><blockquote style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b>7.</b> ‘</span></span><span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #212529;"><i>Die Gestalten von Kapitalist und Grundeigentümer zeichne ich keineswegs in rosigem Licht. Aber ... [w]eniger als jeder andere kann mein Standpunkt, der die Entwicklung der ökonomischen Gesellschaftsformation als einen naturgeschichtlichen Prozeß auffaßt, den einzelnen verantwortlichmach</i></span><i style="color: #212529;"> </i><span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #212529;"><i>en für Verhältnisse, deren Geschöpf er sozial bleibt, sosehr er sich auch subjektiv über sie erheben mag.</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span></span></blockquote><p></p></span><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[‘I draw the figures of the capitalist and landlord in no way in a rosy light. But ... my standpoint, which conceives the development of the economic formation of society as a <i>natural-historical process</i> [<i>sic</i>, emphasis added], can less than any other make the individual responsible for relationships whose creature he remains socially, however much he may subjectively raise himself above them.’] </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="text-align: right;"> </span></span><b style="text-align: right;"> </b></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: right;"><blockquote style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Karl Marx,</b> <i>Das Kapital</i>, Preface to first German edition</span></blockquote><blockquote style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Translation by A. Stadlen</span></blockquote></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><b style="text-align: justify;">Sartre</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">seeks to show that this supposed</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">‘</span><span style="text-align: center;">natural-historical </span><span style="text-align: center;">process</span><span style="text-align: justify;">’ is itself </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>socially intelligible</i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><span style="text-align: justify;">as</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><i style="text-align: justify;">human-historical </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">praxis</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (see below, under</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">3. Praxis and Process</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">).</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">Similarly, <b>Sartre</b> sees </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">praise (above) for <b>Marx</b></span><i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">s account of history </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">as <i>itself</i> based on </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">existential idealism</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">: a mystification </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">which </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">subordinates the human to Being </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">other than man</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>’, </i>as <b>Laing</b> puts it in <i>Reason and Violence</i> (1964: 116)</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>.</i></span></p><b>Laing and Esterson</b> give many specific occurrences of what they call mystification in the family interviews. But they appear to have missed an opportunity to state their central hypothesis in terms of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mystification</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in <b>Marx</b>’s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">original sense </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(but of course without reference to capitalism). For their hypothesis is </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">precisely that <i>t</i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">he very concept of ‘schizophrenia’ is a mystification in <b>Marx</b>’s sense</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, as that concept misrepresents </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">a ‘human’ relation between persons (primarily in the family) as a ‘natural’ relation between things (the ‘illness’ of one daughter, the ‘imbalance’ between ‘things’ in her ‘mind’ or ‘brain’).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first reference in </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><i>Sanity, Madness and the Family </i>(1964: 4, n.1) is to </span><b>Thomas Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">’</span>s <i>The Myth of Mental Illness</i> (1961), which was published almost simultaneously with </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">Sartre</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’s </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Critique</i><span style="text-align: justify;">, too soon to take account of it. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><b>Szasz</b>, like <b>Sartre</b>,<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">criticised what <b>Karl Popper</b> called <b>Marx</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">s </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">historicism</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">his reification of human history as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">natural-historical </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">process</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><b>Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">’</span>s thesis was essentially that the </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘myth of mental illness</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’ is a mystification in <b>Marx</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">s sense, though he did not put it in these terms. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>2. Double Bind</b></span></p></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> could also have reasonably argued that the central mystification they studied in <i>Sanity, Madness and the Family</i>, that the ‘schizophrenic’ women were alleged to be ‘ill’, was, precisely, a ‘<i>double bind</i>’.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><b>Laing</b> discusses the </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">double bind</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> in </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">The Self and Others</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> (1961) and iits (much revised) second edition </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">Self and Others</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> (1969). T<span style="font-family: verdana;">he </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">double bind</span> is mentioned on the dust covers of the two hard-back editions of </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sanity, Madness and the Family </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">(1964, 1970)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but only once in the text (ibid., p. 167), although there are instances in the family interactions where it could have been applied with accuracy. It is often used </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">erroneously </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(though not by <b>Laing</b> or <b>Esterson</b>) to mean any kind of mixed message or contradictory attribution or injunction; but it has a precise meaning defined by <b>Bateson</b> (1956) in terms of <b>Bertrand Russell</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s theory of Logical Types in his and <b>Alfred North Whitehead</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Principia Mathematica</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">,</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Volume 1, Chapter 2 (1910). The point is that the contradictory communications are, as <b>Bateson</b> conceived them, of different logical type: a communication and a metacommunication.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Laing</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> wrote in <i>The Self and Others</i> (1961: 141; 1969: 129) that t</span>he 1956 work of <b>Bateson</b> and his colleagues on the </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">double bind </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">had</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">revolutionized the concept of what is meant by environment</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’. <b>Laing</b> did express doubt as to whether </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘the Logical Type theory, which arises in the course of the construction of a calculus of </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">propositions, can be applied directly to communication</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’. H</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">e also claimed that </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">in real life there probably will be at least three persons involved</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’, although a double bind could surely arise between a single mother and her single child. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">But the theory of the double bind </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">prepared the ground for<b> Laing </b>and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> work. For this reason, and because it has been generally banalised and misunderstood, though not by them, we shall examine it today.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">3. Praxis and Process</span></b></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">Both <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> also place great stress on the terms </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>praxis</i>’ and </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>process</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’. They claim they are using them as <span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b>Sartre</b></span> does in</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Critique de la Raison Dialectique. </i>They explain </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Sartre</b><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">s use of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>praxis</i>’</span> correctly<i> </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">but their own definitions of </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>process</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> seriously misrepresent </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Sartre</b></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> term </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>processus</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">’.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -19.2667px;"><b>Sartre</b> in the <i>Critique</i> uses both </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">praxis</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">’ and</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -19.2667px;"> ‘</span><i style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -19.2667px;">processus</i><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -19.2667px;">’ to refer to human (<i>not </i>natural) events. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">‘<i>P</i></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">raxis</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">’ simply means human, freely chosen action. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">‘<i>P</i></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">rocessus</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">’ is a human, usually group, happening that merely <i>looks like</i> a natural, mechanistically determined event. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -19.2667px;"><b style="text-indent: -19.2667px;">Sartre</b><span style="text-indent: -19.2667px;"> </span>states explicitly (1960: 542; English translation 1976: 549) that neither <i>praxis</i> nor <i>processus </i>is deterministic. <b>Laing</b> made an excellent English </span></span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">pr</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">é</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>cis</i> of </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">this section in <i>Reason and Violence </i>(1964: 153-4), of exemplary clarity; but he seems subsequently to have forgotten or ignored it.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;"><b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> (1964: 8) define the term </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">‘process’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">, misleadingly, to mean ‘a continuous series of operations that have </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">no agent as their author’. In other words they wrongly define it as if it were <i>really</i> a natural, mechanistically determined event. But they use it, in practice, confusingly: sometimes <i>incorrectly</i> to mean simply </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">natural events; </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">and sometimes</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;"> <i>correctly</i> to mean what <b>Sartre</b> actually does mean by ‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">processus</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">’, namely, as explained above, human (usually group) events which only </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">appear </i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">to be natural events</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;"> having no author, but which it is the purpose of his book to demonstrate can be revealed by dialectical reason to be <i>not</i> natural, <i>not</i> deterministic, but socially intelligible as deriving from human <i>praxis. </i><b>Esterson</b> (1970: xii) explicitly, wrongly, defines <span style="text-indent: -19.2667px;">‘process’</span> as referring to natural events, as does <b>Laing</b> in his much later confused presentation in 1985 to the first </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">Evolution of Psychotherapy</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">conference </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">(1987: 203-4) </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">when </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> was a justifiably exasperated respondent (1987: 210). </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;"><b>Esterson</b> (<i>ibid.</i>) even gives an allegedly defining example of </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">‘process’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">which he asserts </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">is </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">deterministic</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">apparently without realising that this contradicts <b>Sartre</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;"> definition.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The whole purpose of <b>Sartre</b>’s extraordinary book is to demonstrate that ‘<i>processus</i>’, while appearing to be a natural event, is </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">socially intelligible</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> by dialectical reason as the outcome of human </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">praxis</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">. <b>Sartre</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> project is the awesome one of making history itself socially intelligible.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">The error of<b> Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> is, on occasion, to treat <b>Sartre</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">s <i>process</i>, which like <i>praxis</i> also refers to social relation</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">ships, as if it merely referred to things. In other words, their error is precisely to mystify, in <b>Marx</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">s sense, <b>Sartre</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">s concept of process.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">It is difficult to see why </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">Sartre</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;"> would have required to use special terminology (<i>praxis</i>, <i>processus</i>), or why <b>Laing</b> would have needed to make and publish a difficult translation-</span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">pr</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">é</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>cis</i> of the entire, excruciatingly difficult <i>Critique</i>, if it were merely a question of what are usually called </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">human </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">events (with </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">reasons</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">) and </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">natural </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">events (with </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">causes</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">). </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Szasz </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">were content to use this ordinary language, without implying the reification of a cartesian dualism.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Like them, <b>Sartre</b> insists in the <i>Critique</i> that his concept of the human and the natural is not dualistic. And far less so is his concept of <i>praxis</i> and <i>processus, </i>since the very nature of <i>processus</i> is only to <i>appear</i> to be a naturally determined process but to reveal itself on dialectical investigation to be non-determined <i>praxis</i>. </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Sartre</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> goes so far as to argue at one point</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">that even the eruption of a volcano is in some sense also human </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">praxis</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, since it is experienced by humans.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> observes that tears cannot be understood by natural science although their physical properties can be. </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> observes that a wedding ring cannot be understood by natural science although its physical properties can be. </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Szasz </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">are making the same point, and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">made it too.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But it is not dualistic. The two ways of seeing tears or a wedding ring, the personal and the physical, are like the two ways of seeing a human being, as person or as organism, which </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> discusses in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1960), published a few months before </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Myth of Mental Illness</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">. As </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> puts it, in the language of existential phenomenology, each of the two ways of seeing is a different ‘initial intentional act’. </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> writes:</span></p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 14.2pt; margin-right: 14.2pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 14.2pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>There is no dualism in the sense of the co-existence of two different essences or substances there in the object, psyche and soma.</i></span></span></div><p>No mountain need have laboured to bring forth this pair of mice, the human and the natural, if they had been all that <b>Sartre</b> meant by <span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">‘</span><i style="text-indent: -19.2667px;">praxis</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -19.2667px;">’ and</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -19.2667px;"> ‘</span><i style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -19.2667px;">processus</i><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -19.2667px;">’, as <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> at times misleadingly assert.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -19.2667px;">I</span></span><span style="text-indent: -19.2667px;">t is crucial not to lose sight of </span><i style="text-indent: -19.2667px;">their</i><span style="text-indent: -19.2667px;"> simple, unassuming question as they restate it in the Preface to the second edition of </span><i style="text-indent: -19.2667px;">Sanity, Madness and the Family</i><span style="text-indent: -19.2667px;"> (1970: viii):</span></p><p></p></span><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Are the <b>experience and behaviour that psychiatrists take as</b> symptoms and signs of schizophrenia more socially intelligible than has come to be supposed?</i> [Emphasis added.]</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This makes sense as ordinary English. It also makes sense when stated in terms </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">of <b>Sartre</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s actual technical notions of <i>praxis</i>, <i>processus</i>, and <i>social intelligibility </i>correctly defined as <b>Sartre</b> meant them. But one can understand the question without using or understanding them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Or so one might suppose.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, such is most readers’ mystification by, and investment in, ‘schizophrenia’, which </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> called ‘the sacred symbol of psychiatry’, that they persist in misreading this simple question as if the seven words emphasised were simply not there.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">The greatness of these books transcends these errors; but it may well be that the errors have contributed to </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the almost universal misunderstanding of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Sanity, Madness and the Family </i>and, on the rare occasions it is noticed,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">The Leaves of Spring. </i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">We shall try to remedy this today. Your questions and contributions will be warmly welcomed.</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b><i>This will</i></b></span><i style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><b> be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i></div></span></div></div></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175; </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">reductions for combinations of seminars;</span> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">some bursaries; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></p></span></div></div></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Apply to: </span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";">Tel:</span></i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"> +44 (0) 7809 433250 </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><i>E-mail:</i> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><a href="mailto:stadlen@aol.com"><span lang="DE">stadlenanthony@gmail.com</span></a></span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US">For further information on seminars, visit: </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></span><br /><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But they are independent of all institutes, schools, and universities.</span></span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-59706502536034623862024-01-01T05:01:00.292+00:002024-03-12T23:57:45.340+00:0060 years since Thomas Szasz’s ‘Law, Liberty, and Society’ (1963). Keith Hoeller and Anthony Stadlen conduct Inner Circle Seminar 290 (19 May 2024)<p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Thomas Szasz</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Law, Liberty, and Psychiatry </i>(1963)</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Sixtieth anniversary reflections</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Keith Hoeller Anthony Stadlen</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">conduct </span><span style="color: #990000;">by Zoom</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 290</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Sunday 19 May 2024</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsXq8fodNGh2wIvP8KySgBWbQYpemMvr3wJSlI6Nf-Ko2BFhh288VJ0UGbLQUCgwnz9Jw6fTG9_Ji0DlDg8g3LBIkvJF4tX3HlcktyYBRJQbxYptMWkJnq3eyL5MjRQIbHq2FsaURZ-6NlXh0xdkbNAEXJyhayKmR_aJYQo9LwF0EH9k5v-wm0l_6kyfq1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="394" data-original-width="669" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsXq8fodNGh2wIvP8KySgBWbQYpemMvr3wJSlI6Nf-Ko2BFhh288VJ0UGbLQUCgwnz9Jw6fTG9_Ji0DlDg8g3LBIkvJF4tX3HlcktyYBRJQbxYptMWkJnq3eyL5MjRQIbHq2FsaURZ-6NlXh0xdkbNAEXJyhayKmR_aJYQo9LwF0EH9k5v-wm0l_6kyfq1=w400-h235" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thomas Szasz</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9yOK7t9V7CN-0llr-qdIJYo-o3XrU-JoJAygY4m0Kpc_Ur7RDZtOqJgqAjg4ssIVwKc4yQnILPUD0c2JcRv86VQV4Kw6-tXiRoikNnIJ17Ld0q2BorKZ7ojcfWvj1-sNjJZfAU5BVYBx8jmsairv8-RAODFxNd2EfTjXUeAsKbqZDXznwPtpNEE4xxey/s268/Szasz%202.JPG" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="218" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9yOK7t9V7CN-0llr-qdIJYo-o3XrU-JoJAygY4m0Kpc_Ur7RDZtOqJgqAjg4ssIVwKc4yQnILPUD0c2JcRv86VQV4Kw6-tXiRoikNnIJ17Ld0q2BorKZ7ojcfWvj1-sNjJZfAU5BVYBx8jmsairv8-RAODFxNd2EfTjXUeAsKbqZDXznwPtpNEE4xxey/w260-h320/Szasz%202.JPG" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thomas Szasz<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNY3AO3i41z6jQ1pfgEFd2EL_XnNpCee_DWu4rUsBMZPRXiMHQpT8xxUQup44JRzGV5Arlt2dGhp0hRKRyc1eIJK_PMY2X38j6UjHHp9iHWNbJMYZ7XeeR3VmQvz1q-pM8h1SDumWVGYyGbffMc866V7clPPLvh6fW83RlXFoZXxxqSNo2DE-3vHSNLcFH/s1278/szaszpix1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="1278" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNY3AO3i41z6jQ1pfgEFd2EL_XnNpCee_DWu4rUsBMZPRXiMHQpT8xxUQup44JRzGV5Arlt2dGhp0hRKRyc1eIJK_PMY2X38j6UjHHp9iHWNbJMYZ7XeeR3VmQvz1q-pM8h1SDumWVGYyGbffMc866V7clPPLvh6fW83RlXFoZXxxqSNo2DE-3vHSNLcFH/w320-h240/szaszpix1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thomas Szasz</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqttOH-LBZAztAHCnUSkcfWIxSmyrNll2KzxKdkGR7LgGCyyou8RXuXA0GLFpVQl6FTSl20Hd-ogHh534wGdhmzSMJolBba0iThyWYtcEEVeXmNll_rL3iXXfmS7zmaR9t3fX9vXwQhDh5M56Z2WmH1P-O2iCIZzbg6RJEqGmP1MmTDrILvHNNXO8QWLS/s233/Thomas%20Szasz%20Syracuse%202008%20by%20Steve.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="197" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqttOH-LBZAztAHCnUSkcfWIxSmyrNll2KzxKdkGR7LgGCyyou8RXuXA0GLFpVQl6FTSl20Hd-ogHh534wGdhmzSMJolBba0iThyWYtcEEVeXmNll_rL3iXXfmS7zmaR9t3fX9vXwQhDh5M56Z2WmH1P-O2iCIZzbg6RJEqGmP1MmTDrILvHNNXO8QWLS/w270-h320/Thomas%20Szasz%20Syracuse%202008%20by%20Steve.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thomas Szasz</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxl5A-_fTKLKz971QFDkJHVufKXM7p22WioT-D2OfER80e2giIyPlQJk30lBbSju5CAlaBkgQsW_pReL0C5948DBgeMolR2CbMYl-RHFID12tov-W2VYw6yOrcslYqmocnnP5xwWxDNoEhEktkdYBpiOGmaGJ_pI9Xrfan1kwV6agCjtBaaKL9UgPO3jYa/s1346/Szasz%20laughing%20Jenny%20reworked.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1346" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxl5A-_fTKLKz971QFDkJHVufKXM7p22WioT-D2OfER80e2giIyPlQJk30lBbSju5CAlaBkgQsW_pReL0C5948DBgeMolR2CbMYl-RHFID12tov-W2VYw6yOrcslYqmocnnP5xwWxDNoEhEktkdYBpiOGmaGJ_pI9Xrfan1kwV6agCjtBaaKL9UgPO3jYa/w320-h226/Szasz%20laughing%20Jenny%20reworked.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thomas Szasz<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">15 April 1920 – 8 September 2012</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">at his 90th-birthday seminar<br />13 June 2010 (Inner Circle Seminar No. 153)<br />Photograph copyright jennyphotos.com<br />Not to be used without permission</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Thomas Szasz</b> published his first book, <i>Pain and Pleasure: A Study of Bodily </i><i>Feelings</i>,<i> </i>in 1957. The philosopher <b>Susanne Langer</b> in her book <i>Philosophical Sketches</i> (1962) praised <b>Szasz</b><span style="color: #333333; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’<wbr></wbr>s </span>book as an<span style="color: #333333; text-indent: 18.9333px;"> attempt to resolve ‘the mind-and-body problem’. (This alone shows the folly of those self-styled </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #333333; text-indent: 18.9333px;">existential therapists</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"> and others who ignorantly claim <b>Szasz </b>was a </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘Cartesian </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">dualist</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #333333; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><b>Szasz </b><span style="color: black; text-indent: 0px;">had already written a number of what he called </span><span style="color: #333333; text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘</span><span style="color: black; text-indent: 0px;">cautiously phrased articles</span><span style="color: #333333; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’, but i</span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">n 1960 <span style="color: black; text-indent: 0px;">he</span> published a brief, more controversial, paper, </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">The Myth of Mental Illness</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’. This was noticed with some consternation in psychiatric circles.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">In 1961 battle commenced. He published his second book, </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><i>The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct. </i>It developed the thesis of the similarly named paper, as well as of the earlier book. In <b>Szasz</b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’s words, </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">all hell broke loose</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even <i>The Myth of Mental Illness</i>, shocking and scandalous as it was to the psychiatric establishment, could still (just about) be read (or misread) as a relatively academic logical and scientific analysis of the prevailing <i>theory</i> of the phenomena which, in <b>Szasz</b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s view, were wrongly classified as </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mental illnesses</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’. The book</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">s full implications for <i>practice</i> were, for almost all readers, still unclear, even though psychiatrists understood well enough, without quite understanding why, that he was claiming that the foundations of their theory were delusory.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">In fact, as <b>Szasz </b>wrote in his book <i>Faith in Freedom </i>(</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">2004)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><span style="color: black; text-indent: 18.9333px;"></span></span></div><blockquote style="background-color: white;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><span style="color: black; text-indent: 18.9333px;">The Myth of Mental Illnes</span><span style="color: black; text-indent: 18.9333px;">s <i>was intended to be more than just an academic exercise in semantics. It was also intended to be a denunciation of the moral legitimacy of the most violent method that the modern state possesses and wields in its perpetual effort to domesticate and control people, namely, depriving innocent individuals – with the full support of physicians and lawyers – not only of liberty but of virtually all their constitutional rights, in the name of helping them.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And with his third book, <i>Law, Liberty and Psychiatry: An Inquiry into the Social Uses of Mental Health Practices</i> (1963), there could be no more doubt. <b>Szasz </b>now turned his attention unequivocally to the psychiatric <i>practices</i>, ‘taking place outside the privacy of the consulting room’, consequent on what he called the ‘dangerous deception and self-deception’ of the presumption of ‘mental illness’.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><b>Szasz </b>identified the two paradigmatic psychiatric practices as: (1) <i>involuntary hospitalisation and treatment</i>; and (2) <i>the insanity defence</i>. This was no mere academic study. His denunciation of these practices was </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">ethical</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"> and </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">political</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><b>Szasz </b>had crossed the brink. This was more than the psychiatric authorities could stand. A quarter of a century later, in his Preface to the </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">1989 </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">Syracuse edition of this 1963 book, he wrote that, with his rejection of these paradigmatic practices, and of the assumptions about human beings that they incarnated,</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">my excommunication from psychiatry became complete and irreversible</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">.</span></i></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Unfortunately, the book was not published in the United Kingdom until 1974, so that British readers did not, for the most part, know during the 1960s <b>Szasz</b>’s attack on psychiatric practice or appreciate how directly and logically it followed from his attack on ‘mental illness’. (<i>The Manufacture of Madness</i> was published in the UK in 1971). However, <b>David Cooper</b>, in his <i>Psychiatry and Anti-Psychiatry</i> (1967), cited <b>Szasz</b>’s argument that ‘schizophrenia’ is a ‘panchreston’ (‘explain-all’) without specifying that the argument was to be found in the 1963 American first edition of <i>Law, Liberty, and Psychiatry</i>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">In his Preface to that 1974 British edition </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">Szasz</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"> wrote:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><i>Among [my] books, I consider </i>Law, Liberty, and Psychiatry<i>, first published in 1963, especially important because it is in this book that I most fully describe and document the precise legal status of the mental hospital patient </i></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">– as an innocent person incarcerated in a psychiatric prison; most clearly articulate my objections to institutional psychiatry</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><i> </i></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">– </i><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">as an extra-legal system of penology and punishments; and first demonstrate what, in a free society, I consider the only </i><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">morally </i><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">proper aim with respect to so-called psychiatric abuses<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></i><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">– namely, the complete abolition of all involuntary psychiatric interventions.</i><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"> </i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"> </span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The best-known sentence of this revolutionary book of 1963 must be:<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">Although we may not know it, we have, in our day, witnessed the birth of the Therapeutic State.</i></blockquote></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Sixty years on, the Therapeutic State shows no sign of dying. It has grown monstrous.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The book is rich in detailed case studies of people who fall foul of the law, either being coerced or excused, because they are allegedly ‘mentally ill’. A crucial case is the poet <b>Ezra Pound</b>, who was incarcerated for years in St Elizabeth’s Hospital, Washington, DC as too ‘insane’ to be tried as legally responsible for his fascist wartime broadcasts from Italy.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today we shall explore both <b>Szasz</b>’s argument and some of his case studies in <i>Law, Liberty and Psychiatry</i>.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The argument and case studies were both of a new kind.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <i>argument</i> (as developed by <b>Szasz</b> in </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">this book</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">many more over the next half-century) was expounded by Professors <b>Jeffrey Schaler</b> and <b>Richard Vatz</b> in Inner Circle Seminar No. 276 on 30 October 2022. They explained <b>Szasz</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s view that compulsory psychiatry and the insanity defence are two sides of the same coin: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Siamese twins</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">They described the</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b> </b></span><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">M</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Naghten</b> (1843, England) and <b>Durham</b> (1954, USA) Rules for whether and when a </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mental disease</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ absolves from criminal responsibility. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today P</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">rofessor </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Keith Hoeller </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">will recapitulate and continue to explain.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <i>case studies</i> were not the conventional kind intended to illustrate and boast about how the insight and healing powers of the therapist-author led to the patient</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">cure</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. Rather, they illustrated the catastrophic encounters of the patients with, and torture by, psychiatry.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Szasz</b> did, in fact, before publishing <i>The Myth of Mental Illness</i> (1961), publish case studies of a <i>relatively</i> conventional kind, notably </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Case of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Prisoner ‘K.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ (1959<i style="text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></i><i style="text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">– </i>he also at that time tolerated a pile-up of quotation marks he would have abhorred later), showing how he worked as an </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">autonomous psychotherapist</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ with people who had, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in his words, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">problems in living</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, psychosomatic illnesses, and so on. But he refrained from publishing more case studies of this kind for the remaining half-century of his life.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><b>Anthony Stadlen </b>asked </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;"> (after a searching conversation in 2007 on the nature of </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">psychotherapy</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">) </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">whether </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">– having </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">demystified the myth of mental illness, and defined authentic psychoanalysis and existential psychotherapy simply as conversation,<span style="color: #333333;"><i> </i></span>in some ways analogous, as <b>Szasz</b> put it, to the conversation (for which there could be no </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">theory</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">) between mother and child, though of course without infantilising the client</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></i><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">– </i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">he had felt it was a <i>betrayal </i>of his relationships with his clients to continue to write </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">case histories</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’ of this conventional kind. </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">Szasz </b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;">confirmed this.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Law, Liberty and Psychiatry </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">he pioneered a new kind of case history, exemplified by his studies of, among others, <b>King Ludwig II of Bavaria</b>, <b>Miss Edith L. Hough</b>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Jim Cooper</b>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Michael L. Chomentowski</b> (further recounted as </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘<b>Louis Perroni</b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’ in <i>Psychiatric Justice</i> (1965))</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, <b>Victor Rosario</b>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Mrs Betty </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Kowalski</b>, <b>Mrs Isola Ware Curry</b>, and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ezra Pound</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">We shall explore some of these pioneering case histories of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #333333; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><b>Szasz</b></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’s, from this </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">first book of them, today.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">It is remarkable that, the year after <b>Szasz</b> published his book with its metastudies (as they might be called), <b>R. D. Laing </b>and <b>Aaron Esterson </b>published their incomparable set of eleven such metastudies in <i>Sanity, Madness and the Family: Families of Schizophrenics</i> (1964), in which the first reference (p.4, n.1) is to </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’s</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><i>The Myth Of Mental Illness</i>. The problem was, and remains (after sixty years), that readers do not read them as metastudies, but as </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">case studies</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: #333333;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">pure and simple: </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">clinical</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">studies<wbr></wbr> of </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">schizophrenics</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">and their families of precisely the kind that <b>Szasz</b>, <b>Laing</b>, and <b>Esterson</b> were rejecting.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Today</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">s seminar therefore is, in addition, directly relevant to our</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> seminar subseries on the </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> book.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">It is notable, and profoundly regrettable, that these developments were totally ignored by <b>Martin Heidegger</b> and <b>Medard Boss</b> in their contemporary Zollikon seminars (1959-69), as they have continued to be ignored by Daseinsanalysts to this day.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Your contribution will be warmly welcomed.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Keith Hoeller, </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">PhD </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">will join us from Seattle, USA. He </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">is one of the select few who are inward with both </span><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">, and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">has already co-conducted a number of important Inner Circle Seminars on each.</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> </b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">F</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">or forty years </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor <b>H</b></span><b>oeller</b> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">taught undergraduate and graduate courses in philosophy, psychology, and medical ethics. For more than a decade he taught an annual course on </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">The Philosophy of Law</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> which focussed on mental health law, including </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">s views on involuntary commitment and the insanity defence.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: justify;">He joined the American Civil Liberties Union and the Seattle Displacement Coalition in opposing Washington’s <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.islandcountywa.gov/443/The-Becca-Bill&source=gmail&ust=1710173143397000&usg=AOvVaw0Ps509742qyeIdPdr8i4Q5" href="https://www.islandcountywa.gov/443/The-Becca-Bill" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Becca Bill</a>, which nonetheless passed and became the ‘<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite%3D13.32a.010&source=gmail&ust=1710173143397000&usg=AOvVaw3U8SUAodG7tyTrC7JUNfeo" href="https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=13.32a.010" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Becca Law</a>’, taking away the right of children aged 13-17 to refuse psychiatric treatment. As a direct result, Washington state led the nation in jailing children for school truancy and running away from home.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: justify;">For thirty years <b>Hoeller</b> served as Editor of the <em>Review of Existential Psychology & Psychiatry</em> and its companion book series <em>Studies in Existential Psychology & Psychiatry. </em>He is the Editor of <em><b>Thomas Szasz</b>: Moral Philosopher of Psychiatry, <b>Heidegger</b> & Psychology, The <b>Heidegger-Boss</b> Relationship, <b>Rollo May</b>'s Existential Psychotherapy, </em>and<em> Readings in Existential Psychology & Psychiatry.</em><span style="text-align: start;"> </span> </div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">He received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities to publish <i>Dream and Existence</i> by <b>Michel Foucault</b> and <b>Ludwig Binswanger</b> and to translate <b>Heidegger</b>’s <i>Erläuterungen zu <b>Hölderlins</b> Dichtung </i>as <i>Elucidations of <b>Hölderlin’s</b> Poetry </i>(Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2000).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">He edited an anthology on non-tenure-track college professors, </span><em style="color: #333333;">Equality for Contingent Faculty: Overcoming the Two-Tier System</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2014).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">His most recent article is:</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/09/thomas-szasz-versus/&source=gmail&ust=1710173143397000&usg=AOvVaw2AruTrf9eGEh3fFO1XSLrt" href="https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/09/thomas-szasz-versus/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana;" target="_blank">Thomas Szasz Vs. The Mental Health Movement</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’, </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.madinamerica.com/&source=gmail&ust=1710173143397000&usg=AOvVaw1O6CUMhNK6TgViS1eJhbjO" href="https://www.madinamerica.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana;" target="_blank"><em>Mad in America</em></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> (September 2022).</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2002 he was the recipient of the <b>Thomas Szasz</b> award from <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.centerforindependentthought.org/past-szasz-award-winners&source=gmail&ust=1710185583523000&usg=AOvVaw1H28mdtLQwAKqABHCSfndM" href="https://www.centerforindependentthought.org/past-szasz-award-winners" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Center for Independent Thought</a> ‘for his newspaper columns about the dangers posed to individual liberty by the mental-health laws<span style="color: black;">’.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2014 he was the recipient of an award by the International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry ‘for his committed scholarly examination of the life and works of <b>Thomas Szasz</b>, MD.<span style="background-color: transparent;">’</span></div></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">NB. We devoted an earlier Inner Circle Seminar, No. 70, on 20 July 2003, to a study of <i>Law, Liberty, and Psychiatry</i> in recognition of its fortieth anniversary. See:</span></div><div><span style="color: blue;"><u>https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5975002653149413835/533514447134381071</u></span></div></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b><i>This will</i></b></span><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b> be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;"><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Cost:</i> Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175; </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">reductions for combinations of seminars; </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">some bursaries; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></div></div><div class="gmail-NormalPar" style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 1pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Apply to: </span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Anthony Stadlen, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Oakleigh’, 2A Alexandra Avenue, London N22 7XE</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 1pt;"><i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";">Tel:</span></i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"> +44 (0) 7809 433250 </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><i>E-mail:</i> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5975002653149413835/5970650253603462386#"><span lang="DE">stadlenanthony@gmail.com</span></a> </span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 1pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>For further information on seminars, visit: </i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5975002653149413835/5970650253603462386#">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br /></span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But they are independent of all institutes, schools, and universities.</span></span></div></div></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-69008050899085358202024-01-01T04:01:00.022+00:002024-03-13T07:21:25.637+00:0060 years since Laing & Esterson’s ‘Sanity, Madness and the Family’ (April 1964). 1. Why is this book still not understood? Anthony Stadlen and Yaara Sumeruk conduct Inner Circle Seminar 289 (21 April 2024) <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">R. D. Laing and Aaron Esterson</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Sanity, Madness and the Family:</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Families of Schizophrenics</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">(April 1964)</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sixtieth anniversary reflections</span></b></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">In memoriam Hilary Mantel:</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><span><span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">‘</span>The simple words the people speak</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">’</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A third subseries</span></b><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> (fifteen seminars) on Laing and Esterson</span></b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="text-align: justify;">’s</span><span><span> </span></span></b></span><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">eleven families</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">researched by Anthony Stadlen and</span></b><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> explored in film by Yaara Sumeruk</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1. Introductory seminar</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Why is this book <i>still</i> not understood?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen Yaara Sumeruk </span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">conduct </span><span style="color: #990000;">by Zoom</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 289</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Sunday 21 April 2024</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0Rl7hTuDWmX2PCznfuMczHKLNj18hrEonhLcpBxzonsll3x9000HjUbrvqE38n5EYRt-AuvNOhISNRKZzbLZ2DwtTwaES-wP2MihYAHMzdXapZu2T6clxfZUOwVbT6avRHYOXcjE61oxJmmeBZUEse8CS3xPjWDZKtvBhR2S99a91qXWB4gGNT2Jan_y/s478/LaingSMF.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0Rl7hTuDWmX2PCznfuMczHKLNj18hrEonhLcpBxzonsll3x9000HjUbrvqE38n5EYRt-AuvNOhISNRKZzbLZ2DwtTwaES-wP2MihYAHMzdXapZu2T6clxfZUOwVbT6avRHYOXcjE61oxJmmeBZUEse8CS3xPjWDZKtvBhR2S99a91qXWB4gGNT2Jan_y/w228-h320/LaingSMF.JPG" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">R. D. Laing<br />7 October 1927 – 23 August 1989</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_R6BCcu9kPX3IMZI11zbqcCNrFQ2FpYD-J2rrf5YFaEwPMBROu4dn4CFfLIp0PONOy0fgJKQfoqYVw5DGy8NQldBriBFCcXQp4THcTA_AtI1M1e1DRkkBjRpDPinmacyQUExz12d_aZi6T9jfMrHVNTmWdSK2_Y74a7mKBepLR0cjIBdmZYliNgodmhs/s466/EstersonSMF.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_R6BCcu9kPX3IMZI11zbqcCNrFQ2FpYD-J2rrf5YFaEwPMBROu4dn4CFfLIp0PONOy0fgJKQfoqYVw5DGy8NQldBriBFCcXQp4THcTA_AtI1M1e1DRkkBjRpDPinmacyQUExz12d_aZi6T9jfMrHVNTmWdSK2_Y74a7mKBepLR0cjIBdmZYliNgodmhs/w233-h320/EstersonSMF.JPG" width="233" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Aaron Esterson<br />23 September 1923 – 15 April 1999</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HLCdKWYm68lhhhKh6Mu1xCctfUfs2AQ3-PR0QT70WYC2lTCz3IIZsU5WvRTrS7m8Xn4YKreHvVQdEmcgSgvTV-BwjeU-ixBuav6XVPT77Pdry3kQkE2-Mh7yZWkrOCLwGuSE-M1SST4hYIMiLWXSP23i62_R9KDhIBHt-cXOWviSVwugtIu26pez0KN8/s640/Hilary%20Mantel%20at%20seminar%202%20by%20Karin%20Weisensel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HLCdKWYm68lhhhKh6Mu1xCctfUfs2AQ3-PR0QT70WYC2lTCz3IIZsU5WvRTrS7m8Xn4YKreHvVQdEmcgSgvTV-BwjeU-ixBuav6XVPT77Pdry3kQkE2-Mh7yZWkrOCLwGuSE-M1SST4hYIMiLWXSP23i62_R9KDhIBHt-cXOWviSVwugtIu26pez0KN8/w400-h300/Hilary%20Mantel%20at%20seminar%202%20by%20Karin%20Weisensel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Adrian Laing Anthony Stadlen Hilary Mantel</span></span></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 205</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Sanity, Madness and the Family: Families of Schizophrenics</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">1. Maya Abbott and the Abbotts</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">50 years on</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(Durrants Hotel, London, Sunday 6 July 2014.)</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5CavIAZLn1DjugR_nKJEMykY7TcQWWagqo1omcsAzvCcMwvhUNGtDvUPvjyC8cInfjIRJabE_nRawxe2Y6bVjUMOeEm2ux-EjfslLNnV3rlEpe7DFgBoJY6A9o3KqVtNbycpzyePEHh1PfmFtg1QxRMExrVHCZLhG3zFmMZcImpR-pXErWxmsVuaI3Qg/s2048/20140706_152007.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5CavIAZLn1DjugR_nKJEMykY7TcQWWagqo1omcsAzvCcMwvhUNGtDvUPvjyC8cInfjIRJabE_nRawxe2Y6bVjUMOeEm2ux-EjfslLNnV3rlEpe7DFgBoJY6A9o3KqVtNbycpzyePEHh1PfmFtg1QxRMExrVHCZLhG3zFmMZcImpR-pXErWxmsVuaI3Qg/w300-h400/20140706_152007.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Deborah Fosbrook Adrian Laing Anthony Stadlen Hilary Mantel</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 205</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Sanity, Madness and the Family: Families of Schizophrenics</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">1. Maya Abbott and the Abbotts</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">50 years on</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">(Durrants Hotel, London, Sunday 6 July 2014.)</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hilary Mantel and Anthony Stadlen conducted Inner Circle Seminar No. 205, Laing and Esterson, <i>Sanity, Madness and the Family: Families of Schizophrenics.</i> <i>1. Maya Abbott and the Abbotts, 50 years on</i>, at Durrants Hotel, London, Sunday 6 July 2014.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hilary Mantel had just been made a Dame in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. The date of the seminar, 6 July, was also her own birthday. The message on the cake reads: ‘Happy Birthday Dame Hilary’.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">For more information:</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/2013/12/laing-esterson-1-abbotts-50-years-on.html</span></b></u></div></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">This seemingly straightforward book is </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">still</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> not understood today, especially by ‘professionals’. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">But the late Dame </span></span><strong><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">Hilary Mantel</span></strong><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">, who gained courage to become a novelist through reading it when she was nearly twenty-one, understood it. She urged readers: ‘Just read the simple words the people speak.’</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">In a series of twelve seminars starting ten years ago in 2014 we had a unique opportunity actually to </span></span><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">hear<b> </b></span></em><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">and discuss with </span></span><strong><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">Hilary Mantel</span></strong><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";"> herself ‘the simple words the people speak’, from Dr <b>Aaron </b></span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";"><b>Esterson</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">s tape-recordings</span><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";"> of his conversations with the families </span></span><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and from <b>Anthony Stadlen</b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">’s reports and recordings </span><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">of <i>his</i> 21st-century conversations with </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">surviving members of the family.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">In her first Reith lecture of 2017 </span></span><strong><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">Hilary Mantel </span></strong><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">discussed the relation between the historical novelist and the historian.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/03/hilary-mantel-why-i-became-a-historical-novelist" style="font-family: verdana;" title="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/03/hilary-mantel-why-i-became-a-historical-novelist"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/03/hilary-mantel-why-i-became-a-historical-novelist</b></span></a><br /><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></span><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">She brought to our seminars the unique genius of an historical novelist who saw more profoundly than the rest of us the implications of the known historical facts but did not present invention as history. Each seminar began with her wonderful reflections on what is given in the text of the book. She had no privileged access to the cases. She learned what <b>Stadlen</b> had discovered as an historian only as did the other seminar participants, when he reported or played recordings of his interviews with </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">five of the supposedly </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">schizophrenic</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> women and many of their surviving relatives in the twenty-first century, </span><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">and explored <b>Esterson</b></span></span><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">’</span></span><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">s original library of tape-recordings on which the book is based.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">Nine of the original eleven women diagnosed schizophrenic are now dead; but <b>Mantel</b></span><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";"> </span></span><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">recalled <b>W. H. Auden</b>:</span></span><br /><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">... the crack in the teacup opens</i></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>A lane to the land of the dead.</i></div></span></blockquote><span style="background-color: white;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; text-align: justify;">She could have also have quoted <b>T. S. </b></span><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">Eliot</b><span style="font-family: "verdana"; text-align: justify;">:</span></div></span><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>And what the dead had no speech for, when living,</i></div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">They can tell you, being dead: the communication</i></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living.</i></div></span></blockquote></div></div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana";">Why is this nowadays rarely read or even referenced book of 1964 so important? It is, after all, absent from almost all discussions either of </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">the family</span></span>’<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> or of </span></span>‘<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">schizophrenia</span></span>’<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">The extremely rare discussions of it patronise it, as if they had long passed beyond it; but without having begun to understand it, let alone catch up with it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">And yet it is so simple.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">It is true that <b>R. D. Laing</b></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> and <b>Aaron Esterson</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">s research, reported in this masterpiece of 1964 and continued by <b>Esterson</b> in his profound <b><i>The Leaves of Spring: A Study in the Dialectics of Madness</i></b><i> </i>(1970), was a concrete embodiment of the complex theoretical work of their most advanced and radical contemporaries of the 1960s: <b>Jean-Paul Sartre</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">s <i>Critique of Dialectical Reason</i>; <b>Thomas Szasz</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">s <i>The Myth of Mental Illness</i>; and <b>Martin Heidegger</b> and <b>Medard Boss</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">s <i>Zollikon Seminars </i>(although these were only published much later, and <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> knew only <b>Boss</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">s</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">s</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> earlier work).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><b>Sartre</b> wrote in praise of </span></span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’s work on families. </span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><b>Szasz </b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">respected <b>Esterson</b> and thought <b>Stadlen</b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">s research following up the eleven families important. </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> would probably have liked the book, though it is unlikely he knew it. It embodies that straightforward openness and humanity he tried to convey in his Zollikon seminars, though he might have asked: </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Why drag in <b>Sartre</b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">?</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’ </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">But almost all self-styled Daseinsanalysts and existential therapists</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">ignore and even disparage <b>Laing</b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> and </span><b>Esterson</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s quintessentially existential and phenomenological pioneering work</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">But the book is essentially simple. What did </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> say that was so simple: too simple for ‘professionals’ to understand?</span><br /><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">‘We believe that the shift of point of view that these descriptions both embody and demand has an historical significance no less radical than the shift from a demonological to a clinical viewpoint three hundred years ago.</i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Thus they introduced their great phenomenological descriptions of eleven families of ‘schizophrenics’. But, <i>sixty years on</i>, the ‘clinical viewpoint’ still reigns supreme. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘Existential’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘Freudian’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘Jungian’, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘Lacanian’, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘Laingian’, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘humanist’, ‘person-centred’ therapists and a galaxy of similarly impressively titled psychoanalysts and psychotherapists love to call themselves ‘clinicians’.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Today people demand ‘parity’ for ‘physical’ and ‘mental health’. This is well-intentioned but </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">mystifying, pseudo-scientific language.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Have </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> been proved wrong? They wrote:</span><br /><i style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: normal;">‘</span><i>Nobody can deny us the right to disbelieve in schizophrenia</i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">.’</span></blockquote></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Why, then, do most psychiatrists and psychotherapists claim </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> said ‘families cause schizophrenia’? They can not have understood, if they have ever remembered, if they have ever read, the first sentences of the second edition (1970) of the book:</span><br /><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">There have been many studies of mental illness and the family. This book is not of them, at least in our opinion</i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">.’</span></blockquote><b><span lang="CS" style="font-family: "verdana";">Hilary Mantel</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> wrote that ‘<i>the simple words the people speak</i>’ in <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b>’s book gave her, when twenty years old, the courage to write her own books, which have been internationally acclaimed. Her introductions to the seminars in our previous series that started ten years ago enthralled participants with their sensitive understanding of, and deeply perceptive insight into, each family in turn.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">As she wrote:</span><br /><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";"><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">‘</span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span lang="CS" style="font-family: "verdana";">Some of us need a little push, before we recognise we have the right to pick up a pen. In my case it came from a book by the psychiatrists <strong>R. D.</strong> <strong>Laing</strong> and<b> Aaron Esterson</b>, </span></i><b style="background-color: transparent;"><span lang="CS" style="font-family: "verdana";">Sanity, Madness and the Family</span></b><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span lang="CS" style="font-family: "verdana";">... The people in it seemed close enough to touch... Each interview is a novel or play in miniature. So many of these family conversations seemed familiar to me: their swerves and evasions, their doubleness... For most of my life I had been told that I didn't know how the world worked. That afternoon I decided I did know, after all. In the course of my twenty-one years I'd noticed quite a lot. If I wanted to be a writer, I didn't have to worry about inventing material, I'd already got it. The next stage was just to find some words.</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana";">’</span></blockquote><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana";"></span></div></span><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">Mantel</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">at least, had no difficulty understanding what <strong>Laing</strong> and <strong>Esterson </strong>were talking about:</span><br /><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">‘<em>All the patients profiled in the book are young women. I know their names are pseudonyms, but over the years I've wondered desperately what happened to them, and if there's anyone alive who knows, and whether any of them ever cut free from the choking knotweed of miscommunication and flourished on ground of their own: Ruth, who was thought odd because she wore coloured stockings; Jean, who wanted a baby though her whole family told her she didn't; and Sarah, whose breakdown, according to her family, was caused by too much thinking.</em></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">’</span></blockquote><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana;"><b><u>https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/sep/06/1</u></b></span><br /><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">Anthony Stadlen</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">, through his historical research, is able to answer some of <b>Hilary Mantel</b><i>’</i>s questions.</span><b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Laing</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> and <b>Esterson</b> wrote:</span><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘<i>Surely, if we are wrong, it would be easy to show that we are, by studying a few families and revealing that </i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">“</span><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">schizophrenics</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">”</span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"> </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">really are talking a lot of nonsense after all.</span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span></blockquote><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><b>Stadlen</b> accepted this challenge. He studied <i>the very same families they studied</i>. In this <i>third</i> subseries of Inner Circle Seminars devoted to them he will consider each family briefly in turn, focussing on two points:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">(1) Is there evidence for the view of the families and the diagnosing psychiatrists (<i>not</i> <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b>) that the daughters were </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">ill</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">, though most of the daughters disputed this?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">(2) Were the daughters </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">really </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">talking a lot of nonsense after all</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Stadlen</b>’s findings in these respects were negative. But the first text referenced in <i>Sanity, Madness and the Family</i> is <b>Thomas Szasz</b>’s <i>The Myth of Mental Illness</i> (1961). This – and even more, <b>Szasz</b>’s next book, <i>Law, Liberty, and Psychiatry</i> (1963), the subject of our Inner Circle Seminar No. 290 on 19 May – raises a third question:</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(3) Would the diagnosing psychiatrists </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(that is, </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">not</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> or </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">) </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">have had the moral (as opposed to legal) right to treat these youn</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span lang="CS" style="font-family: "verdana";">g women </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">compulsorily (as they did) </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">even if they <i>had </i>been ill, or to lock them up </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(as they did) </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">e</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ven if they <i>had</i> talked </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">nonsense</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">We shall also see the 1972 80-minute BBC TV film </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Space Between Words: Family</i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">, directed by Roger Graef, showing Esterson working with one family.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This will provide an opportunity for the film director <b>Yaara Sumeruk</b> to explain the film she is currently creating and directing, based on <i>Sanity, Madness and the Family</i> and <i>The Leaves of Spring.</i> She had a similar revelation to <b>Hilary Mantel</b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s when, a few years ago, she too discovered a dog-eared copy of the paperback of the former book, which changed her life.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">Your contribution to the dialogue will be warmly welcomed.</span><br /><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>This will</i></b></span><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b> be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></i></i></div></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175; </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">reductions for combinations of seminars;</span> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">some bursaries; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></div></div></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Apply to: </span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";">Tel:</span></i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"> +44 (0) 7809 433250 </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><i>E-mail:</i> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><a href="mailto:stadlen@aol.com"><span lang="DE">stadlenanthony@gmail.com</span></a></span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US">For further information on seminars, visit: </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></span><br /><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But they are independent of all institutes, schools, and universities.</span></span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-58936394587891603562023-01-01T12:01:00.060+00:002023-12-31T18:38:26.495+00:00Circling Round Reality. Raymond Tallis conducts Inner Circle Seminar 288 (10 December 2023)<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Circling Round Reality</span></span></span></span></b></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><p><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #0b5394;">Raymond Tallis</span></span></span></b></p><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">conducts </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">by Zoom</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">his </span><span style="background-color: #990000;"><span style="color: white;">tenth</span></span><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Inner Circle Seminar: No. 288</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">introduced by Anthony Stadlen</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Sunday 10 December 2023</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEqkbUEJBHIuVCx7zUxrp-8ozJhVZ7mb3yETKaxFp4ty07zHY_NqtNneHfuEW1IcUOuUyIKikbTRKZ32wNPQlNJdP4I677ntpR_kxJZtL1HxWHDzylH9eLus-zv9GvgEDBJ1sQwN3KEnyedN4zjtXOP12XelEAFWZBfiehh9kMdt3xcW-EEAeP9YAd3qju/s460/Raymond%20Tallis%202.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="460" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEqkbUEJBHIuVCx7zUxrp-8ozJhVZ7mb3yETKaxFp4ty07zHY_NqtNneHfuEW1IcUOuUyIKikbTRKZ32wNPQlNJdP4I677ntpR_kxJZtL1HxWHDzylH9eLus-zv9GvgEDBJ1sQwN3KEnyedN4zjtXOP12XelEAFWZBfiehh9kMdt3xcW-EEAeP9YAd3qju/w640-h384/Raymond%20Tallis%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Raymond Tallis</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">Raymond Tallis</b><span style="font-family: verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-align: justify;"> is one of our best-loved invited speakers. Today he conducts his <b><span style="color: #990000;">tenth</span> </b>Inner Circle Seminar, eleven years after his first </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">on</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"> 2 December 2012.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_3696575910632117737yiv9854659110gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">Professor<b> Tallis </b>has shown in nine profound Inner Circle Seminars that he is one of the world’s leading demystifiers of what he calls the ‘neuroscience delusion’ (‘neuromania’) and the ‘intellectual plague of biologism’ (‘animalism’). His ruthless, good-humoured exposure of reductive natural-scientism continues the tradition of <b>Heidegger</b> and <b>Szasz</b>, for example, but is utterly his own. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">The heart of the thinking, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">which has informed all his more than thirty books and all the seminars he has conducted for us, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">is in harmony with the underlying philosophy and <i>raison d'</i></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">ê</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>tre</i> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">of the Inner Circle Seminars as a whole. </span><span class="m_3696575910632117737yiv9854659110gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">Psychotherapists are free to choose to go on pretending to be ‘validated’ by ‘neuroscience’; but their work, such as it is, sometimes radically transforming and helpful, sometimes best passed over in silence, speaks for, or against, itself, as the case may be; and no pseudo-scientific ‘validation’, or </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">‘invalidation’,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">can disguise this.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">is one of the select few who affirms and advocates human language to depict and describe the human world and human relationships.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span>In his book <i>Logos </i></span><span>Professor </span><b>Tallis</b><span> exposes the absurdity of the argument that evolutionary biology or neuroscience show that our thinking is merely a function of our bodies-as-objects-for-science and therefore can have no truth-value of its own unless it is in some way itself derived from evolutionary biology or neuroscience, which are taken to be</span><span> ‘</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">objectively true<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">’</span>. But those sciences are themselves human creations, and therefore, by this argument, <i>not</i> ‘objectively true<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">’</span>. Professor <b>Tallis </b>remarks that those who use this argument are worthy successors of the Cretan of old who said all Cretans were liars.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Raymond Tallis</b> introduces his seminar today as follows:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><b><i>Circling Round Reality</i></b></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="color: #222222;">In this seminar, <b>Raymond Tallis</b> will examine the idea of reality as it has been explored by philosophers. He will begin by discussing the reasons why philosophers have traditionally believed that reality is hidden from us and that the main sources of knowledge of what there is – our sense experiences – only weave a ‘veil of appearance’ concealing what is there. He will then critically examine the claim that objective, quantitative, physical science will strip off the veil of appearance. Finally, he will challenge the idea that reality is hidden from us – by mobilising linguistic and existential arguments.</i></p></div></blockquote></span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">The heart of these seminars is dialogue, and it will of course be possible to argue in depth with Professor </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Tallis</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> if you disagree with any of his points or positions. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Raymond Tallis</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> is a philosopher, poet, novelist and cultural critic, and a retired physician and clinical neuroscientist. He ran a large clinical service in Hope Hospital Salford and an academic department in the University of Manchester. His research focussed on epilepsy, stroke, and neurological rehabilitation.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">He trained in medicine at Oxford University and at St Thomas</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’s Hospital </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">in London before going on to become Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Manchester and a consultant physician. He was an editor and major contributor to two key textbooks in the field, <i>The Clinical Neurology of Old Age</i> and <i>Textbook of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology</i>, and author of over 200 original scientific articles, mainly in clinical neuroscience, including papers in <i>Nature Medicine</i>, <i>Brain,</i> <i>Lancet</i>. In 2000, he was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in recognition of his contribution to medical research. Among many prizes, he was awarded the Lord Cohen Gold Medal for Research into Ageing. He played a key part in developing guidelines for the care of stroke patients in the UK. From 2011-14 he was Chair, Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying (HPAD). He was a member of the Council of Royal College of Physicians between 2016 and 2019. He is a member of the criteria-setting group for the UK Research Excellence Framework 2021 in philosophy.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He has published fiction, poetry, and 30 books on the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophical anthropology, and literary and cultural criticism. <i>Aping Mankind</i> (2010) was reissued in 2016 as a Routledge Classic. <i>Of Time and Lamentation. Reflections on Transience </i>(2017; 2019) a comprehensive inquiry into the nature of time was widely praised. <i>NHS SOS</i> (2012), co-edited with Jacky Davis, examined the destructive impact of Tory policies on the NHS. <i>Logos. An Essay on the Mystery of the Sense-Making Animal</i> was published in Spring 2018. His most recent volume of verse – <i>Sunburst</i> – was published in November 2019.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A series of eight seminars on Humanism given in the philosophy department of Charles University Prague, formed the basis of his book, published in 2020, <i>Seeing Ourselves. Reclaiming Humanity from God and Science</i>. A defence of free will – <i>Freedom. An Impossible Reality</i> – was published in May 2021 and an issue of the philosophy journal <i>Human Affairs </i>was devoted to it. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Professor </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Tallis</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> has based three Inner Circle Seminars on these books.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">His current projects include <i>Prague 22. A Book of Tenuous Connections</i> – which is a collection of essays; and <i>De Luce. Reflections on My Time in the Light</i> – a philosophical autobiography.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">In 2009, the <i>Economist Intelligent Life Magazine</i> described him as one of the world’s leading polymaths. The critic Stuart Kelly said of him in <i>Scotland on Sunday</i> in 2016 that </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">he is one of the very few contemporary thinkers whom I would unequivocally call a genius</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">. He has four honorary degrees: DLitt (Hull, 1997) and Litt.D. (Manchester, 2001) for contributions to the humanities; and DSc (St George’s Hospital Medical School, 2015; University of East Anglia, 2017) for contributions to research in medicine.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">For an account of how </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">writes his extraordinary books, see his article ‘My writing day: In my favourite pub, the staff turn down the speaker in my writing corner’, in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Guardian Review</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> of 29 April 2017:</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="m_3696575910632117737yiv9854659110MsoNormal" id="m_3696575910632117737yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1494695096392_3438" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"></div><u><u><span style="background: white; color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><span style="color: blue;"><strong><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-day-raymond-tallis&source=gmail&ust=1494845012979000&usg=AFQjCNFjQdPFjG32EYwtDTucgPQfNFHUvQ" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-day-raymond-tallis" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/<wbr></wbr>books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-<wbr></wbr>day-raymond-tallis</a></strong></span></span></u></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Nicholas Fearn</b> wrote in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Independent</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #281e1e;">When Kirsty Young was asked to name her favourite guest on Desert Island Discs, the rock star Paul Weller was beaten into second place, for her own luxury item would be the writer <b>Raymond Tallis</b>.</span></span></i></blockquote><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">,</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> </b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;">whose tenth Inner Circle Seminar this will be, kindly confirms that our seminar structure, in which dialogue is of the essence, enables him to communicate and reflect on his ideas. He wrote, after his first Inner Circle Seminar, <b><i>The Intellectual Plague of Biologism</i></b>, on 2 December 2012:</span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="background: white;">The seminar was for me an incredible experience. I have never previously had the opportunity to discuss the topics we covered in such depth with a group of people who came at it from such different angles but in a way that I found illuminating. I learned a lot. It was a tremendous privilege.</span></span></span></i></span></div></blockquote><p> </p><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>This will</i></b></span><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b> be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175</span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US">; </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">reductions for combinations of seminars;</span> </span>some bursaries; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></span></div></div></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Apply to: </span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";">Tel:</span></i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"> +44 (0) 7809 433250 </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><i>E-mail:</i> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><a href="mailto:stadlen@aol.com"><span lang="DE">stadlenanthony@gmail.com</span></a></span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US">For further information on seminars, visit: </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></span><br /><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But they are independent of all institutes, schools, and universities.</span></span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-1123622094462169742023-01-01T10:02:00.059+00:002023-10-14T21:45:04.278+01:00‘May you live to 120!’ Medard Boss (4 October 1903 – 21 December 1990). Anthony Stadlen conducts Inner Circle Seminar 287 (15 October 2023)<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">‘May you live to 120!’</span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Medard Boss</span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">(4 October 1903</span></strong><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;"> <strong style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">– </span></strong></span></b><strong style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">21 December 1990)</span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Boss and beyond:</span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">from Daseinsanalysis to Diahermeneutics</span></strong></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Ale<span style="text-align: left;">š<span> </span></span>Wotruba</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">conduct</span></b><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">by Zoom</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 287</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sunday 15 October 2023</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Z-VcZmoNjizmLnDK9E-pruGS_gPGnW8NuHIjdCIIJfHlB8UopabtzBk5G6DmwX0W-k6l1Dg7sg5vgKl_k9fJtDA1olowdnZFkWFOwcHkOmbrsRc-V7PCdN2K3PMPPDPPK2IM5j5dg8lODKc_XYMELfx96kE96kydF40gHE-eDWNrNxInZYElXpXlaX3G/s1381/Boss%201.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1381" data-original-width="965" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Z-VcZmoNjizmLnDK9E-pruGS_gPGnW8NuHIjdCIIJfHlB8UopabtzBk5G6DmwX0W-k6l1Dg7sg5vgKl_k9fJtDA1olowdnZFkWFOwcHkOmbrsRc-V7PCdN2K3PMPPDPPK2IM5j5dg8lODKc_XYMELfx96kE96kydF40gHE-eDWNrNxInZYElXpXlaX3G/w280-h400/Boss%201.JPG" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Medard Boss<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCf5QbvGhJKQYdWi9PMluNVDDf6NqZT7PB2aOHNq8GegeUxV9PVZdfippk6Qb-ZS9-wfpjZ9xkGs93J4EJU502kKrc6L7HaXlfICgFoIJOszu3QH8CHPLSm_e3JcEqzMcgRb7NUBa0hQKi6BgoMKSHgWEGVx6sdvaq-stsYHGBzq5zyqMNnySAGGNfQ2Xe/s1600/Alice2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1292" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCf5QbvGhJKQYdWi9PMluNVDDf6NqZT7PB2aOHNq8GegeUxV9PVZdfippk6Qb-ZS9-wfpjZ9xkGs93J4EJU502kKrc6L7HaXlfICgFoIJOszu3QH8CHPLSm_e3JcEqzMcgRb7NUBa0hQKi6BgoMKSHgWEGVx6sdvaq-stsYHGBzq5zyqMNnySAGGNfQ2Xe/w258-h320/Alice2.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Alice Holzhey-Kunz</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhaDwWjhdKYOtbwMKRUlAn5A593uurLfgQxxE1RcJ_7tt--3TwV_yqjZX4iZ4kKzkjq1pxKNONEPRxiCmG6ooHNfl9a1pcM11SUcuz1cLWHBEeqBlIB2H1WklISVl7fCSx5xIxpG9ZrpodgtiamWwc3dYOQTgcPzzUnfh6xAyapj1SQlJ_9uQJdo6VnIrR/s1127/Martti%20Siirala%201.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1127" data-original-width="786" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhaDwWjhdKYOtbwMKRUlAn5A593uurLfgQxxE1RcJ_7tt--3TwV_yqjZX4iZ4kKzkjq1pxKNONEPRxiCmG6ooHNfl9a1pcM11SUcuz1cLWHBEeqBlIB2H1WklISVl7fCSx5xIxpG9ZrpodgtiamWwc3dYOQTgcPzzUnfh6xAyapj1SQlJ_9uQJdo6VnIrR/w279-h400/Martti%20Siirala%201.JPG" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> Martti Siirala<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCyvzq6MZZTIFY-UVBKfs6b_JZn7rMdWY4R9e21qTaXOWf7mpKBxoIcMZUTM1XXEsnEJUp5M68Bd7ltrMXsSzIlU_7w71V14sqmgz5d3MrckTCDPDSbx5scdtGXCS23NiQD3_E8spUpfIPpV2RVDhByAuIAifnOiPsgoSYjOCmguXpIVbsOiEOgkdsp-o/s2376/Tom%20and%20Tony%20IMG_6661w.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1584" data-original-width="2376" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCyvzq6MZZTIFY-UVBKfs6b_JZn7rMdWY4R9e21qTaXOWf7mpKBxoIcMZUTM1XXEsnEJUp5M68Bd7ltrMXsSzIlU_7w71V14sqmgz5d3MrckTCDPDSbx5scdtGXCS23NiQD3_E8spUpfIPpV2RVDhByAuIAifnOiPsgoSYjOCmguXpIVbsOiEOgkdsp-o/w400-h266/Tom%20and%20Tony%20IMG_6661w.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Anthony Stadlen Thomas Szasz</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOsACo8D2JWkvkaypbCADPlP_eKAjfclpQ2Ij8VLyyibVR1SIuEtBqCBPLScUbc7mdua4dFysyj0mvSwgzntJOe3QHXiUmTDugPBbevdXw8uMAEACleL34OpK_f9YYN60hcA8wtRUjGQkeShqmIui7W-o011W-6m-IiFYyMJI5lAZLqhYFj1C_LuuD_vV/s800/ales%20wotruba%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOsACo8D2JWkvkaypbCADPlP_eKAjfclpQ2Ij8VLyyibVR1SIuEtBqCBPLScUbc7mdua4dFysyj0mvSwgzntJOe3QHXiUmTDugPBbevdXw8uMAEACleL34OpK_f9YYN60hcA8wtRUjGQkeShqmIui7W-o011W-6m-IiFYyMJI5lAZLqhYFj1C_LuuD_vV/w400-h266/ales%20wotruba%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;">Ale<span style="text-align: left;">š </span>Wotruba</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The fourth of October this year is the <i>120th anniversary</i> of the birth of </span><b>Medard Boss </b><span><span>(4 October 1903</span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"> <span style="text-align: left;"><span>– </span></span></span></span><span><span>21 December 1990)</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">who founded </span>‘<span style="font-family: verdana;">Daseinsanalysis</span>’<span style="font-family: verdana;"> as a form, roughly speaking, of existential psychoanalytic therapy grounded in the thinking of the philosopher <b>Martin Heidegger</b>, and worked out in collaboration with him; though all three words </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span>– </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">existential, psychoanalytic, therapy </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span>– </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">were rendered questionable by this thinking. (<b>Ludwig Binswanger</b> had already used the term </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Daseinsanalysis</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> to name his own method of psychiatric research, also intended to be grounded in <b>Heidegger</b></span>’s philosophy; but <span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Heidegger </b></span>insisted that <b>Binswanger</b> had to a significant extent misunderstood him.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We marked <b>Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span> <i>centenary year</i>, 2003, with two </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Inner Circle Seminar</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s; and his successor, <b>Gion Condrau</b>, was due to conduct a third seminar </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">on 26 October 2003, c</span>lose to the actual centenary, but was unable to do so due to illness. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Has thinking on </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> work </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">progressed in the last twenty years?<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first of the two 2003 seminars examined <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">two books on dreams. The second explored the relation between his thinking and that of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Thomas Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. This is how the two seminars were announced:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><strong><span><em></em></span></strong></span></span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><strong><span>Medard Boss, <em>The Analysis of Dreams</em> (1953), </span></strong></span></span><strong style="color: #990000; text-align: left;">50 Years On</strong></span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><strong style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 66, </span></strong><strong style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Sunday 16 March 2003</span></strong></span></p></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Medard Boss</b> was born a hundred years ago this October. Fifty years ago, he published <i>The Analysis of Dreams</i>, perhaps the most important twentieth-century book on dreams after<b> Freud</b>’s <i>The Interpretation of Dreams</i>. Written in collaboration with <b>Heidegger</b>, it asks the simple, profound question: ‘What if there are no dream symbols at all?’</span></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000;">Boss and Szasz o</span></span></span></strong><strong><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000;">n ‘Illness’</span></span></span></strong></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 68, </span></strong><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Sunday 22 June 2003</span></strong> </span></div></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the second of this year’s centenary seminars devoted to the work of <b>Medard Boss</b>, we explore the relation between his thinking and that of <b>Thomas Szasz</b>. For both, the concept of freedom is crucial. But they appear to have radically different concepts of ‘illness’. In <i>Existential Foundations of Medicine and Psychology</i> (1971), written in collaboration with <b>Heidegger</b>, <b>Boss</b> defines ‘illness’ as a restriction of Da-sein’s free possibilities. For him, ‘schizophrenia’, for example, while existing only in relation to a given social situation, is an ‘illness’ of Da-sein. <br /><br />For <b>Szasz</b>, this invalidates the ‘ill’ person as not responsible for his or her actions, and is a pretext for imprisoning the innocent a<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KHGEdvXa6ac/Sz_FOEhLAHI/AAAAAAAAAKg/W2OmEw40YuM/s1600-h/Szasz+2.JPG"></a>nd excusing the criminal. In his view, ‘illness’ can predicate only the body, not the ‘mind’, and is established by scientific medicine according to <b>Virchow</b>’s criteria. Are these positions in any way reconcilable? We examine key texts of both men, and seek an answer that will do justice to both.</span></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For more than three decades <b>Anthony Stadlen</b>, himself a Daseinsanalyst, the Independent Effective Member for the UK of the International Federation of Daseinsanalysis, has written, lectured, and conducte</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">d seminars proposing a balanced, non-idealising perspective: that <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s Daseinsanalysis is, on the one hand, in many respects refreshing and revolutionary, but, on the other hand, limited in two important ways, which we explored in the above two and many other seminars, particularly in the last few years.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">First, we have examined what the Finnish existential therapist <b>Martti Siirala</b> called the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">violent</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">absolutist</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">assumption that the Daseinsanalyst has direct, unmediated access to phenomena and has the task of teaching this to the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">incorrectly</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> seeing analysand (see, <i>e.g.</i>,<i> </i>Inner Circle Seminars Nos. 63 [24 November 2002], 159 [23 January 2011], 278 [22 January 2023]).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Second, we have exposed the fact, and the consequences of the fact, that both <b>Boss</b> and his teacher <b>Martin Heidegger</b> appear to have assumed without question that Daseinsanalysis should be, and is, a <i>medical</i> discipline, concerned with </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mental health</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mental illness</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, despite </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s having </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in 1953 </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">answered, with a decisive </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">No</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">his own question </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is the madman mentally ill?</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, thus in some ways anticipating <b>Thomas Szasz</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s paper </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Myth of Mental Illness</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1960) by seven years, as we shall discuss in Inner Circle Seminar No. 284, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is the madman mentally ill?</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Szasz</b> himself </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">asked just what <b>Boss</b> <i>meant </i>by his question, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘What if there are no dream symbols at all?’ </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">endorsed <b>Stadlen</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> critique of <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> project of medical Daseinsanalysis;</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but, when <b>Stadlen</b> lamented that this project was an unnecessary and contingent flaw of Daseinsanalysis, <b>Szasz</b> retorted that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">it was </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>necessary</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’, in the sense that it could not be so easily corrected,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">given <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> commitment to this medical ideology.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">See: </span></p><ul style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><a href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/medicaldaseinsanalysis-anthonystadlen-i.html"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">‘Medical Daseinsanalysis’ (January 2005)</span></b></a></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Szasz</b> also wrote that <b>Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span> apparent assurance to his patient </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dr </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Cobling</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">recalled by her in a letter reproduced </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in his book <i>Psychoanalysis and Daseinsanalysis</i> (1962), that he would be available 24 hours a day to come round to her home and feed her from a baby</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> bottle, as he did on occasion, was a </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">sham</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’. However, <b>Stadlen</b>’s research on the case did show that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dr </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Cobling</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, who wrote her own account of her therapy with <b>Boss</b>, was deeply grateful for the radical transformation she said it enabled her to undergo, resulting in greatly enhanced autonomy and spiritual fulfilment.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Bos</b><b style="font-family: verdana;">s</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">close colleague and successor </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Gion </b><b style="font-family: verdana;">Condrau</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, as well as the highly original, independent, and level-headed Daseinsanalyst <b>Erna Hoch</b>, who had worked for many years as a psychiatrist in India, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">collaborated with </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Stadlen</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in revealing </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span> writings </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">contradictions and what might be euphemistically called, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in the language of psychiatry, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">confabulations</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ or, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in the language of literature, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">poetic licence</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’. Everything suggests that these were deliberate distortions, intended to produce a desired impression, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">for instance about his time in psychoanalysis with <b>Freud</b>,<b> </b>and about his discipleship in Kashmir with his guru <b>Gobind Kaul</b>, who was also the guru of <b>Hoch</b>;<b> </b>as well as about the superiority of Daseinsanalysis to Freudian and Jungian analysis. <b>Condrau</b> bluntly called his senior colleague a </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">fantasis</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">t</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. However, <b>Condrau</b>, <b>Hoch</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, and <b>Stadlen</b> all </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">acknowledged <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s admirable qualities. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These and other questions about <b>Boss </b>are still scarcely acknowledged </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">by most Daseinsanalysts, although <b>Alice Holzhey-Kunz</b>, from early on dissatisfied with daseinsanalytic orthodoxy, started an independent school of Daseinsanalysis in Zurich, still a member of the International Federation of Daseinsanalysis (IFDA). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These complexities should not obscure the fact that, as well as his now deceased paradigmatic patients Dr <b>Cobling</b> and <b>Regula</b> <b>Z</b></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ü</b></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>rcher</b> (also researched by <b>Stadlen</b>), there are patients, supervisees, students, and colleagues of <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s still alive today who also testify that they remain profoundly grateful to him, while being clear-sighted about his limitations.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One such important witness is Dr </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">Ale</span><span style="font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">š </span><span style="text-align: center;"><b>Wotruba</b> of Prague, who attended some of the last Zollikon seminars conducted by <b>Heidegger</b>, and had a personal Daseinsanalysis and subsequent supervision with <b>Boss</b>. Today he will honour us with his memories and reflections on <b>Boss </b>and the questions we are raising.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today we continue to value <b>Boss</b> for the authentic freshness of his innovations and for his stature as a therapist (in 1971 he won the Great Therapist Award of the American Psychological Association), while declining to engage in the widespread idealisation of him by Daseinsanalysts. We shall continue investigating the dialectic between the approaches of <b>Boss</b> and <b>Heidegger</b> and those of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Holzhey-Kunz<span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Siirala</b>, <b>Stadlen</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Szasz</b>,<b> Wotruba</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">This will mean extending our recent investigation of <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s decades-long suspicion of dialectic itself, and of how this appears to limit his and <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s teaching in the Zollikon seminars and elsewhere. We repeat our suggestion made in recent seminars and conferences that these restrictions might be remedied by recalling <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> fleeting reference in 1919 to </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Diahermeneutics</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">which he never pursued. We shall continue to ask whether, and how, Daseinsanalysis as conceived by <b>Boss </b>and <b>Condrau </b>might be welcomed and affirmed but also developed and transcended as <i>Diahermeneutics</i>. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>This will </i></b></span><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b>be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i> </i>Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175;</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b> </b>some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></p><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i>Tel:</i> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>E-mail:</i> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></i></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">For further information on seminars, visit: </i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: xx-large; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></strong></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></span></span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-73678211679534390952023-01-01T10:01:00.084+00:002024-03-03T21:20:26.032+00:001920s-born existential therapists. 3. Aaron Esterson. The Dialectics of Madness. Anthony Stadlen conducts Inner Circle Seminar 286 with William Hopkins (1 October 2023)<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: xx-large;"></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Existential therapists born in the 1920s</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Centenary seminars</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>3. </b><b>Aaron Esterson</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">25 September 1923 <strong style="background-color: transparent; color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">– </span></strong>15 April 1999</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">The Dialectics of Madness</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">conducts</span></b><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">by Zoom</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 286</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>with the help of William Hopkins</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sunday 1 October 2023</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br /></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9LT4iTD_VoF_udQ6FbAaxJicPHGqkfM3RnfZH-Nk_iD8dhDmsjb-u35kER1BP4im7h1YJ_1HUJE7Q-D4nmhCdlj015qyio1W07-z99rFVTdF017MPsr3rs409Oc0rtzrM3cN4UnfodQG6K0OinUBLTbLiM4jgDbFTt9G_ninj8TtR32ePnMWPTjyZtjC/s466/EstersonSMF.JPG" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9LT4iTD_VoF_udQ6FbAaxJicPHGqkfM3RnfZH-Nk_iD8dhDmsjb-u35kER1BP4im7h1YJ_1HUJE7Q-D4nmhCdlj015qyio1W07-z99rFVTdF017MPsr3rs409Oc0rtzrM3cN4UnfodQG6K0OinUBLTbLiM4jgDbFTt9G_ninj8TtR32ePnMWPTjyZtjC/w233-h320/EstersonSMF.JPG" width="233" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Aaron Esterson<br />1960s</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAAqbh1tT9T8YMsijjkL5QtgAox-bi1ETBpN1VJOFKBlhZ8tzKYOgJK0X8L883GXVnelo9YnFMpxO4-A9cCDv_q9oT32NaYuevy3F0h1LHmGzwK4tXNZtH4go7KFRl3Eo0mTExoxDMtHePKjG-iqW3rS7f0thDZObm02ntNrWpVYH2v_mDu3izzUXAZSI/s574/Esterson%20colour%20head%20and%20shoulders.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="546" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAAqbh1tT9T8YMsijjkL5QtgAox-bi1ETBpN1VJOFKBlhZ8tzKYOgJK0X8L883GXVnelo9YnFMpxO4-A9cCDv_q9oT32NaYuevy3F0h1LHmGzwK4tXNZtH4go7KFRl3Eo0mTExoxDMtHePKjG-iqW3rS7f0thDZObm02ntNrWpVYH2v_mDu3izzUXAZSI/w304-h320/Esterson%20colour%20head%20and%20shoulders.JPG" width="304" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Aaron Esterson<br />1990s</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><strong>Aaron Esterson</strong> (25 September 1923 – 15 April 1999) was one of the world’s greatest existential analysts. See obituaries by <b>Anthony Stadlen</b> in <i>The Daily Telegraph</i> and<i> Existential Analysis</i>:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/obituary-aaron-esterson-daily-telegraph.html" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: verdana; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; text-indent: -15px;">Aaron Esterson. Obituary. Daily Telegraph (3 August 1999)</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><li style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><a href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/aaron-esterson-25-september-1923-15.html" style="color: #336699;">Aaron Esterson. Obituary. Existential Analysis (January 2000)</a></li></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Esterson</b>’s father <b>Julius</b> emigrated in 1916 to Glasgow from the Jewish community of Horodyshche, in the Cerkassy region of Ukraine. At that time there were about 3500 Jews in Horodyshche. A hundred years later, in 2016, there were 10. There had been horrific pogroms in 1919, 1920, and 1941, the former perpetrated by Ukrainians, the latter by Nazi occupiers and Ukrainian police in collaboration.</span><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Rogovoy, a member of the Boguslav self-defense unit, describes the pogrom in Horodyshche in September 1920 in terrible detail. It was organized by ataman Golyi. “As a result of bandits’ efforts, there are up to 500 killed, 250 wounded, and several women raped. The wild fury of the roaring crowd didn’t spare even babies. There are mutilated dead bodies in town because the victims were not shot but slaughtered with knives and cudgels. All local hospitals are filled with women raped, many of them fatally.</i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">See: </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><b><u>https://jewua.org/horodyshche</u></b>/</span></span></div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[NB (13 November 2023). A remarkably similar pogrom, but on more than twice the scale, and with even greater ferocity and efficiency, was conducted by Hamas in Israel on 7 October 2023, six days after this seminar.] </span></span></div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div><b style="color: #333333;">Julius </b><span style="color: #333333;">died when </span><b style="color: #333333;">Aaron</b><span style="color: #333333;"> was fourteen months old. </span><b style="color: #333333;">Aaron</b><span style="color: #333333;">, as a child, experienced great poverty, sometimes warming himself from the air currents through gratings of shops.</span></div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div><span style="color: #333333;">This family history undoubtedly sensitised </span><b style="color: #333333;">Esterson</b><span style="color: #333333;"> from an early age to what human beings can do to other human beings.</span></div></span></ul></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><b>Esterson </b>reported his pioneering research interviews with families of ‘schizophrenic’ women in his books <em>Sanity, Madness and the Family: Families of Schizophrenics</em> (1964, with <strong>R. D. Laing</strong>) and <em>The Leaves of Spring: A Study in the Dialectics of Madness</em> (1970). </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He also developed a dialectical method of existential psychotherapy and family therapy.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nearly all readers bring to these books unexamined scientistic, medicalistic, psychologistic presuppositions. Existentially, most readers, including ‘existential’ readers, are misreaders: in effect, non-readers. They assume that the books claim that family interactions contribute to the ‘aetiology’ of the supposed ‘illness’, ‘schizophrenia’. </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> repeatedly explicitly insist that this is not what they are saying. They emphasise that they disbelieve in ‘schizophrenia’. But this is not noticed. Or, if it is, it is disbelieved. For how could </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> Esterson</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">mean</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> something so mad?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In earlier cycles of Inner Circle Seminars devoted to the families in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sanity, Madness and the Family</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, as in our seminars on the work of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Thomas Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, many participants attending for the first time have found it difficult to grasp the simple point that some people seriously disbelieve in ‘schizophrenia’. It serves as a ‘sacred symbol of psychiatry’, as </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> pointed out in his book</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> Schizophrenia: The Sacred Symbol of </i><i style="font-family: verdana;">Psychiatry</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1976): something in which, for example, that overwhelming majority of psychotherapists who regard themselves as ‘mental health professionals’ can hardly dare to disbelieve if they are to keep their identities and jobs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nobody seems to notice that the preface to the second edition of </span><em style="font-family: verdana;">Sanity, Madness and the Family</em><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1970) begins:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="margin: 1em 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span><i>There have been many studies of mental illness and the family. This book is not of them, at least in our opinion. But it has been taken to be so by many people.</i><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span></span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nobody seems to notice that the first reference to another book in the first edition of the book (1964) is to <b>Szasz</b>’s <i>The Myth of Mental Illness</i> (1961), and to <b>Szasz</b>’s argument that a person should be presumed healthy unless proven sick, as in law they should be presumed innocent unless proven guilty.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nobody seems to notice that, when </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> write of social intelligibility, they are referring to the social intelligibility, not of the fact of illness, but of the </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">presumption</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> of illness.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That a person should be presumed healthy unless proven sick does not imply nobody is sick, any more than that a person should be presumed innocent unless proven guilty implies nobody is guilty.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Esterson</b> wrote, at the conclusion of his case study of </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><b>Rosie</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in his posthumously published paper, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Affirmation of Experience</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">(2014):</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left; text-indent: 14.2pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.2pt;">What has happened, you might ask, to all those signs of madness, all those so-called clinical features of schizophrenia? In my view, <b>Rosie</b> was never mad. She was being driven frantic with despair. Psychiatry cannot discriminate between being mad and being frantic as if one is mad. I am not saying there is no such occurrence as madness. I am not claiming all behaviour deemed mad is a rational or socially intelligible response to how others are acting towards one. In my experience, some people are mad by any test I know. But, what has this to do with a disease of the mind, in the psychiatric sense, if there is no demonstrable, relevant tissue damage or dysfunction? In far more cases than is generally recognised, if these people are studied in their relevant, current social and interpersonal contexts by a phenomenologically appropriate method, it will be found that they are being invalidated and driven mad, albeit unwittingly, or driven frantic as if they are mad, by others including, I regret to say, psychiatrists themselves.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left; text-indent: 14.2pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.2pt;">In my view, psychiatry as a branch of medicine is a snare and a delusion. I believe its methods, based on this delusion, are completely misconceived. In my opinion, we need to start afresh, and look again at the people who come within the purview of psychiatrists. We need a new science, a science of persons and social situations. And we need a new profession of existential analysts, counsellors and guides that subsumes and depasses psychiatry. This profession should systematically study and seek to understand the structure of human experience, the nature of misexperience and the intricacies of human relationships. And it should espouse appropriate principles and develop appropriate methods.</span></p></i></span></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">See <a href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/the-affirmation-of-experience.html" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; text-align: left; text-indent: -15px;"><b>The Affirmation of Experience. By Aaron Esterson (January 2014)</b></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This makes clear that, also, a person should be presumed sane unless proven mad. And a person who is mad should not be presumed to be ill. The philosopher <b>Martin Heidegger</b> emphasised this </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">when, in 1953, he asked </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is the madman mentally ill?</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ and answered </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">with a decisive </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">No</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’. This was </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">seven years before <b>Szasz</b>’s paper </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Myth of Mental Illness</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1960) and eleven years before <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s book </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sanity, Madness and the Family </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">(1964). W</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">e shall discuss this in Inner Circle Seminar No. 293 on 14 July.</span></p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Mental illness</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, as <b>Szasz</b> demonstrates, is a myth, a metaphor, a mistake. And if some </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">schizophrenics</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">should turn out to have an actual illness, a brain disease, then </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">that</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">– not a </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘m</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">ental illness</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">– </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">i</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s what they would have: the province of neurologists, not psychiatrists. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;">Today, as always, we shall read <strong>Esterson</strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;">s writings from this perspective. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;">We shall also watch the 1972 BBC television film </span><em style="font-family: verdana;">The Space Between Words: Family, </em><span style="font-family: verdana;">directed by </span><strong style="font-family: verdana;">Roger</strong><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><strong style="font-family: verdana;">Graef</strong><span style="font-family: verdana;">. It reveals how </span><strong style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</strong><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s work with the different subsets of the family of a young teenage boy elicits and makes sense of the history of family interactions that has led to his despairing petty stealing which risks his being formally diagnosed as a ‘juvenile delinquent’.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">See:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><ul style="background-color: white; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><li style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><a href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/the-space-between-words-family-roger.html"><b><span style="color: #336699; font-family: verdana;">The Space between Words: Family. Roger Graef’s 1972 film for BBC2 of Aaron Esterson’s work with a family</span></b></a></li></ul></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The writings and the film give some idea of </span><strong style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</strong><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;">s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">highly original practice and thinking, which exemplify and embody what, as in the passage quoted above, he called a </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">new profession</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, radically different from clinical, coercive psychiatry and the confused psychotherapy that is its handmaiden.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</strong><span style="font-family: verdana;"> regarded his work as </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;">complementary to that of </span><strong style="font-family: verdana;">Szasz</strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;">, who was his friend and colleague. But he thought his erstwhile colleagues <strong>R. D. Laing</strong> and <strong>David Cooper</strong> had frivolously betrayed and romanticised the serious work that needed to be done.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</strong><span style="font-family: verdana;"> also inspired, discussed in depth, and supervised the early stages of </span><strong style="font-family: verdana;">Anthony Stadlen</strong><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s historical research on the paradigm case studies of </span><strong style="font-family: verdana;">Freud</strong><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, and other psychoanalysts and psychotherapists; and, with <b>Mini Gelbard </b>(now <b>Kopilov</b>), on the psychological techniques by which the Nazis mystified their victims in the Holocaust.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;">Today</span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> seminar will also serve as an introduction to our third subseries, starting in April, of twelve Inner Circle Seminars over a few years devoted to a systematic investigation of each in turn of the eleven families in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sanity, Madness and the Family</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and to </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Stadlen</b><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> twenty-first-century historical follow-up research on the supposedly ‘schizophrenic</span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><wbr style="font-family: verdana;"></wbr><span style="font-family: verdana;">women and their families.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This time, the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">novelist Dame </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Hilary Mantel</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, who died last year, will no longer be able (as in our second subseries a decade ago) to introduce each family in her inimitable way. But the New York film director </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Yaara Sumeruk</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, who will participate today, is directing </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in consultation with </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Stadlen </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">an extraordinary film-in-progress based closely on the eleven families</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, will be making her own unique contribution to our new subseries. (All identifying features of families have, of course, been removed.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dr <b>William Hopkins</b>, a consultant psychiatrist and existential psychotherapist who was trained by and worked with <b>Esterson</b>, will also discuss <b>Esterson</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s contribution in depth in today</span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s seminar.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;">In the Inner Circle Seminars we have repeatedly explored how to integrate <b>Esterson</b><span style="color: black;">’</span><span style="color: black;">s </span>work with the best of Daseinsanalysis. Daseinsanalysis, psychotherapy, and the dialectics of sanity and madness might thereby become <i>diahermeneutics</i> (an early, but abandoned, term of <b>Martin Heidegger</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">We shall continue to develop this idea today and in the coming seminars. Your contribution will be warmly welcomed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b>This will be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">Cost:</i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><i> </i>Psychotherapy trainees £140</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">, others £175,</span><b style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"> </b><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i>Tel:</i> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>E-mail:</i> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></i></div><div><i style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">For further information on seminars, visit: </i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/"><b>http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</b></a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></span></span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-45295650220735899942023-01-01T09:01:00.213+00:002024-03-13T01:16:17.837+00:00Heidegger’s Last Seminar (6-8 September 1973). A 50th-anniversary exploration. Inner Circle Seminar 285 (10 September 2023)<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><strong style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;"><span>Heidegger</span></strong><strong><span><span><span style="color: #990000;">’</span></span></span></strong><strong style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;"><span>s Last Seminar</span></strong></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><strong style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">in his home in </span></span></span></strong></span><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Zähringen, Freiburg</span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">6-8 September 1973</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">A 50th-anniversary exploration</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen</span></b></span></div></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">conducts</span></b><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">by Zoom</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 285</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sunday 10 September 2023</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"> </span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b></b></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKb4VDTweJqiDQEwwjot1iaQU2cS5vjcmT7IGuXii-ClH4e9zZd7IA3oq8jG1Y__jrrjBS6ysOaAlv74jzqR5EriM8wSAqGqVkjMkq33Bo_Q0yzDMy11Oy0KYKsTrllwMoJkwixf0Tvl6ayk-twX1UzuRrw4S1f5aQwQGlTvHHTqE4eupvNJ6ha6_x1Nzo/s4032/IMG_0635.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKb4VDTweJqiDQEwwjot1iaQU2cS5vjcmT7IGuXii-ClH4e9zZd7IA3oq8jG1Y__jrrjBS6ysOaAlv74jzqR5EriM8wSAqGqVkjMkq33Bo_Q0yzDMy11Oy0KYKsTrllwMoJkwixf0Tvl6ayk-twX1UzuRrw4S1f5aQwQGlTvHHTqE4eupvNJ6ha6_x1Nzo/w300-h400/IMG_0635.HEIC" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Saint Nepomuk, Zähringen, June 2019<br />The bridge saint Heidegger mentions in his 1950 lecture<br /><i>Bauen Wohnen Denken </i>(<i>Building Dwelling Thinking</i>)<i><br /></i>Photograph copyright Anthony Stadlen</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZVJTbbFf67zhUfIaiOWTZeMi9SAigXz5x63LMJ9Anv_8YTLcqw9BquZ5mF5ewlTNif_7uk3rgFqg26nwmyfKsW_pOseVuU8Y0JrCQXxqUqHYiRNRdH03ZRIaCE7SBiHJ5Z_PROMAIb18g9thjF3PvdCLWoFrz5eLL1_FRNb8rOs4SbQW8oz7rXpbNXPWg/s4032/IMG_2733.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZVJTbbFf67zhUfIaiOWTZeMi9SAigXz5x63LMJ9Anv_8YTLcqw9BquZ5mF5ewlTNif_7uk3rgFqg26nwmyfKsW_pOseVuU8Y0JrCQXxqUqHYiRNRdH03ZRIaCE7SBiHJ5Z_PROMAIb18g9thjF3PvdCLWoFrz5eLL1_FRNb8rOs4SbQW8oz7rXpbNXPWg/w300-h400/IMG_2733.HEIC" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Martin Heidegger</span><br /><span>Le Thor, 1966</span><br /><span>Photograph copyright estate of </span><span style="text-align: justify;">François Fédier</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvOjFYkOe69KnQIUoWv9WkitewsK2YlFMAc_zSIV8LbPI9qZzFYdSYmkYquEQMG0Rf31wi2Dr_UKN9X0H1_OJowo9P80J4XZG60TOZRcJOeVVkYtYIH8ctRqIKk_I47diw9CNmzlws5rcZ30fsz2j88wFlup_5bN9alwuUVRz4YxhqSZm6gVbkNIwmV1q/s1377/barbara%20cassin%20heidegger%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1377" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvOjFYkOe69KnQIUoWv9WkitewsK2YlFMAc_zSIV8LbPI9qZzFYdSYmkYquEQMG0Rf31wi2Dr_UKN9X0H1_OJowo9P80J4XZG60TOZRcJOeVVkYtYIH8ctRqIKk_I47diw9CNmzlws5rcZ30fsz2j88wFlup_5bN9alwuUVRz4YxhqSZm6gVbkNIwmV1q/w400-h194/barbara%20cassin%20heidegger%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Barbara Cassin and Martin Heidegger<br />Le Thor, September 1969<br />Photograph copyright estate of <span style="text-align: justify;">François Fédier</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYu1xhwPu02LasLQ8z3-GT6oGkflG5no-U-tE7_8NVTZNTzRxEIhqXHO0AR3pGZECOz3EUMvTBSSoy2iTcyv4gYzJaAGhnTcBh4-KfPKtLrgmNxYLOPcyxq1w7ZTEVYwlvu88Rggpg2-iMHJGgXIEKbK-oqowxqXeFMa7F_2qpsdHaj16TaHAOUzm-Vzj/s4032/IMG_2802.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYu1xhwPu02LasLQ8z3-GT6oGkflG5no-U-tE7_8NVTZNTzRxEIhqXHO0AR3pGZECOz3EUMvTBSSoy2iTcyv4gYzJaAGhnTcBh4-KfPKtLrgmNxYLOPcyxq1w7ZTEVYwlvu88Rggpg2-iMHJGgXIEKbK-oqowxqXeFMa7F_2qpsdHaj16TaHAOUzm-Vzj/w400-h300/IMG_2802.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Henri-Xavier Mongis and Martin Heidegger<br />Zähringen, 1972<br />Photograph copyright Henri-Xavier Mongis</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyE2z8zzosQzTE0aID4PSEu64_5eXN-NNsOn8yiq_2HO1Kh07BYb8apjvtXi2GWp8DdvGhr5JR143SnDE0q-l8ctHcKUX9pMcgcSOsz7ogLzT0KwIVtSvLBH601co7N8Uytrn8eCjVL7vUedGNJVX0yORQeu6rfuiIYbyhRdCZMBdrXviN-uHB-T52dzK/s4032/IMG_0690.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyE2z8zzosQzTE0aID4PSEu64_5eXN-NNsOn8yiq_2HO1Kh07BYb8apjvtXi2GWp8DdvGhr5JR143SnDE0q-l8ctHcKUX9pMcgcSOsz7ogLzT0KwIVtSvLBH601co7N8Uytrn8eCjVL7vUedGNJVX0yORQeu6rfuiIYbyhRdCZMBdrXviN-uHB-T52dzK/w300-h400/IMG_0690.HEIC" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Professor Dr. Friedrich-Wilhelm von Herrmann<br />in the porch of Heidegger<span>’</span>s home in Zähringen<br />Sunday 30 June 2019<br /><span>Photograph copyright Anthony Stadlen</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUyasrqw4bU-_LGuzGZ26O5fjv4f2cUozlckFSByveL8yi2bEdJ5SWJ_jTqR73mEEZxLKHBFRKf-0ZmtAd0u3Nycqqbh6kDZqa1plEkvZEzaMuPpt3Xk6FNdwNRqf27rIBm9HE3ur70MgmIUji2YcgIPKzCjNOj6DvVjZ2Nn8GZl87OGTj_GgYlkN9DOH/s4032/IMG_0698.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUyasrqw4bU-_LGuzGZ26O5fjv4f2cUozlckFSByveL8yi2bEdJ5SWJ_jTqR73mEEZxLKHBFRKf-0ZmtAd0u3Nycqqbh6kDZqa1plEkvZEzaMuPpt3Xk6FNdwNRqf27rIBm9HE3ur70MgmIUji2YcgIPKzCjNOj6DvVjZ2Nn8GZl87OGTj_GgYlkN9DOH/w400-h300/IMG_0698.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Inside Heidegger</span><span>’</span><span>s home in Zähringen<br />with glimpse of the old-age cottage in the garden<br /></span></span><span><span style="font-size: medium;">Sunday 30 June 2019<br />Photograph copyright Anthony Stadlen<br /></span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWmvkjIcMBGre5zpGu8_xDbSe0ziJFvhku-9f7_6ujbkEk-NxdCCdH5ZvTMMFkmRygQLGv7z5qIn7GTVwQca1vvvzIbNa6rPN1gT8v5_yBmFlfHpuitks3J6TW7_hZMat12eDtKm88uI97hX1Zx-Jglaw_4lDpyWYvOkGxHMZzrR64g8bva0n8iOo1pp4/s697/Heidegger's%20cottage.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="697" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWmvkjIcMBGre5zpGu8_xDbSe0ziJFvhku-9f7_6ujbkEk-NxdCCdH5ZvTMMFkmRygQLGv7z5qIn7GTVwQca1vvvzIbNa6rPN1gT8v5_yBmFlfHpuitks3J6TW7_hZMat12eDtKm88uI97hX1Zx-Jglaw_4lDpyWYvOkGxHMZzrR64g8bva0n8iOo1pp4/w400-h300/Heidegger's%20cottage.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">Heidegger<span>’</span><span>s old-age cottage<br />(in the garden of his home in Zähringen)<br />where his last seminar took place 6-8 September 1973<br /></span>Sunday 30 June 2019</span><br style="font-size: large;" /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Photograph </span><span>copyright Anthony Stadlen</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Martin Heidegger</b> held his last seminar on Thursday 6, Friday 7, and Saturday 8 September 1973, from 3.30 p.m. to 6 p.m.each day, in the cottage he and his wife <b>Elfride</b> built for their old age in the garden of their house in Zähringen, Freiburg, with money raised by selling the manuscript of <i>Being and Time. </i>House and cottage, as well as <b>Heidegger</b><span style="text-align: center;">’</span>s famous mountain hut, were all designed by <b>Elfride</b>, who advised the architect. <b>Heidegger</b> was nearly 84. He died in May 1976, aged 86. <b>Elfride </b>died in 1992, aged 99.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other five participants were French philosophers or philosophy students: <b>Jean Beaufret</b>, <b>François Fédier</b>, <b>Henri-Xavier Mongis</b>, <b>Jacques Taminiaux</b>, and <b>François Vezin</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Only one of the five, the youngest, is still alive: Professor <b>Henri-Xavier Mongis</b>, who was a 23-year-old philosophy student at the time. He cannot participate in today<span style="text-align: center;">’</span>s seminar but has kindly provided much information for it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Professor <b>Barbara Cassin</b>, present as a philosophy student of 22 at <b>Heidegger</b><span style="text-align: center;">’</span>s previous seminar for his French colleagues in 1969 in Le Thor on the banks of the Sorgue in Provence, is now herself a world-famous philosopher and philologist. She also can not participate today, but sends her best wishes. </div></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This last seminar of <b>Heidegger</b><span style="text-align: center;">’s recapitulates, refines, and renews themes which he had explored from the time of his earliest lectures more than fifty years earlier. A number of these themes are relevant to the practice of psychotherapy.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">For example, in many of his lectures </span><span style="text-align: center;">over the decades, as well as in the Zollikon seminars, <b>Heidegger</b> had asked his listeners to </span>‘<span style="text-align: center;">make-present</span><span style="text-align: center;">’</span><span style="text-align: center;"> a familiar place, such as the Freiburg Cathedral or the Z</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;">ü</span><span style="text-align: center;">rich main railway station, and then tried to </span><span style="text-align: center;">draw from them an admission that what they </span>‘<span style="text-align: center;">made-present</span><span style="text-align: center;">’</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">was not an image, not a representation, in their </span>‘<span style="text-align: center;">heads</span><span style="text-align: center;">’</span><span style="text-align: center;">, but the place itself. (We have repeated this exercise in several Inner Circle Seminars.) On the second day of this last seminar <b>H</b></span><span style="text-align: center;"><b>ei</b></span><span style="text-align: center;"><b>degger</b> once again asks: </span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">‘<i><span style="text-align: center;">When, in my memory, I think of [his friend, the poet] <b>Ren</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;"><b>é </b></span><b>Char</b> at the Busclats [<b>Char</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">’s</span><span style="text-align: center;"> home in Provence, which <b>Heidegger</b> loved], who or what is thereby given to me? </span><b style="text-align: center;"><b>Ren</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><b>é</b></span> Char</b><span style="text-align: center;"> himself! And not God knows what </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span>“</span></span><span style="text-align: center;">image</span><span style="text-align: center;"><span>”</span></span><span style="text-align: center;"> through which I would be mediately related to him.</span></i><span style="text-align: center;">’</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">This is so simple, says <b>Heidegger</b>, that it is extremely difficult to explain philosophically.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"><b>Heidegger</b> is here explaining, in response to a question from <b>Beaufret</b>, how his own thinking differs from <b>Edmund Husserl</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">’</span><span style="text-align: center;">s. He points out that both started from the philosopher <b>Franz</b> <b>Brentano</b>, but from different books of his: <b>Husserl</b> from <i>Psychology from the Empirical Standpoint </i>and <b>Heidegger </b>from <i>On the Manifold Meaning of Being in Aristotle</i>. </span><b style="text-align: center;">Heidegger</b><span style="text-align: center;">’s single-minded </span><span style="text-align: center;">quest, since being lent this book by a teacher when he was 18, had been to answer the question: What is <i>the</i> fundamental meaning of Being?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">He does not discuss this question in the light of <b>Ludwig Wittgenstein</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">’</span><span style="text-align: center;">s</span><span style="text-align: center;"> question at the start of </span><i style="text-align: center;">Philosophical Investigations</i><span style="text-align: center;">: <i>is</i><span> </span>there, necessarily or contingently, </span><span style="text-align: center;">a single essential meaning of, rather than </span>‘<span style="text-align: center;">family resemblances</span><span style="text-align: center;">’ </span><span style="text-align: center;">between, the manifold instances of, for example, the word </span>‘<span style="text-align: center;">game</span><span style="text-align: center;">’? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">But in his previous seminar with his French colleagues, in le Thor, Provence, in 1969, he had cited (slightly misquoting, but essentially correctly) the first assertion of </span><b style="text-align: center;">Wittgenstein</b><span style="text-align: center;">’</span><span style="text-align: center;">s <i>Tractatus</i>, </span>‘<span style="text-align: center;">The world is all that is the case</span><span style="text-align: center;">’, calling it </span>‘ein gespenstischer Satz<span style="text-align: center;">’</span> (‘an eerie [or uncanny] sentence<span style="text-align: center;">’</span>), presumably because it represents the world as a set of ‘atomic facts<span style="text-align: center;">’</span>, each represented by an ‘atomic proposition<span style="text-align: center;">’</span>. For <b>Heidegger</b>, this epitomised the radical falling-away of Western philosophy from the ancient pre-<b>Socratic</b> Greek experience: </div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><i>‘For the Greeks, things appear.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>For <b>Kant</b></i><i>, things appear to me.</i><span style="text-align: center;">’</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">For <b>Heidegger,</b> the world was more a question of questioning than a proposing of propositions corresponding to facts. Truth was not the correspondence of proposition to fact, but what the Greeks called </span><i style="text-align: center;">aletheia</i><span style="text-align: center;">, unconcealedness.</span><i style="text-align: center;"> </i><span style="text-align: center;">The seminar ends with <b>Heidegger</b> reading a text he has recently written on <b>Parmenides</b>. Again, he returns to a problem that has troubled and enthralled him for more than half a century: how to translate <b>Parmenides</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">’</span><span style="text-align: center;">s words on <i>aletheia</i>. He now tentatively suggests his latest, never final, effort:</span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">‘<span style="text-align: center;"><i>the untrembling heart of well-circling unconcealedness</i></span><span style="text-align: center;">’.</span></div></blockquote></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Heidegger</b> alludes to what he now regards as a serious mistake in his lecture <i>The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking</i>, which was translated into French by <b>Beaufret</b> and <b>Fédier </b>and read by <b>Beaufret</b> at the UNESCO conference <i><b>Kierkegaard</b> Vivant</i> in Paris in 1964. He had there asserted that <b>Parmenides</b> saw </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">self-concealing, concealment,</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> lethe</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, [...] as the heart of </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">aletheia</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> [unconcealment, truth]</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">’; but now (a little over nine years later) <b>Heidegger</b> says: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">What is said here is not right. </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">Parmenides</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"> says nothing of the sort.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">’</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><b>Heidegger</b> said he had also long been troubled that <b>Parmenides</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">’s words </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><i>esti gar einai</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">seemed to mean </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">Being is</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">’, which seemed </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">nonsensical as only beings can be; but now he realised they meant </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">Presence prese</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">nces</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">’, w</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">hich was meaningful as fundamental <i>tautological</i> thinking.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">Again, this means something fundamentally different from <b>Wittgenstein</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">s definition of the entire logico-mathematical system of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Alfred North Whitehead</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s and</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"> </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Bertrand </b><b style="font-family: verdana;">Russell</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Principia Mathematica </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">as</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> an exploration of <i>tautology</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><b>Heidegger</b> also speaks in this seminar of a </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">phenomenology of the inconspicuous or inapparent [</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><i>unscheinbar</i>]</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">’,</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"> which he had previously mentioned in his 1942-3 lectures on</span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"> Parmenides</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"> We shall discuss what he may have meant by this. </span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">We have already discussed in recent Inner Circle Seminars (see e.g.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/2021/01/martti-siirala-centenary-anthony.html" style="color: #336699; text-align: left; text-indent: -15px;"><b>1920s-born existential therapists. 1. Martti Siira...</b></a><span style="color: #333333; text-align: left; text-indent: -15px;">)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">how, when </span><b style="text-align: center;">Beaufret</b><span style="text-align: center;"> at the end of the seminar asks about the place of <b>Heraclitus </b>relative to <b>Parmenides</b>, <b>Heidegger</b> recalls having in <i>Being and Time</i> (1927) dismissed <i>dialectic</i> as a </span>‘<span style="text-align: center;">genuine philosophical embarrassment</span><span style="text-align: center;">’, which would imply that <b>Parmenides</b> was </span>‘more profound and essential<span style="text-align: center;">’ </span><span style="text-align: center;">than <b>Heraclitus. </b>But now </span><b style="text-align: center;">Heidegger </b><span style="text-align: center;">suggests (the following is only an approximate translation): </span></div></span><div><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>‘If one is able to read <b>Heraclitus</b> from out of the <b>Parmenidean</b> tautology, he himself then appears in closest proximity to the same tautology, he himself in the entrance to a single way which gives access to Being.</i>’</span></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Does this grant not just to <b>Heraclitus</b> but also to <i>dialectic</i> a validity if ‘read’ in ‘proximity’ to <b>Parmenides</b>’s ‘tautological thinking’ and to the goddess <b>Aletheia</b> (truth, ‘unconcealedness’)? Is <b>Heidegger</b> at last, at the very end of his life-long quest, conceding that ‘dialectic’, if seen in the light of <b>Aletheia</b>, may not be such a total ‘embarrassment’ after all?</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Are these considerations esoteric refinements, of no practical significance for Daseinsanalysts, let alone for psychotherapists of other schools? </span></div><div><b></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Or, as we have been asking in recent seminars, do these considerations not point to a possible quintessentially <i>practical</i> renewal of psychotherapy as Daseinsanalysis and of Daseinsanalysis itself as </span><i>Diahermeneutics</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, the word that <b>Heidegger</b> had (according to the philosopher <b>Oskar Becker</b></span>’s transcription of an improvised unwritten addition to <b>Heidegger</b>’s lecture) coined in passing in 1919 more than half a century earlier at the start of his long journey but appears never to have mentioned again?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Specifically, this would mean being open to dialectic in <i>three regions</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b><u>First</u>: </b></i>Daseinsanalysis (or any other psychotherapy) would not be a procedure in which the analyst is presumed to have a </span>‘correct’ phenomenological or daseinsanalytic way of seeing or having access to the phenomena, and teaches the confused patient or client this ‘correct’ way. Rather, it would be a conjoint, shared endeavour, a dialogue or dialectic, in which both daseinsanalytic partners work together <i>dia</i>hermeneutically to interpret, or make sense of, the phenomena.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b><u>Second</u></b></i><b><i>:</i></b> Dialectics and diahermeneutics do not only concern the relationship between the daseinsanalytic couple (therapist and client) but also the relationships, including family relationships and group relationships, in the client’s life, from early childhood to the most contemporary. It might be unrewarding to seek guidance from <b>Heidegger</b> on this. His preferred mode of approaching interpersonal problems in his own family seems to have been silence, as family members confirm. Daseinsanalysis here needs assistance from the Anglo-American tradition of investigation of research and therapy in families: the study of what people actually say to each other round the kitchen or dining table, that is the stuff of everyday life, but may in the less happy cses amount to something like a chronic, slow, existential poisoning. This was the field of study of <b>Gregory</b> <b>Bateson</b>, <b>R. D. Laing</b>, and<b> Aaron Esterson</b>, all of whom were <b>Heidegger</b>’s and his daseinsanalytic colleague <b>Medard Boss</b>’s contemporaries from the 1950s to the 1970s, including the time of <b>Heidegger</b>’s Zollikon seminars in <b>Boss</b>’s home. But these men and their work are conspicuously absent from daseinsanalytic writings except <b>Anthony Stadlen</b>’s. Yet it would have been very interesting to know <b>Heidegger</b>’s thinking on, for example, the <i>double bind</i>, defined by <b>Bateson</b> in his epoch-making paper written with <b>Jay Haley</b>, <b>Don Jackson</b>, and <b>John Weakland</b>, <i>Toward a Theory of Schizophrenia </i>(1956), in terms of <b>Russell</b>’s theory of logical types. <b>Heidegger</b> was mathematically quite sophisticated (sitting on committees discussing mathematics courses at Freiburg Uiniversity); he referred in his early writings to <b>Russell</b>’s <i>The Principles of Mathematics</i> and also to <i>Principia Mathematica</i>, which contains, in Chapter 2 of Volume 1, <b>Russell</b>’s account of his theory of logical types. <b>Heidegger</b>, however, as in his criticism of <b>Wittgenstein</b>, was clear that the world was not a collection of facts represented by propositions, ‘atomic’ or otherwise. He might have respected the philosopher <b>J. L. Austin</b>, the founder of speech-act theory, who pointed out that language entails not just propositions, but questions, injunctions, exclamations, promises, declarations of love, ...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b><u>Third</u>:</b></i> Diahermeneutic Daseinsanalysis would take account of the fundamental work of <b>Thomas Szasz</b>, <b>Heidegger</b>’s and <b>Boss</b>’s other contemporary in the 1960s and 1970s. <b>Szas</b><b>z</b>’s book <i>The Myth of Mental Illness</i> (1961) is a radical challenge to <b>Boss</b>’s bland presentation of Daseinsanalysis as a <i>medical</i> discipline and <b>Heidegger</b>’s collusion with this. It is surprising that <b>Heidegger</b> did not invoke the pre-<b>Socratic</b> thinker <b>Democritus</b>’s (<i>ca</i>. 420 BCE) clear distinction (<span style="text-align: left;">in no way an early form of </span>‘<span style="text-align: left;">cartesian dualism</span>’):</div><blockquote><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span><i style="text-align: justify;">Medicine heals diseases of the body, wisdom frees the soul from passions.</i><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Your presence, and comments, questions, or silence, will be warmly welcomed.</span></div></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><i><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">This will </span></span></i></b></span><i style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">be an online seminar, using Zoom.</span></span></b></i></div></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Cost:</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i> </i><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Psychotherapy trainees £140, </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">others £175</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"> (reductions for combinations of seminars)</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">; some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></span></span></p><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Apply to: </span></span></i><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A </span></span><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Alexandra Avenue</span></span></st1:street><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">, </span></span><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">London</span></span></st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">N22 7XE</span></span></st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Tel:</span></span></i> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">E-mail:</span></span></i> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;"><u><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">stadlenanthony@gmail.com</span></span></u></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></i></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">For further information on seminars, visit: </span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</span></span></a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></strong></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></span></span></span></div></div></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-51083608971704307082023-01-01T08:01:01.995+00:002023-09-03T00:56:38.028+01:00Taormina 1963. Heidegger and Boss conversations 60 years on. Inner Circle Seminar 284 (27 August 2023)<p> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Taormina 1963</span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Martin Heidegger and Medard Boss</span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Conversations on Freud and Daseinsanalysis</span></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">A revaluation 60 years on</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">conducts</span></b><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">by Zoom</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 284</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sunday 27 August 2023</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0kZrr0KsOHZH-DaSOcJ6ENwDXEaIBAHpJk37-f26U_C0szjZ4Grb7jDdCPsoNhwAd5OfH2NYCog3E5UREN0kGMkJLoFmD85oT2ljyr9EuwPh25cwrip5g87HrX9QZUDD0DVXzMtqkpgyFovOfwlHCd4Msgjlg5zE25sGXIq4rsdvQR3Qe2LPSMuypg-wT" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0kZrr0KsOHZH-DaSOcJ6ENwDXEaIBAHpJk37-f26U_C0szjZ4Grb7jDdCPsoNhwAd5OfH2NYCog3E5UREN0kGMkJLoFmD85oT2ljyr9EuwPh25cwrip5g87HrX9QZUDD0DVXzMtqkpgyFovOfwlHCd4Msgjlg5zE25sGXIq4rsdvQR3Qe2LPSMuypg-wT=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Garden, San Domenico, Taormina</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcQ7u6LdNFnXfWMXx8jH4YpTqxS7X79UYyuMtPD6gWtbhbf-DuqbuxXcjeo-sMlZV5pPdRIeWmk7HTGcIU_5aOfvW_UUqXA1njwME_htyypOISjDuHXzbOKjub_PJAMcsNhM5hf1ZhFWX6gPH5eg2CLo9sfOmdzywZ-mtq8W4ChKdTEJUuV5JZcPo8RPS/s677/Heidegger%20and%20Boss%202.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="473" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcQ7u6LdNFnXfWMXx8jH4YpTqxS7X79UYyuMtPD6gWtbhbf-DuqbuxXcjeo-sMlZV5pPdRIeWmk7HTGcIU_5aOfvW_UUqXA1njwME_htyypOISjDuHXzbOKjub_PJAMcsNhM5hf1ZhFWX6gPH5eg2CLo9sfOmdzywZ-mtq8W4ChKdTEJUuV5JZcPo8RPS/w280-h400/Heidegger%20and%20Boss%202.JPG" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>Martin Heidegger Medard Boss</span><br /><span>on the Feldweg south of</span><br />Heidegger’s birthplace, Meßkirch</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrKKr_xgFWQQXqc_J7_chmwlv8r8Pg4-jngZ939Tmi_I0FFJJ3xqSFisAJI2lqL0XiGFOPf6hiE6Vme5_JiCVsdR_sn05VLRJt_qfz-JENM_4k2e2Db3OmgEbafg1w6o0xkYRy2fYvbb2Vh1YEuEnykBBWmddV6hr19xy0tM3mhjPSeJOyOf_GvYzuWwnS" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrKKr_xgFWQQXqc_J7_chmwlv8r8Pg4-jngZ939Tmi_I0FFJJ3xqSFisAJI2lqL0XiGFOPf6hiE6Vme5_JiCVsdR_sn05VLRJt_qfz-JENM_4k2e2Db3OmgEbafg1w6o0xkYRy2fYvbb2Vh1YEuEnykBBWmddV6hr19xy0tM3mhjPSeJOyOf_GvYzuWwnS=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Teatro antico, Taormina<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRRVlCW08EfEI8LP9X4hrWLE1lW6W4UFFNNKNqY4CwsSAieIv-DT3BbEFu15nAgzZj8PZKnzw8f1t0qo7L_D_VpTi9SJQk-KkJKRXNzK5U3WNaFIn4GuCtFOr3Eoszq_spElpS_LaaPWUiHZE0G4E93sJEpBa6loiSTK_mHtZdLmuZ6avIBW7p8l5OcYr/s350/heidegger%20boss%20zollikon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="350" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRRVlCW08EfEI8LP9X4hrWLE1lW6W4UFFNNKNqY4CwsSAieIv-DT3BbEFu15nAgzZj8PZKnzw8f1t0qo7L_D_VpTi9SJQk-KkJKRXNzK5U3WNaFIn4GuCtFOr3Eoszq_spElpS_LaaPWUiHZE0G4E93sJEpBa6loiSTK_mHtZdLmuZ6avIBW7p8l5OcYr/w401-h305/heidegger%20boss%20zollikon.jpg" width="401" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Martin Heidegger Medard Boss<br />Boss</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">s home, Zollikon</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We have been exploring for some years, in addition to the reports of the seminars themselves, the discussions between the philosopher <b>Martin Heidegger</b> and his pupil the Daseinsanalyst <b>Medard Boss</b> which were </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">reported in the book </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Zollikon Seminars </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the background to <b>Heidegger</b>’s 1959-1969 seminars in <b>Boss</b>’s Zollikon home. We have in particular devoted several Inner Circle Seminars to their conversations when on holiday with their wives in Taormina, Sicily, in April 1963, sixty years ago. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">We continue studying these </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Taormina </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">conversations today.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Before the journey<b> Heidegger</b> wrote to <b>Boss</b> that he had never stayed in such a hotel (San Domenico), and checked with him what suits would be appropriate to wear. He drew the line at </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘shlepping</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">an </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">irksome</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> hat, and presumed that his Basque beret would be acceptable.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The following are just three examples of the many topics discussed in these enthralling conversations: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1.)</b> According to <b>Boss</b>, some of <b>Sigmund Freud</b>’s terminology made <b>Heidegger</b> feel physically ill. Nevertheless, in these conversations, <b>Heidegger</b> in many ways, contrary to what is generally supposed, <i>confirmed</i> <b>Freud</b>’s discoveries of transference, repression, projection, etc. – but as modes of what <b>Heidegger </b>called ‘ecstatic-intentional world-relationship’, rather than as concepts of what <b>Freud</b>, thinking in terms of natural science, called ‘metapsychology’.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><b>2.) </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">The idea of a </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">golden mountain</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ had been introduced into philosophy by <b>David Hume</b> in </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">An Essay Concerning Human Understanding</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;"> (1739</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">–</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">40, Vol. I, Part 1):</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>When we think of a golden mountain, we only conjoin two consistent ideas, gold, and mountain, with which we were formerly acquainted.</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"> </span></blockquote><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Heidegger</b> in Taormina alluded to </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Hume</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s notion, but in a way utterly at odds with confused current thinking by psychotherapists eager to be </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">validated</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> by neuroscience, as follows </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">(translation by <b>A. Stadlen</b>, 2023)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">:</span></div><div><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>I do not imagine a golden mountain within my consciousness or within my brain, but rather within a world, within a landscape, which in turn is again related to the world in which I exist bodily.</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;"> </span></blockquote></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>3.) </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is often claimed that <b>Heidegger </b>virtually never talked or wrote, at least philosophically, about sex or sexual difference. An exception is his pondering, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in a 1953 essay, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<b>Georg </b></span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Trakl</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: Eine Erörterung seines Gedichtes’ (‘</span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Georg Trakl</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: An Elucidation of his Poetry’), </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">why the poet <b>Trakl</b>, in his poem <i>Abendländisches Lied (Occidental Song)</i>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">emphasised </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the ‘ein’ (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">one</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">) in ‘E i n Geschlecht’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the only instance i</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">n </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Trakl</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">entire poetical oeuvre where he </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">emphasises a word </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">by spacing its letters. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Geschlecht</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> can mean many things, only one of which is ‘sex</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’. <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s discussion of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Trakl</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">possible meaning was </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">discussed at great length by </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Jacques Derrida</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in his essays </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Geschlecht 1 </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">,2, </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">3</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, and <i>4</i>; </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and both <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s and <b>Derrida</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s discussions were further discussed by <b>David Farrell Krell</b> in his book <i>Phantoms of the Other: Four Generations of Derrida</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>’</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>s </i><i style="font-weight: bold;">Geschlecht</i>.</span></p></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But in these conversations during their 1963 Taormina holiday <b>Heidegger</b> and <b>Boss</b> appear not to have debated the possible recondite meaning of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>one</i> sex</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> explored in <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s 1953 essay and ruminated on by <b>Derrida</b> and <b>Krell</b>. Instead, they discussed enthusiastically, in traditional man-to-man manner, the joys of differently-sexed Dasein and how to enhance them by Daseinsanalysis.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the following exchange<b> Heidegger </b>imagines <i>himself</i> rather than <b>Boss</b> as the Daseinsanalyst </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">retuning</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ a woman patient of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">for the man-essence, which fulfils for her her woman-essence</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ (t</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">ranslation by</span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;"> A. Stadlen</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">, 2023)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><b>Heidegger</b>:</blockquote></span></div><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>She </i>[</span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">’s ‘test case’ </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">Regula Zürcher</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">] </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">has become free for a joyful being-able-to-be-attuned. [...] The joyful being-able-to-be-attuned becomes attainable and attained through his presence (the man’s). [...] At the time of the hysterical unfreedom of this patient the fundamental attunement of this woman was indeed anxiety, which overpowered the whole Dasein of the patient; even if she could still be joyful in relation to her young womanly playmates. [...] The human relationships to the playmates were not the authentic [eigentlich] and essential [wesentlich] world-relationship of the patient as woman [...] This was always already the relation to the man.</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Boss</b>: </span></blockquote><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></i><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>What does my question mean therapeutically: </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">How is it</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">that </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">you</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">can always only encounter </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">the manly essence [</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="text-align: justify;">m</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">ä</span><span style="text-align: justify;">nnliche Wes</span></i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">en</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">] as something dangerous?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">”?</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></blockquote><blockquote><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: </span></blockquote><p></p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">[...] </i><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Through such questioning </span></i><i style="font-family: verdana;">[...] </i><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">I retune the woman to the man-essence </span></i></i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">[Mann-Wesen]</span><i><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">[...] Through this she can become freer for a man, for the man-essence, which fulfils for her her woman-essence </span></i></i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">[</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Frau-Wesen</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">]</span><i><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span></i><i style="font-family: verdana;">[...]</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span> </i></blockquote><blockquote><i> <b style="font-family: verdana;">Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: </span></i></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Why has it still been so impossible for all psychologists, <b>Freud</b> included, to determine the </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">essence of manhood [<span style="color: #202124;"><span style="background-color: white;">M</span></span></span><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">ä</span></i><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: justify;">nnlichkeit</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">] and womanhood [Weiblichkeit]?</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></blockquote><blockquote><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: </span></blockquote><p></p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">‘That comes from the innate essence-blindness </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">[</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">Wesensblindheit</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">] </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">of the human being.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;"> </span></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">Although </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">Wesen</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">is translated here as </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">essence</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, this can be misunderstood as some kind of reification. As <b>Heidegger</b> uses the word over half a century he intends it to convey something like </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">essencing</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> or </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">unfolding essencing</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’. <b>Parvis Emad</b> and <b>Kenneth Maly</b>, in their translation of <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">book</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Beiträge zur Philosophie (Zum Ereignis)</i>, translate </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;">Wesen</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ as </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">essential sway</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> </i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today, sixty years on, we continue to review these lively, often groundbreaking, conversations between </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> as a whole. They are of fundamental importance for existential therapists, Daseinsanalysts, psychoanalysts, and psychotherapists of any persuasion or none.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">There is, of course, much that therapists today may criticise, and even make fun of, in what <b>Heidegger</b> and <b>Boss </b>say.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Heidegger</b>’s remarks, in example <b>(1) </b>above, on psychoanalytic concepts such as ‘projection’, ‘introjection’, and even forgetting, seem at times surprisingly naive and dogmatic, in a way that he and <b>Boss</b> are mistakenly attributing to <b>Freud</b>. However, the idea of understanding these concepts phenomenologically as ‘ecstatic-intentional world-relationship’ is revolutionary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In example <b>(2)</b>, again, if psychotherapists were to take seriously what <b>Heidegger</b> is trying to help them see here, through the example of the golden mountain, their thinking and practice could be revolutionised. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The conversation reported above in example <b>(3)</b> on man-woman relationships is particularly unfashionable nowadays, and <b>Alice Holzhey</b> has ridiculed it. But does it not describe one very common human experience? We shall look at this seriously.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We shall also continue to confront <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s preoccupations of 1963 with the exactly contemporary revolutionary </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">work of</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <b>Gregory Bateson</b>, <b>Thomas Szasz</b>, <b>R. D. Laing</b>, and <b>Aaron Esterson</b>. There is no discussion by <b>Heidegger</b> and <b>Boss</b> of the myth of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mental illness,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> or of mystification, invalidation, and double bind. This is unfortunate, as <b>Heidegger</b> had raised the question </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is the madman mentally ill?</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and even answered with a firm </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">No</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in his essay of 1953 mentioned above, ten years earlier, and seven years before <b>Szasz</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> paper </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Myth of Mental Illness</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1960), as we shall see in Inner Circle Seminar No. 289 on 19 November 2023. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The teaching and discussion of Daseinsanalysis often falls into uncritical idealisation of its founding figures. Our seminars can hardly be accused of this. We shall continue to explore <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> avoidance of <i>dialectic</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">– </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">of how people actually talk to each other in families </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">– </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> collusion with </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">in this respect</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. We shall continue to show how Daseinsanalysis can become </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Diahermeneutics</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, to adopt a word </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> once coined as long ago as 1919, but never repeated.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But this seminar will, it is hoped, demonstrate that, when their weaker aspects are acknowledged, the high points of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">these </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Taormina conversations</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> are very high indeed, and should remain, or rather become, an indispensable part of the general knowledge of a competent psychotherapist today. There is little sign that psychotherapists in general have even heard of them. But they may play their part in revolutionising a </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">therapist</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s</span> <span style="font-family: verdana;">practice and thinking.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;">You are warmly invited to join our exploration.</span></div></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>This will </i></b></span><i style="color: #990000;"><b>be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i></div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Cost:</i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i> </i>Psychotherapy trainees £140, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">others £175</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> (reductions for combinations of seminars)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">; some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></p><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i>Tel:</i> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>E-mail:</i> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></i></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">For further information on seminars, visit: </i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: xx-large; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></strong></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></span></span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-40664673985783729052023-01-01T06:01:00.735+00:002024-02-28T15:47:13.860+00:00‘Intellectuals’ and Sexual Abuse. 20th-century advocates of adults’ ‘right’ to sexual relations with ‘consenting’ children. A further contribution to existential seduction theory. Anthony Stadlen conducts by Zoom Inner Circle Seminar 283 (18 June 2023)<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #990000; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span><span><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span></span></span></b>Intellectuals</span></b><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span><span><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span></span></span></b></span><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> and Sexual Abuse</span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span><span>Twentieth-century advocates of adults</span></span></b></span><b style="color: #990000;"><span><span><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span></span></span></b><b style="color: #990000;"><span><span> <span style="text-align: justify;">‘right’</span> to </span></span><span>sexual relations with </span></b></span><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span><span>consenting</span><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span><span> children</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A further contribution to existential seduction theory</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">conducts </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: large;">by Zoom</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 283</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Sunday 18 June 2023</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>[</u>Also see: </span></b></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/intellectuals-and-sexual-abuse-by-frank.html" style="color: #336699;">Anthony Stadlen seminar on ‘Intellectuals and Sexual Abuse’. By Frank Schiphorst (16 May 2023)</a> ]</span></li></ul><ul style="background-color: white; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><br /></li><li style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><u><b style="color: #0b5394; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></u></li></ul><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J55q6WykQ7c/YRBN680o3-I/AAAAAAAALtI/0k2x54NGOoAgD1qN_Yc7d_V_XUqddVy-ACLcBGAsYHQ/s348/Althusser.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J55q6WykQ7c/YRBN680o3-I/AAAAAAAALtI/0k2x54NGOoAgD1qN_Yc7d_V_XUqddVy-ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Althusser.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Louis Althusser</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h5obsgCHceY/YRBNoFgiSDI/AAAAAAAALtA/860HKUe48MAglc5OcZuMi-w_bJN8XJS-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s273/Aragon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h5obsgCHceY/YRBNoFgiSDI/AAAAAAAALtA/860HKUe48MAglc5OcZuMi-w_bJN8XJS-wCLcBGAsYHQ/w258-h320/Aragon.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Louis Aragon</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> </b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GjDwMzjFyMo/YRBSuLdOtTI/AAAAAAAALtQ/pqns90-2308u3q1cJ0WSksM5a9aCAJaygCLcBGAsYHQ/s184/barthes.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="123" data-original-width="184" height="214" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GjDwMzjFyMo/YRBSuLdOtTI/AAAAAAAALtQ/pqns90-2308u3q1cJ0WSksM5a9aCAJaygCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h214/barthes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Roland Barthes</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><br /><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-29xEUgFka7c/YRBUO5q4nqI/AAAAAAAALtY/z13jluxAh0UmeNd8sTHXOLxeU8em1UlDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s304/Simone%2Bde%2BBeauvoir.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-29xEUgFka7c/YRBUO5q4nqI/AAAAAAAALtY/z13jluxAh0UmeNd8sTHXOLxeU8em1UlDwCLcBGAsYHQ/w232-h320/Simone%2Bde%2BBeauvoir.png" width="232" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Simone de Beauvoir</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7kfEjFAbN1neod5FOcoTcj3M4Doh4w0kq5lgQ7-9x8oP09VKhs0esSYtlFSu_SY4dhBChGYvr2cHsB_1D6YtdA4l7uy9AjKvSZ0Dcu8jaFxmkobjMLrxsyHSvmY1W-tqNuuab0aAzxfnEfQjRuGQdH732W5glMuQjkwihZJtF9xCQECGsGUmTWr0nIg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="141" data-original-width="108" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7kfEjFAbN1neod5FOcoTcj3M4Doh4w0kq5lgQ7-9x8oP09VKhs0esSYtlFSu_SY4dhBChGYvr2cHsB_1D6YtdA4l7uy9AjKvSZ0Dcu8jaFxmkobjMLrxsyHSvmY1W-tqNuuab0aAzxfnEfQjRuGQdH732W5glMuQjkwihZJtF9xCQECGsGUmTWr0nIg=w246-h320" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Patrice Ch</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">éreau</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><br /></span></div><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"></span></span></span></p><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="gmail-tr-caption-container" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: small; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5975002653149413835/5411195581238492835#" style="clear: left; color: #1155cc; margin-bottom: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkwtAUVJafVhtyMQ5yT2pZujxNqi7WMe59tX2vk951D-w0-sX0X86izrvKqaqPM8-XRYQ9Wo0VNpXmK9L9H-kKrHwfmw1XscCesI7QSwFnqGV8jjEjAA_082epWWp989_da9iqRSA3a_j5GSMIGkXKhxiQ6YnqKCNKPk3SQx9ZXeezh6nK2PiirTJYQ/w278-h320/David%20Cooper%202.JPG" title="David Cooper" width="278" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="gmail-tr-caption" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">David Cooper<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nFngcv1J2AA/YRBYZCWyulI/AAAAAAAALuI/163_fHa_E5IX6s3hChqYBO64wCP7GM5NQCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h230/Gilles%2BDeleuze.jpg" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Gilles Deleuze</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px;"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XCSS96F51zk/YRBWMLC1NBI/AAAAAAAALtw/lp-lOD_d1oAkMLTg2VIsKbkUuWIkM2w1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s314/derrida.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XCSS96F51zk/YRBWMLC1NBI/AAAAAAAALtw/lp-lOD_d1oAkMLTg2VIsKbkUuWIkM2w1wCLcBGAsYHQ/w224-h320/derrida.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Jacques Derrida</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tnS1K5eiQ90/YRFY_GyFdrI/AAAAAAAALvs/m9CkG-jXcMsfN8KT92MNYjDtPsD4eJU5QCLcBGAsYHQ/s300/Fran%25C3%25A7oise%2BDolto.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="300" height="201" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tnS1K5eiQ90/YRFY_GyFdrI/AAAAAAAALvs/m9CkG-jXcMsfN8KT92MNYjDtPsD4eJU5QCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h201/Fran%25C3%25A7oise%2BDolto.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Françoise Dolto</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vAmg0R3m0i8/YRFZlXokUCI/AAAAAAAALv4/WtJeubFfIRsZE444xnENk8SWTKXYOu5AwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/foucault%2Bsucking%2Bhand.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vAmg0R3m0i8/YRFZlXokUCI/AAAAAAAALv4/WtJeubFfIRsZE444xnENk8SWTKXYOu5AwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/foucault%2Bsucking%2Bhand.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Michel Foucault</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JGN-bIGI_-c/YRBZkPfanKI/AAAAAAAALuc/myPJnrpbRysm4Jx87wB0b-wb-YyiwQv0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s220/Guattari.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="204" data-original-width="220" height="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JGN-bIGI_-c/YRBZkPfanKI/AAAAAAAALuc/myPJnrpbRysm4Jx87wB0b-wb-YyiwQv0ACLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h297/Guattari.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>F</span>é<span>lix G</span>uattari</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VW5Kln-Y-iA/YRBbyrGCGuI/AAAAAAAALuk/e4va-TwPpak8xnbflZwcaS2Fc76f9gB0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s220/Michel%2BLeiris.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="145" data-original-width="220" height="211" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VW5Kln-Y-iA/YRBbyrGCGuI/AAAAAAAALuk/e4va-TwPpak8xnbflZwcaS2Fc76f9gB0gCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h211/Michel%2BLeiris.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Michel Leiris</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"></span></span></span></p><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FgoH9y6VTfg/YRBcP5qN0rI/AAAAAAAALus/4bg_60p9HeMKPoHoN8RS6kJ0HujvL8VlQCLcBGAsYHQ/s300/Lyotard.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FgoH9y6VTfg/YRBcP5qN0rI/AAAAAAAALus/4bg_60p9HeMKPoHoN8RS6kJ0HujvL8VlQCLcBGAsYHQ/w235-h320/Lyotard.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jean-Fran</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ҫ</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ois Lyotard</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"></span></span></span></p><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m6MzOoQ3oUM/YRBdPcd6iSI/AAAAAAAALu0/AqM7Mlx4fyg31jVT6OBCjpzyCnzuksIvwCLcBGAsYHQ/s124/Ponge.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="124" data-original-width="110" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m6MzOoQ3oUM/YRBdPcd6iSI/AAAAAAAALu0/AqM7Mlx4fyg31jVT6OBCjpzyCnzuksIvwCLcBGAsYHQ/w285-h320/Ponge.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Francis Ponge</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Verdana;"><div style="text-align: right;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lCIGyEY4AEA/YRBtlsAIvAI/AAAAAAAALvk/nexRey6ZHO4VGfZqULz3PbZF9GImzJvrQCLcBGAsYHQ/s354/Robbe-Grillt.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="354" height="157" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lCIGyEY4AEA/YRBtlsAIvAI/AAAAAAAALvk/nexRey6ZHO4VGfZqULz3PbZF9GImzJvrQCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h157/Robbe-Grillt.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Alain Robbe-Grillet</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><br /></span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U48Wyk-iNIM/YRBjcfrTZvI/AAAAAAAALvU/jnxKfVzQzCwUp5P-hVKITw42fGH9KKUYwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/sartre%2Bx.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="161" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U48Wyk-iNIM/YRBjcfrTZvI/AAAAAAAALvU/jnxKfVzQzCwUp5P-hVKITw42fGH9KKUYwCLcBGAsYHQ/w258-h320/sartre%2Bx.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Jean-Paul Sartre</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>1</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The term </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">sexual abuse (German: </span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mi</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">ß</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">brauch</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;">)</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’ as we shall use it here </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">denotes a non-consensual sexual relationship, one obtained by force or fraud.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In any society there may be certain individuals, in particular children below a certain age, who are held not to be capable of giving consent to sexual relationship; and this may be enshrined in law. Sexual relationships with children below this age, the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">age of consent</span><i style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, are, by the society</span><i style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;">s definition, sexual abuse, even if the child enthusiastically enters into the relationship.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There may be dispute in any society about whether there should be an age of consent; and if so, what it should be. But, if there is one, then, relative to the given definition of the age of consent, there may be argument about whether </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">sexual </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">relationships between adults above the age of consent are consensual or non-consensual, i.e. abusive; but </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">sexual </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">relationships between adults and children below the age of consent are necessarily, by definition, at least legally, non-consensual and sexually abusive.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>The term </span>‘seduction</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">and its German equivalent </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Verführung</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> both meaning etymologically </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">leading aside or astray</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">are not used in a legal sense in what follows.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>2</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 1977, leading French philosophers and writers, including <b>Louis Althusser</b>, <b>Louis Aragon</b>, <b>Roland Barthes</b>, <b>Simone de Beauvoir</b>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Gilles Deleuze</b>, <b>Jacques Derrida</b>, <b>Michel Foucault</b>, <b>Félix Guattari</b>, <b>Michel Leiris</b>, <b>Jean-Fran<span style="font-size: medium;">ҫ</span>ois Lyotard</b>, <b>Francis Ponge</b>, <b>Alain Robbe-Grillet</b>, <b>Jean-Paul Sartre</b>, the opera and film director </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Patrice Ch</b></span><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.5px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">é</span></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>reau</b>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and a number of eminent doctors, psychiatrists, and psychologists, including the child psychoanalyst <span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;"><b>Françoise </b></span><b>Dolto</b>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">petitioned the French Parliament to </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">assert the (legal) ‘right’ of adults to engage in sexual relations with ‘consenting’ children and the (legal) </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘right’ of children to </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘consent’.</span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">n a dialogue with <b>Guy Hocquenghem</b> and <b>Jean Danet</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">broadcast</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> by France Culture </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">on 4 April 1978, later translated and published in<i> Michel Foucault: politics, philosophy, culture: interviews and other writings</i> (ed. Lawrence D. Kritzman, 1988), <b>Michel Foucault</b> said:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘...</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">to assume that a child is incapable of explaining what happened and was incapable of giving his consent are two abuses that are intolerable, quite unacceptable.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span></i></blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">This phenomenon was not restricted to France. In the UK, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><b>Foucault</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s friend Dr </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">David Cooper</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">, psychiatrist and </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">founder of </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">anti-psychiatry</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’, had written in </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">his </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">book <i>The Grammar of Living </i>(1974, p. 50)</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"></span></p><blockquote><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘Initiation of young children into orgasmic experiences, in spontaneous body-exploration and play within their peer-group, will become, I believe, part of a full education towards the end of this century.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span></i></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And (p. 149):</span></p><p></p><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘<i>Small children, as has been clearly demonstrated, can have orgasm too and the sooner initiation is achieved the better [...]</i></span><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span></i></blockquote><p></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On 26 August 1975, <i>The Guardian</i> carried a headline, <i>Child-Lovers win Fight for Role in Gay Lib</i>. The people <i>The Guardian</i> described as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">child-lovers</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> were the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">PIE was granted affiliate status by the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL, today renamed as Liberty). </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 1976 NCCL made a submission to parliament</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s criminal law revision committee:</span></div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">‘<span style="color: #121212; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures;">Childhood sexual experiences, willingly engaged in with an adult, result in no identifiable damage.</span>’</blockquote><p><span style="color: #121212; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;">Hence, argued NCCL, it was </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="color: #121212; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;">logical</span>’<span style="color: #121212; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="color: #121212; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;">that the age of consent be abolished; </span><span style="color: #121212; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;">but, as this was </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="color: #121212; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;">not politically possible</span>’, it <span style="color: #121212; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;">should be lowered to fourteen – or to ten</span></p><p></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="color: #121212; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;">provided it is demonstrated that consent was clearly given by the child</span>’<span style="color: #121212; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;">.</span> </i></blockquote><p></p></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">On 30 August 1977</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">– </span>the year of the French intellectuals’ petition</span><i style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: normal;"> </span><span style="color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; text-align: left;">– </span>The Times </i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">(p. 3) </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">reported:</span></div></span><div><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">The Campaign for Homosexual Equality at a conference in Nottingham yesterday passed by an overwhelming majority a resolution condemning </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>the harrassment </i>[sic] <i>of </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">the Paedophile Information Exchange by the press</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">”. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">[...]</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;"> The conference gave a standing ovation to Dr<b> Edward Brongersma</b>, a member of the Upper House of the Dutch Parliament, who led the discussion on paedophilia.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>’</i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Brongersma</b> was a Doctor of Law, knighted by Queen <b>Juliana</b> in 1975. He wrote the book <i>Loving Boys</i> (1986, 1990).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Polly Toynbee</b> reported a fortnight later in <i>The Guardian</i> (Guardian Women, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">12 September 1977, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">p. 12) her interview with the former Chairman of PIE, </span><b>Keith Hose</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, who argued for reducing the age of consent to four. He assured her:</span></div></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i></i></span></span></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">‘...</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">almost all children are far more capable of anal and vaginal intercourse than they are given credit for.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">’</span></i></blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"></span><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Toynbee</b> then consulted the psychiatrist and Jungian analyst Dr <b>Anthony Storr</b>, who said to her ‘without hesitation’ that sexual relations with adults are ‘very often extremely damaging for children’. She ‘felt relieved to hear all my own feelings absolutely confirmed’. But, despite her ‘disgust, aversion and even anger [...] at the thought of the age of consent being lowered to four’, she</span></div><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>‘had a sinking feeling that in another five years or so, their [PIE’s] aims would eventually be incorporated into the general liberal credo, and we would all find them acceptable.’</i></span></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And she ended as she had begun:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><i>‘I still have this sinking sensation that after a lot more airing of the paedophiles’ views, our most violent prejudices will eventually be broken down.’</i></blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That Ms <b>Toynbee </b>might cultivate a moral sensibility of her own,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; text-align: left;"> </span></i>independent of ‘the general liberal credo’, appears not to have occurred to her.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>3</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Some months earlier, in the same year, 1977, <b>Anthony Stadlen</b> started his decades-long research on the foundations of the existential psychoanalysis he had been practising for some years. This meant, as a first step, taking <b>Sigmund Freud</b> seriously when he asked to be judged not by his theories but by his paradigmatic case studies and detailed analyses of specific dreams and slips. (<b>Albert Einstein</b>, similarly, enjoined people to look not at what physicists say but at what they do.)</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This historical and philosophical investigation of psychoanalytic practice and theory seemed pertinent, in ways not yet completely clear, and yet to be identified, to making sense of the attitudes, from the 1890s to the 1970s, of leading </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">intellectuals</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; text-align: left;">– </span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;">including philosophers, psychoanalysts, writers </span><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; text-align: left;">– </span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;">to so-called ‘paedophilia’, childhood sexuality, and sexual abuse of children; in particular, to making sense of the attitudes in the 1970s sketched above. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It became increasingly clear that what was required, at least in relation to the psychoanalytic component of this inquiry, was a complete rethinking of, and historical research into, more than eighty years of psychoanalytic mystification, starting with </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Freud</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s ‘seduction theory’ of 1896 and his subsequent retraction of it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Freud </b>himself never, in his <i>Collected Works</i>, used the term ‘seduction theory’, but the term is accurate in that he did use the word ‘seduction’ (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Verführung</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">) to characterise what he called his ‘assertion’ (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Behauptung</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">) of 1896. The term </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘seduction’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">has been criticised, especially by feminists, because even by his own account, accurate or inaccurate, he was in </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">at least </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">some cases reporting or imputing, not merely seductive sexual abuse (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Mi</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>ß</i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>brauch</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, as he called it</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">) of children, which was rape in the legal sense, but unequivocal, phenomenologically violent rape.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, the term ‘seduction’ is more accurate than appears to be generally realised or acknowledged, because <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s so-called </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">seduction theory</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> applied only to those who, in his view, had </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">repressed</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> the memory of childhood rape. That is to say, <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> hypothesis was that the child, in what </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Sartre</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> calls <i>mauvaise foi </i>(bad faith, self deception), had seduced <i>itself</i> into pretending to itself to have forgotten, and to have forgotten having forgotten, and to have forgetten that there was anything to forget, whether or not the abuser </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">– </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the rapist or seducer </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">– had implicitly or explicitly </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">seduced the child into this seduction of itself by itself. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Freud</b> first announced the seduction theory in a paper </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘Heredity and the Aetiology of the Neuroses’ published in French in March 1896. He </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">wrote that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">his new method of both research and therapy, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">psychoanalysis</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, here publicly named for the first time, had revealed </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">that</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">[...] </span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">a precocious experience of sexual relations with actual excitement of the genitals, resulting from sexual abuse </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">[</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">Mi</span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ß</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">brauch</span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">]</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;"> committed by another person </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>in the years up to the age of eight to ten, before the child has reached sexual maturity </i>[...]<i> is the specific aetiology of hysteria.</i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">’</span></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On 21 April 1896 he repeated in a paper, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; text-align: left;">The Aetiology of Hysteria</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’,<span style="color: #4d5156;"> at </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the Society for Psychiatry and Neurology in Vienna, with the leading sexologist <b>Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing</b> in the chair, that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the ‘specific aetiology’ of ‘hysteria’ was sexual abuse (‘<i>Mi</i></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>ß</i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>brauch</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">) in childhood </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">before the age of second dentition</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the published paper (not merely as a throwaway comment in his spoken presentation) he called this</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">‘a momentous finding, the discovery of a </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">caput Nili </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">[</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">source of the Nile</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">]</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;"> in neuropathology</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’.</span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">was named much later, though not by him, his </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘seduction theory’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">By </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">specific aetiology</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <b>Freud</b> had explained, in his 1895 paper </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">A Reply to Criticisms of my Paper on the Anxiety Neurosis</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, that he meant <i>a single feature necessarily present in every case of the </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>‘</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>illness</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>’, which when sufficiently intensified would lead to the </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>‘</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>illness</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>’ </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>being necessarily present, </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">like the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Bacillus Kochii</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, whose discovery by </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Robert Koch</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> a decade earlier had made <b>Koch</b> world-famous for solving the riddle of tuberculosis.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">It is crucial to understand that <b>Freud</b> took </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">hysteria</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> to be a physical illness and himself to be a <i>bona fide</i> doctor (physician) and medical researcher. In his 1905 <span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 0px;">‘Dora</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;">’ </span>case study </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">he claimed that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">hysteria</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> was a real physical illness which mimicked other real physical illnesses. He was claiming to have discovered a <i>caput Nili</i> in <i>neuropathology</i>, not merely in </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">psychopathology</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">. This is one of the reasons </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">Thomas Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> was justified, sixty-five years later, in taking </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">hysteria</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> as his paradigmatic </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">mental illness</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">in </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">The Myth of Mental Illness</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> (1961).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">It is true that <b>Freud</b> had already, in his and </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">Josef Breuer</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;"><i>Studies on Hysteria</i> (1895), justified using the means of the <i>Dichter</i> (creative writer) to make his case studies read </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">like novellas</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, but this was in the service of medical science. His argument that psychoanalysis was <i>not</i> a medical discipline came thirty years later, in <i>The Question of Lay Analysis</i> (1926). <b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"><b>Freud</b> privately acknowledged, in a letter to his friend </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Wilhelm Flie</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>ß</b>, that he had hopes of becoming famous before he was forty. He made his claim to be the <b>Koch</b> of </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;">hysteria</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;"> to the Vienna Society and <b>Krafft-Ebing</b> two weeks before his fortieth birthday. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, he subsequently retracted the claim, but gave somewhat contradictory and misleading reasons for this retraction over the years, which were further </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mystified by later writers.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On 20 October 1973, the philosopher <b>Frank Cioffi</b> gave a talk on BBC Radio 3, published in <i>The Listener</i> on 7 February 1974, ‘Was Freud a Liar?’. <b>Cioffi </b>concluded, at this stage of his thinking, that <b>Freud</b> was <i>not</i> a liar, but was self-deceived, from pride. This, however, raises <b>Sartre</b>’s question in <i>Being and Nothingness</i> (1943), whether there can be, as <b>Freud</b>’s ‘metapsychology’ implied, genuine self-deception: </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">a lie without a liar</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="text-indent: 36pt;">Cioffi</b><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">pointed out that </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">in </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘seduction theory’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> <b>Freud</b> had stated: (1) that only under the ‘strongest compulsion’ of his avant-garde method, which he here named as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">psychoanalysis</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ for the first time</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">, could his patients be persuaded to ‘reproduce’ the ‘scenes’ of sexual abuse in childhood that he admitted he was, at least sometimes, <i>suggesting </i>to them; and (2) that the patients objected that these </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">scenes</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">, even if ‘reproduced’ with emotion, did not <i>feel </i>like memories. This, <b>Freud</b> insisted, was the most decisive proof that they </span><i style="text-indent: 36pt;">were</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> memories.</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">But <b>Cioffi</b> also pointed out the crucial, undeniable, but hitherto apparently unnoticed fact that, in <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">s purported retraction of his theory, a retraction which took various forms over the years, he managed to convey, without contradiction from readers, that his original seduction theory had been quite different from what it actually had been. He now indicated that his patients had </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">volunteered stories of childhood sexual abuse, which he had at first believed, but then, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">in definitely ascertainable circumstances</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">discovered to his chagrin to be fantasies. He represented this as a triumph rather than a defeat, as he claimed his erro</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">r had led him to discover childhood sexuality and the </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">Oedipus</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> complex.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">It is a common mystification of </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">everyday life to </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">apologise for a lesser error than the error one has made. <b>Freud </b>showed that he, too, was capable of doing so.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">Freud </b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">did not just revise his seduction theory. He silently revised what the seduction theory he revised had been.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"><b>Freud</b> loved to give detailed evidence, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">when he had it, or thought he had it. As mentioned above, his detailed case studies read, as he said, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">like novellas</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">He justified using the methods of the <i>Dichter</i> (creative writer) to show </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">the relationship between the </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">Leidensgeschichte</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> [deep, perhaps unacknowledged or denied (</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">unconscious</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">”) </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">existential suffering-history] and the </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">Leiden </i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">[presenting complaint]</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">However, he insisted that his case studies were not fiction. He wrote that he regarded it as an </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">abuse</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 0px;">‘<i>Mi</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>ß</i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 0px;"><i>brauch</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’) to change any aspect of a case history apart from the minimum required to preserve anonymity.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">But neither for the </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">seduction theory</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> nor for its retraction did he give evidence.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">Although both <span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"><b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 0px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">s </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<b>Katharina</b>’ case of 1895 and his ‘<b>Dora</b>’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> case of 1905 are brilliantly written, neither qualifies as evidence either for the seduction theory or for the retraction. He </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">treated</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">both these supposedly </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">hysterical</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">young women when they were eighteen. Both had been incestuously or quasi-incestuously abused in early adolescence, <b>Katharina</b> by her father and <b>Dora</b> by her father</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> best friend with her father</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">s implicit collusion. But in neither case is there mention of abuse before the age of second dentition as required by the seduction theory. The two cases do, however, suggest a radical change in <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">s thinking between 1895 and 1905. He regards <b>Katharina</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">s vomiting, after she discovered her father having intercourse with her cousin, as an </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">hysterical symptom</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> of what he implies was her justified but </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">unconscious</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> disgust at her own earlier sexual abuse by her father; but he regards <b>Dora</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">conscious disgust </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">at <i>her </i>sexual abuse</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;"> by her father</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">s friend at the same age as <b>Katharina</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">s abuse by her father as <i>itself </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">a <i>pathognomonic</i> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">symptom</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ of her alleged </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">hysteria</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (<i>i.e</i>., a phenomenon sufficient in itself to justify the diagnosis </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">hysteria</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’).</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">He did not publish a single case study, or even vignette, to illustrate or substantiate his claim that he had discovered that some patients who had reported sexual abuse in childhood were merely fantasising. Yet he claimed to have done so </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">in definitely ascertainable circumstances</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">(Of course, that he did not give evidence does not mean that nobody ever does so fantasise.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">In a number of his published and unpublished case studies, both before and after the seduction theory episode, <b>Freud </b>reports detailed</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> accounts by the patient of having been sexually abused in early or late childhood. In every case <b>Freud</b> believes the patient without question. And in none of these specific cases does <b>Freud </b>claim, far less give evidence, that the person had been merely fantasising. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Stadlen</b> emphasised that the seduction theory was an all-or-nothing theory. The specific aetiology claim meant that a <i>single counter-example</i> (though how one could </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">be certain</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> one </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">had found one is unclear: how could one prove someone had never ever been sexually abused and repressed the memory of it?) would not just modify the theory a little. <i>It would completely disprove it</i>. <b>Freud </b>knew this, as he had specifically defined </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">specific aetiology</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">thus. But he in effect blamed his patients for his mistake which he tried to turn into a triumph.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">His </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">seduction theory</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">and his retraction of it had in common his claim that he was right and the patient was wrong.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">But both the </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">seduction theory</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 48px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;"> and the retraction </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 36pt;">were false.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">According to <b>Freud</b>, in his 1914 essay </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the History of the Psychoanalytic Movement</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(GW10, p. 56; SE14, p. 18),</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: justify;">‘[<b>Karl</b>] <b style="font-style: italic;">Abraham</b><i> </i></span><i style="text-align: justify;">pronounced</i><span style="text-align: justify;"><i> the last word on the question of the traumatic aetiology when he pointed out how precisely the peculiarity of the sexual constitution of the child knows how to provoke sexual events of a particular kind, thus traumas.’</i></span></span></blockquote></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">It should be emphasised, however, that </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">– </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">despite <b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s questionably uncritical attitude to the adolescent <b>Dora</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s sexual molestation by her father</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s friend Herr <b>K. </b>(he actually calls her </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">a child of fourteen</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Stadlen</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s research shows that she was almost certainly only thirteen, below the Austrian age of consent at the time, and in fact to this day) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">– </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">he was quite clear that sexual relationships of adults with prepubertal children were indeed sexual abuse and should be treated as criminal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Moreover, <b>Freud</b> never claimed that <i>all </i>the patients he had taken to be sexually abused in childhood had merely been fantasising. But innumerable twentieth-century writers, for example <b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s authorised biographer </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ernest Jones </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">(1953), asserted that this was precisely what <span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s great</span> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">discovery</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’ had been. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><b>Jones</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> eulogised and romanticised the year 1897, when <b>Freud</b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">, in a private letter </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">on 21 September 1897 </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">to his friend </span></span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Wilhelm Flie</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>ß</b>,<b> </b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">retracted the </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">seduction theory</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">discovered</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> childhood oedipal phantasy on which adults</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> supposedly fantasied memories of supposed childhood sexual seduction were supposedly based. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘1897,</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> wrote <b>Jones</b>, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">was </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the acme of <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> life.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">It became difficult for those who had been sexually abused as children not to be disbelieved, not only by psych<i>o</i>analysts but also by lay people who had heard or read something about psychoanalysis and its history.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A further crucial mystification throughout this history has been the <i>presumption of illness</i>: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>mental</i> illness</span>’. We have discussed this in many seminars, and will not repeat the argument here. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">However, not only was </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">hysteria</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> taken by <b>Freud</b> to be an actual disease or illness which imitated other actual diseases or illnesses (as he explains in the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘<b>Dora</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> cas</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">e study), but </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">throughout most of the twentieth century</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">a report of childhood sexual abuse was liable to be taken, by psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, and lay people influenced by what they had picked up from superficial reading of or hearing about <b>Freud</b>, as <i>itself </i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">evidence of a supposed </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mental illness</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’ of the person reporting having been abused.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>4</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">It is important to realise that, two-thirds through the twentieth century, it was still commonplace, both in specialised psychoanalytic writings and in more general or popular accounts, to repeat, without any apparent sense of unreality, unlikelihood, or lack of common sense, that <i>all</i> <b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s patients at the time he was developing the seduction theory <i>told</i> him they had been sexually abused, but<i> turned out</i> to be fantasising; and that this enabled him to discover that there was, in fact, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">for a child</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">no difference between a real or a fantasied seduction or assault. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">For example, <i>The Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis </i>(1968), an authoritative work, edited by the psychoanalyst <b>Ludwig Edinger </b>with the assistance of other eminent psychoanalysts including <b>Harold Blum</b>, <b>Edward Glover</b>, <b>Bertram Lewin</b>, <b>William Niederland</b>, and <b>Leonard Shengold</b>, contains the following statements:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><ol><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">(p. 156)<i> <i style="text-align: justify;">‘</i>In his autobiographical study, <b>Freud</b> (1925) was to recall that he was at first convinced that the seduction of children actually took place and was responsible for their neuroses. Later, he discovered that these patients reported seductions which hadn’t taken place. Consequently his theory of seduction had to be abandoned. Finally, he realised that from the child’s point of view there was no difference between a real seduction and the wish to be seduced. He therefore introduced the concept of psychic reality which accounts for this apparent contradiction.</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">(p. 340) <i><i style="text-align: justify;">‘</i>At first <b>Freud </b>(1895) believed that what his patients reported as seductions in early childhood had actually occurred. Only later (in 1906) did he discover that they had never taken place and represented the child’s wishes. This discovery at first confused him, until he realised that for a child a wish may be equal to an actual experience. Freud called this kind of infantile experience psychic reality.</i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">’ </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> </span></li></ol><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">There are a couple of more nuanced brief allusions to the seduction theory episode in the <i>Encyclopedia</i>, but it is telling that the above two statements were approved.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Typical of countless other examples is the account, chosen at random, in <i><b>Sigmund Freud</b>: A Short Biography</i> by <b>Giovanni Costigan</b> (1965, p. 43):</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;">‘<i>Gradually, he was led to doubt the actuality of these stories of seduction in early childhood, upon which his entire theory of hysteria had been founded, and in course of time he came to abandon his belief in them altogether</i>.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It might be objected that <b>Costigan</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s is a popular account. But the same misleading story continued to be told by supposedly scholarly specialists, even after <b>Cioffi</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s demystification of 1973-4. For example, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Alan Krohn </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">in <i>Hysteria: The Elusive Neurosis</i> (1978, p. 21) wrote:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>Once again demonstrating his courage and scientific integrity, <b>Freud</b> came to see that the </i></span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">seduction theory</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">” </span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>was wrong, and that what patients had reported as memories of seductions were in fact fantasies that had been formed to cover up auto-erotic activity (and associated fantasies) in childhood. With <b>Freud</b>’s realization that these “memories” were remnants of infantile wishes came his recognition of the role of infantile sexuality.</i>’</span></blockquote><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Three further examples may hint at the extent to which interpersonal reality became discounted by psychoanalysts following <b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s retraction of his seduction theory and replacement of it by </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">psychic reality</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><ol><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><i>The Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis</i> (1968, p. 109) explains</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">:</span></span><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘The feeling of disgust [<b>Dora</b>] felt when Herr <b>K.</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> erect p</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">enis pressed against her body (at fourteen) probably meant that she resented the size of her own member. That is, it represented a defense against her consciousness of penis envy. This feeling of disgust persisted, and perhaps was responsible for her refusal to play a feminine role. In this, her father and Herr <b>K.</b> were her competitors. They had what she had not, a penis.’</span></i></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;">Melanie Klein</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s concept of ‘projective identification’ is today often thought to describe an interpersonal situation. It is taken to mean that person <b>P </b>in phantasy ‘projects’ an unacceptable aspect of <b>P</b>, e.g. faeces <b>F</b>, into another person <b>O</b>, and <b>O</b> in phantasy identifies with <b>F</b>. This would be an important concept in its own right. But this is not how </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Klein</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> originally defined it, in ‘Notes on some schizoid mechanisms’ (1946). Her concept was purely intrapsychic, and she never changed it. As she describes it, person <b>P</b> projects unacceptable psychic material, e.g. phantasied faeces (F), into the ‘inner object’ representing person <b>O</b> in person <b>P</b>’s own ‘psyche’ or ‘inner world’. And it is person <b>P</b>, not <b>O</b>, who identifies with F, but now as part of ‘inner object’ <b>O</b>, still within <b>P</b>. This was still how ‘projective identification’ was correctly defined, directly quoting <b>Klein</b>’s original, wholly intrapsychic account, in <i>The Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis</i> (1968, pp. 332-3). </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>John Bowlby </b>reported that, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">as a young psychoanalyst, he had wanted to study what happened between mothers and babies. But, he said, he was told that this was not an activity worthy of an analyst, because since</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Freud</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">had given up the seduction theory it was known that all that mattered was unconscious phantasy.</span></li></ol><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Intellectuals, and by no means only those who called for the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">liberation</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">of children</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> sexuality and of adults</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> right to enjoy and exploit it, were often, like the psychoanalysts themselves, seduced by <b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s and <b>Jones</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s seductive misrepresentation of the rise </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">and fall of </span><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white;">’</span><span style="background-color: white;">s</span><span style="background-color: white;"> seduction theory. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Cioffi</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s 1973 demystification of the episode went unnoticed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Again and again, it was <i>falsely</i> repeated, <i>even a century later</i>, by otherwise educated and intelligent people, not apparently in other respects out of touch with ordinary social reality, that <i>all</i> <b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">hysterical</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">patients in the seduction theory period </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">told him</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> they had been sexually abused; that he had at first believed them <i>all</i>; but that he had then discovered that they were <i>all </i>merely fantasising.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For example, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Dr <b>John Casey</b>, Life Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, wrote </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">(</span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Daily Telegraph</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">, 7 December 1995)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">, a few months before the centenary of </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Freud</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">'s announcement of his seduction theory: </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">[...] <i>patients came to </i>[<b>Freud</b>]<i> describing all sorts of sexual assaults and seductions by their parents and other relatives </i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">[which he at first believed but] </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><i>then decided that these stories were all fantasies</i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’.</span></span></blockquote><p> </p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">5</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Sartre</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> may serve as a paradigm case.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In <i>Being and Nothingness</i> (1943) <b>Sartre</b> lucidly and rigorously defined and analysed <i>mauvaise foi</i> (bad faith, self-deception). He ruthlessly revealed the contradictions in <b>Freud</b>’s ‘metapsychology’ of ‘repression’, the ‘unconscious’, and the ‘censor’.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But <b>Sartre</b> did not manifest the same clarity and sense of reality when addressing <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s seduction theory and retraction. He did not have the benefit of <b>Cioffi</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s analysis of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">1974, but the data were as available to him as to <b>Cioffi</b>,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">when, in 1958, he wrote a gigantic screenplay, commissioned and drastically shortened by <b>John Huston</b> for his film <i>Freud: The Secret Passion</i> (1962), and eventually published posthumously in full as <b>Sartre</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>The <b>Freud</b> Scenario</i> (1984). This </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">scenario is remarkable in many respects, but </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Sartre</b> perhaps became a paradigm case of his own concept of bad faith in that he allowed himself to be naively seduced by both <b>Freud</b>’s and <b>Jones</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s false accounts of the seduction theory and its retraction. </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Freud</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, as we emphasised above,</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">had failed to give a single actual example, let alone case study, of a patient whose report of being sexually abused as a child he had at first believed but then shown (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in definitely ascertainable circumstances</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, as he claimed) to be a fantasy; yet <b>Jones</b> (though <i>not</i> <b>Freud</b>) had claimed this was true of <i>all</i> <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">eighteen seduction theory patients.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Sartre</b> was undeterred.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> He simply invented a paradigm patient, <b>Cäcilie</b> (in the film, <b>Cecily</b>), to exemplify both the seduction theory and its false retraction. <b>Sartre</b> showed <b>Freud</b> helping the fictitious <b>Cäcilie</b> first ‘remember’ that her father had raped her when she was a little child (the seduction theory) and then ‘realise’ that she had imagined this (in conscious ‘fantasy’) because of her oedipal desire (in unconscious ‘phantasy’) for her father (the retraction).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Sartre</b> wanted his paradigmatic <b>Cäcilie</b> to be played by <b>Marilyn Monroe</b>; but his wish was not fulfilled.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Sartre</b> was, of course, one of the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">intellectuals</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> who signed the 1977 petition to the French Parliament on </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">consenting</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">sexual relationships between adults and children. It is an open question whether </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Sartre</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> acceptance of <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s false account of his retraction of the seduction theory and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">discovery</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> of infantile sexuality, as embodied in <i>The</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i> <b>Freud</b> Scenario</i>, played a part in <b>Sartre</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s thinking on the age of consent.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>6</b></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">It is one hundred and twenty-seven years since </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> announced his seduction theory. T</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">here have been the wildest swings in the attitude of intellectuals, including psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, philosophers and others, to the sexual abuse of children. They saw it where it wasn’t and failed to see it where it was. And they disagreed about whether, when it did happen, it was sexual abuse or the fulfilment of childhood sexuality.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Some feminist writers were curiously uncritical of Freud. For example, <b>Juliet Mitchell</b> wrote in <i>Psychoanalysis and Feminism</i> (1974, p. 9):</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><i style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;">‘</i><i><b>Freud</b> found that the incest and seduction that was being claimed </i>[</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">in the seduction theory]</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><i> never in fact took place.</i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Her use of the passive </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">being claimed</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> obscures the question of who was claiming it. But she does acknowledge that it was, increasingly, </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">incestuous</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> abuse with which <b>Freud</b> was, at that time, if only privately, concerned.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">In the 1980s, subsequent feminist writers strongly rejected <b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s rejection of the seduction theory, without necessarily knowing exactly either his original theory or his later account of what his theory had been and of why he had rejected it. Their primary concern was that women</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s accounts of childhood abuse and rape, and in particular of father-daughter incestuous abuse and rape, had been, and were still being, disbelieved; and that <b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> accounts of his seduction theory and of his retraction were being used to justify this.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The following books contributed to this feminist revaluation: <i>The Best-Kept Secret: Sexual Abuse of Children</i> by <b>Florence Rush</b> (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">1980); <i>Father-Daughter Incest</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> by <b>Judith Herman</b> (1981); <i>Father-Daughter Rape</i> by <b>Elizabeth Ward</b> (1984); and <i>The Secret Trauma: Incest in the Lives of Girls and Women</i> by <b>Diana E. H. Russell</b> (1986).</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">These feminists did not, apparently, notice <b>Cioffi</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> objections to </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Freud</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Jones</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> accounts. But they made a contribution to the history of the seduction theory, its reception, its retraction, and the reception of its retraction: they focussed on how <b>Freud</b> privately thought he was discovering evidence of father-daughter and father-son incestuous abuse and rape but for a long time censored this from his public account.</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1984 <b>Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson</b>, who at that time did not know the work of the feminists, published <i>The Assault on Truth: Freud’s Suppression of the Seduction Theory</i>. This muddied the waters by asserting that <b>Freud</b>’s seduction theory was simply right and his subsequent retraction simply wrong.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Because <b>Masson</b> was the authorised translator of <b>Freud</b>’s complete letters to <b>Flie</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>ß</b>, </span></span>feminist writers sometimes mistakenly assumed <b>Masson</b>’s mistaken account of the rise and fall of the seduction theory was authoritative and incorporated it into their own accounts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">In 1987 Drs </span><b>Marietta Higgs</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b>Geoffrey Wyatt</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">, paediatricians at Middlesborough Hospital, claimed that their method of investigating reflex anal dilation revealed child sexual abuse in a large number of children. 121 children in Cleveland were removed from their parents; 94 were subsequently returned. In 1988 the </span><b>Butler-Sloss</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> inquiry concluded that most of the diagnoses were incorrect. </span></div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; text-align: left;">In the same year, 1988, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Bass" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Ellen Bass"><b><span style="color: black;">Ellen Bass</span></b></a><span style="color: #202122;"><b> </b>and <b>Laura Davis</b> published</span> <i>The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse</i>, with its advice:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><i>‘If </i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">you are unable to remember any specific instances but still have a f</i><i style="font-family: verdana;">eeling that something abusive happened to you, it probably did.</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><i>’</i></span></blockquote><i style="font-family: verdana;"></i><p></p><div></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This dogmatic ‘recovered memories’ movement was combatted by its equally dogmatic adversary the ‘false memories’ movement whose starting-point was the serious research of Professor <b>Elizabeth Loftus </b>questioning the concept of ‘repressed memories’.</div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">When positions are adopted dogmatically in either direction, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">the authorities (for example, in the UK) on the one hand persecute innocent people falsely accused by a criminal child-abusing fantasist; while on the other hand they fail to prosecute a</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">television celebrity because of his fame, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">or city grooming gangs because of their race. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">These extreme abdications of rationality and responsibility are rewarded routinely with elevation to the peerage.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>7</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">There is, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say was, clearly </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">a dialectic between the psychoanalytic and the societal views on sexual relations between adults and children. It would be reductive to try to derive either view from the other, but it seems clear that the psychoanalytic view has played an important part in the development of the societal view, and even that the psychoanalytic confusion has contributed to the societal confusion.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">The Inner Circle Seminars started with a seminar on Sunday 21 April 1996, the exact centenary of <span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s announcement </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">on 21 April 1896, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">to the Vienna Society of Psychiatry and Neurology, of both the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">seduction theory</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ and </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">psychoanalysis</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’. Seventeen months later on Sunday 21 September 1997 we marked with a seminar the exact centenary of his private retraction </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">of the theory</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">on 21 September 1897 </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">in a letter to </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><b>Flie</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>ß</b></span></span>. We explored in subsequent seminars his subsequent development of the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">oedipal</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">theory of infantile sexuality and sexual phantasy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">(See </span><b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; text-decoration-line: underline;">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/1996/</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">.)</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We examined in detail over a number of years how the obfuscation of this episode – by <b>Freud</b>, <b>Jones</b>, and others, including many who claim to be critical of psychoanalysis – has contributed to a mystification of the discourse on the sexual abuse of children, embracing both contending dogmas, of ‘recovered’ and ‘false’ memories, which were already part of the definition of psychoanalysis at its first (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘recovered’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> memories, 1896) and second </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘false’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">memories, 1897-1906) </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">birth. We continue this exploration today.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The factual investigation of sexual abuse must be differentiated from the moral discourse. But it is impossible to discuss the ethics of sexual relations between adults and children intelligently if the supposed </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">f</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">acts</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’ </span>are so confused and unreliable.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Moreover, the</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">f</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">acts</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> do demand an ethical understanding. There is, of course, the obvious fact of an abuser</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s moral guilt. But, in addition, when a child represses aspects of his or her abuse, it is often precisely the memory of being implicitly or explicitly seduced, and seducing oneself, into denial of the <i>ethical</i> aspect, even at a very young age, that is repressed: that one seduces oneself into denying, and denying that one has denied, both the ethical aspect and that there was any ethical aspect to deny. This was not discussed by <b>Freud</b>, nor is it by psychotherapists generally, though it is perhaps somewhere implicit in <b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">moving account in his paper </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Aetiology of Hysteria</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> (1896) </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">of the later relationship of siblings one of whom has seduced the other in childhood, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">which <b>Peter Rudnytsky</b>, in Inner Circle Seminar No. 175 on 1 April 2012, convincingly argued was autobiographical.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">There is probably nothing that outrages and infuriates most psychotherapists more than the suggestion that there may be a </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">child-appropriate guilt</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> that a seduced, assaulted, molested, or raped child </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">may</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> feel, and repress, as a child; and may then rediscover, and even acknowledge, perhaps when an adult in the course of psychotherapy, as </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">justified</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">. Very few psychotherapists understand this. Most appear to think their therapeutic task is to reassure the client that he or she was a victim, an innocent child. And, of course, any such child </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">is</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> a victim. But, in so far as the child denied the ethical aspect, </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">if</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> he or she did, the child knows that he or she was guilty: guilty in a child-appropriate way, not as the adult abuser was guilty, and not of the same fault. It follows that a therapist who tries to talk the now adult child out of his or her guilt, rather than acknowledging it (which is not the same as approving it or disapproving it), is only further existentially seducing, mystifying, invalidating, and abusing the client.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This issue arose, for example, in the third of our twelve seminars for the fiftieth anniversary of <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b>’s <i>Sanity, Madness and the Family: Families of Schizophrenics</i> (1964): Inner Circle Seminar No. 220, on 6 December 2015, on <b>Claire Church</b> and the <b>Churches</b>. <b>Stadlen</b> pointed out that <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> saw all members of each family, including <b>Claire </b>and the other ten diagnosed ‘schizophrenic’ women, as free agents, whose actions were what <b>Sartre</b> termed <i>praxis</i>; rather than <i>process</i>, mere unintelligible happening. This implied that the supposedly ‘schizophrenic’ women were <i>responsible</i> for their actions, including the action, if they took it, of giving up, in despair, as if they were not free agents: in fact, in <b>Sartre</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s terms, in bad faith pretending to themselves that they were not free agents. Some participants felt this was a step too far, and that the argument for the possible adolescent-appropriate guilt of the mystified ‘schizophrenic’ teenager, or </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">child-appropriate guilt of the seduced and abused child, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">was unacceptable, because unacceptably harsh. The late Dame </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Hilary Mantel</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, however, who sensitively and profoundly introduced this and all but one other of the series of twelve </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Laing</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> seminars, eloquently supported and defended the case against invalidating child- or adolescent-appropriate guilt for having abdicated responsibility: for having colluded with </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">seduction, mystification, invalidation; for having pretended in bad faith to oneself that there was no ethical issue, and that the other or others were acting from love.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">In this seminar we shall continue to develop </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">existential seduction theory</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">, as we have done from the first Inner Circle Seminar twenty-seven years ago.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">This means giving due recognition to ethics. It also requires the <i>dialectical-phenomenological</i> study of the specific ways in which human beings use language to seduce one another: mystification, invalidation, double bind, etc., as researched by investigators such as <b>Gregory Bateson</b>, <b>Don Jackson</b>, <b>R. D. Laing</b>, <b>Aaron Esterson</b>, <b>Paul Watzlawick</b> in the mid-twentieth century, but gravely neglected by existential therapists and Daseinsanalysts since then.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">We will thus resume our exploration (in Inner Circle Seminar No. 278 on Sunday 22 January 2023) of <b>Martti Siirala</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s critique of what he called the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">violent elements in the absolutist claims for </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;">“Daseinsanalysis” to a direct access to the phenomena in an adequate, undistorted way’.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;">We shall continue to ask </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">how far these </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">violent elements</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">are due to </span></span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Martin Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s distaste for dialectics; and whether they may be remedied, and existential seduction theory advanced, by developing concretely <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s early (1919), but never again mentioned, notion of <i>Diahermeneutics</i>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">We shall also ask whether among the most <span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">violent</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span>of all elements in the discourse on sexual abuse might be the substitution of so-called </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white;">narrative truth</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white;"> for </span><span style="background-color: white;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white;">historical </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">truth</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">as in <b>Donald Spence</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s <i>Narrative Truth and Historical Truth: Meaning and Interpretation in Psychoanalysis</i> (1982), and the supposedly </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">post-modern</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> denial that there <i>ever was or could have been</i> any such </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">real event</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> as the abuse the person abused as a child is reporting. Yet the perhaps now adult person may be desperate not to be invalidated by being disbelieved, or doubted, or being told that this is </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">their truth</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #333333; text-align: left;">’.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">But the official psychoanalytic doctrine, starting from <b>Freud</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s turn-of-the-century retraction of the seduction theory, and his assertion that it is immaterial whether the child was in fact or in fantasy abused, as what matters is </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">psychic reality</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">had long prepared the ground for the twentieth-century contribution to the general <i>dethronement of truth</i> specifically in and by psychoanalysis, as noted by the phenomenological philosopher <b>Dietrich von Hildebrand</b> in his 1954 revision of his 1942 essay </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">The Dethronement of Truth</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #333333; text-align: left;">’</span> (discussed in Inner Circle Seminars No. 108 on Sunday </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">28 January 2007 and No. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">147 on Sunday </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">6 December 2009).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">Perhaps the most fundamental issue of all in this field is the question of childhood <i>innocence</i>. It is often said that <b>Freud</b> and psychoanalysis, in revealing infantile and childhood sexuality, have exposed childhood innocence as a </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">myth</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">It seems probable that many or most of the French intellectuals who in 1977 petitioned their Parliament for the lowering or abolition of the age of consent would also have doubted or denied the innocence of children, though this may be too easy a generalisation. It also seems probable that many who are uneasy about affirming what we have called children</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s child-appropriate guilt at having allowed themselves to be seduced are uneasy because this seems to contradict a child</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s innocence, even though they might not put it this way.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">But is this not a flattened, reduced, mechanistic, schizoid notion of innocence? Is not childhood innocence something more primordial and profound, that is in no way contradicted but rather all the more affirmed by childhood sexuality and by child-appropriate guilt at the laying waste of authentic childhood innocence?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">It may be worth recalling that there were twentieth-century writers who did not seek to get the age of consent lowered or abolished, and who had interesting views on psychoanalysis:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;"><b>James Joyce</b> told <b>Djuna Barnes</b> that psychoanalysis was</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18pt;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: left; text-indent: 18pt;">neither more nor less than blackmail</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 18pt;">’.</span></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;"><b>Dietrich Bonhoeffer</b>, the Christian theologian, in his</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;">Letters and Papers from Prison</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;">, also wrote:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;">‘[...] <i>the psychotherapists practise religious blackmail</i>’.</span></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;">D. H. </span><st1:place style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;" w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US">Lawrence</span></st1:city></st1:place></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;"> wrote in <i>Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious</i>:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;">‘<i>Psychoanalysis is out, under a therapeutic disguise, to do away entirely with the moral faculty in man</i>.’</span></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;"><b>T. S. </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;"><b>Eliot</b> wrote of <b>Freud</b>’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;">The Future of an Illusion</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;">:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;">It is shrewd and yet stupid; the stupidity lies not so much in historical ignorance or lack of sympathy with the religious attitude, as in verbal vagueness and inability to reason.</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;">’</span></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;"><b>Vladimir Nabokov</b> wrote:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18pt;">‘<i>The symbolism racket in schools attracts computerized minds but destroys plain intelligence as well as poetical sense</i>.’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify; text-indent: 24px;"> </span></blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: 24px;">Nabokov</b><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: 24px;">,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: 24px;"> himself unremittingly hostile to <b>Freud</b> and psychoanalysis, wrote<i><b> Lolita </b></i>(1955), as an imagined autobiographical account </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;">by an </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;">intellectual</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: 24px;">of how he systematically </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;">sexually abused</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: 24px;">an early-adolescent girl, starting when she was twelve and he was thirty-six. (<b>Freud</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">’</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: 24px;">s <b>Dora</b> and <b>Herr K. </b>were thirteen and thirty-six respectively; we compared the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: 24px;"><b>Dora</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">’ </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: 24px;">and <b>Lolita</b> cases in the twelve-hour Inner Circle Seminar No. 92 on 16 October 2005, a hundred years after </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: 24px;"><b>Dora</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">’ </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: 24px;">and fifty years after <i style="font-weight: bold;">Lolita</i> was published.) <b><i>Lolita</i></b> became a bestseller, because it was widely assumed, in particular by many of the literary </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: 24px;">intellectuals</span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;"> who praised it, and by its first publisher <b>Maurice Girodias</b>, to be a kind of superior pornography legitimating the sexual abuse depicted therein as a story of </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">‘forbidden </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;">love</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;">. It is clear from the book, and from <b>Nabokov</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;">s many comments on it, that, on the contrary, he wrote his novel to do what he said a novel <i>should</i> do: create a test, an ordeal, for the reader, whose task is, in a struggle with the author, to become a </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;">good reader</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;">, able to resist the paedophile narrator</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;">s monstrous attempts to seduce the <i>reader</i> into collusive sympathy with him and approval of his evil. <i><b>Lolita</b></i>, therefore, is a subtle phenomenological study of the evil of seduction and the seduction of evil.</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">On 26 November 1958 there was a crucial television discussion</div><div style="text-align: justify;">(<b><u><span style="color: #0b5394;">https://www.openculture.com/2011/08/vladimir_nabokov_lionel_trilling_on_lolita.html</span></u></b>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">between <b>N</b><b>abokov</b> and the psychoanalytically oriented literary critic <b>Lionel Trilling</b>.<b> Trilling </b>was the author of the influential essay<i><b> </b></i>‘<b>Freud </b>and Literature’ (<i>Horizon</i>, Vol. 16, No. 92, September 1947, pp. 182-200; reprinted in <i style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: left;">The Liberal Imagination: Essays on Literature and Society, </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: left;">1950</span>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In that essay <b>Trilling</b> had written:</div><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span>[...] <i>the Freudian man is, I venture to think, a creature of far more dignity and far more interest than the man which any other modern system has been able to conceive.</i><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">This was radically at odds with <b>Nabokov</b>’s view of the <span style="text-align: left;">dignity and interest of </span>‘<span style="text-align: left;">Freudian man</span>’. But <b>Nabokov</b><span style="text-align: left;"><b> </b>would hardly have found dignity or interest in the </span>‘<span style="text-align: left;">man</span>’<span style="text-align: left;"> conceived by any </span>‘<span style="text-align: left;">system</span>’.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Trilling</b> and his wife <b>Diana</b> were often described, apparently with their acceptance and perhaps even approval, as belonging to the ‘New York Intellectuals’.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the filmed television programme, <b>Trilling</b> proposed to <b>Nabokov</b> that <i style="text-indent: 24px;"><b>Lolita </b></i>was in the great literary tradition of stories of what he called ‘forbidden’ or ‘scandalous’ ‘passion love’. But <b>Nabokov</b> was decidedly unhappy with this characterisation, and immediately pointed out that there had always also been within the great literary tradition ‘as in life’ the theme of ‘passionate love, amorous love, within the terms of normal marriage’, exemplified by <b>Kitty</b> and <b>Lyovin</b> in <b>Leo Tolstoy</b>’s novel <i><b>Anna Karenin</b></i>. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Trilling</b> objected that the novel was called not <b><i>‘Kitty</i></b>’ or ‘<b><i>Lyovin</i></b>’ but ‘<b><i>Anna Karenin</i></b>’. But <b>Nabokov</b> insisted that <b>Kitty</b> and <b>Lyovin</b> were ‘just as alive as <b>Anna</b>’.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Trilling</b> also stated his own interpretation in his essay ‘The Last Lover: <b>Vladimir Nabokov</b>’s <i style="text-align: left;">“</i><b>Lolita</b><i style="text-align: left;">”</i>’ (<i>Encounter</i>, October 1958, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 9-19), contrasting the ‘rapture’ of <b>Humbert</b>’s description of <b>Lolita</b> with accounts of modern so-called ‘healthy’ and implicitly boring marriage. <b>Trilling</b> did not mention his television discussion with <b>Nabokov</b> or that the latter had explicitly invoked the story of <b>Kitty</b> and <b>Lyovin</b>’s passionately happy love and marriage as central to the great literary tradition and to life. Perhaps he had submitted the essay before the television programme was shown or filmed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Why was this distinction so important to <b>Nabokov</b>? Clearly, he was not claiming that the perverted ‘love’ of <b>Humbert Humbert </b>for <b>Lolita </b>was in that tradition of passionate marital love. He explained that in writing <b><i>Lolita</i></b> he had been helped by reading many case histories. His insistence can only mean that it is with reference to, in the light of, and contrasted with, the authentic standard of the great literary tradition of happy, passionate marital love exemplified by <b>Kitty</b> and <b>Lyovin</b> that the depraved and perverted pseudo-love of <b>Humbert Humbert </b>for <b>Lolita</b> is to be<b> </b>seen for what it is. This is the test <b>Nabokov</b> sets the ‘good reader’: not to be seduced by the seductive ploys of a pervert. <b>Trilling</b>, the ‘New York Intellectual’ and literary admirer of and expert on <b>Freud</b>, fails the test. But so do virtually all writers on <i><b>Lolita</b></i>, with the exception of <b>Nabokov</b>’s biographer <b>Brian Boyd</b>, and of <b>Nabokov</b>’s wife <b>Vera</b> who wrote:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><blockquote>‘<i>I wish someone would notice the tender description of the child’s helplessness, her pathetic dependence upon the monstrous HH, and her heartrending courage all along</i>.’</blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: justify;">Nabokov</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> himself wrote (</span></span><em style="text-align: left;">Strong Opinions</em><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, 1973, p. 193)</span>:</div></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>I believe that one day a reappraiser will come and declare that, far from being a frivolous firebird, I was a rigid moralist kicking sin, cuffing stupidity, ridiculing the vulgar and cruel </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: verdana;">– </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>and assigning sovereign power to tenderness, talent, and pride.</i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nabokov</b>’s ‘good reader’ is supposed to discover anew, by a kind of <i>via negativa</i>, something of the distinctive being of children and of adults.</div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We shall ask whether there can be authentic existential seduction theory if it does <i>not </i>recognise the </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;">distinctive</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 24px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">being of children and of adults, or acknowledge how adults can seduce children to betray or deny or forget their authentic innocence:</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><i></i></blockquote></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><i></i></blockquote></span></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><i></i></blockquote></span></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><i></i></blockquote></span></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><i>There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,<br /> The earth, and every common sight,<br /> To me did seem<br /> Apparelled in celestial light,<br /> The glory and the freshness of a dream.<br />It is not now as it hath been of yore;—<br /> Turn wheresoe'er I may,<br /> By night or day.<br />The things which I have seen I now can see no more.</i></blockquote></span></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote style="text-align: right;"><span>Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood</span></blockquote></span></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: right;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">William Wordsworth</b></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: right;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"></b></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: right;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"></b></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: right;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"></b></blockquote></blockquote><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhURh7Wa2elV27tu_e34Qfv_PBb3jtGtnzBNpQj_biNijcYZhEWwd1cB1sZR2Cw99fXQZ1i4L1tYPaFxXX5Hb0k1cELlxfdylCETfvfzM3LmPioTfmTYATtGTF0sIo6TpaChNk4dKK1n4NyA5KwgxtahDkpTuuFvnaYaBHHt-NHwgrG-H1M4hLKue93Hg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhURh7Wa2elV27tu_e34Qfv_PBb3jtGtnzBNpQj_biNijcYZhEWwd1cB1sZR2Cw99fXQZ1i4L1tYPaFxXX5Hb0k1cELlxfdylCETfvfzM3LmPioTfmTYATtGTF0sIo6TpaChNk4dKK1n4NyA5KwgxtahDkpTuuFvnaYaBHHt-NHwgrG-H1M4hLKue93Hg=w320-h320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">William Wordsworth</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <blockquote><p></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></i></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></i></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></i></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>L'enfant abdique son extase...</i></span></blockquote><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">[The child abdicates her ecstasy...]</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #333333; text-align: left;">Prose pour des Esseintes</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[<i>Prose for des Esseintes</i>]</span></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p></p></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: right;"><b>St</b><b>é</b><b>phane Mallarm</b><b>é</b></div></span></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: right;"><b></b></div></span></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: right;"><b></b></div></span></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: right;"><b></b></div></span></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: right;"><b></b></div></span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Pierre-Auguste_Renoir_-_St%C3%A9phane_Mallarm%C3%A9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="608" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Pierre-Auguste_Renoir_-_St%C3%A9phane_Mallarm%C3%A9.jpg" width="243" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: right;">St</span><span style="text-align: right;">é</span><span style="text-align: right;">phane Mallarm</span><span style="text-align: right;">é</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In today</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s seminar we will, then, be bringing together themes from a number of early and recent </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Inner Circle Seminars; and it is certain that these themes will not be exhausted, either in this seminar or in the future seminars the discussion will call for. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><i> </i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Your contribution to this discussion will be warmly welcomed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>This will </i></b></span><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b>be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i></p><div style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><i><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US"><i> </i>Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175</span><span lang="EN-US">,<b> </b>some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></span></span></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i>Tel:</i> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>E-mail:</i> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></i></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">For further information on seminars, visit: </i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></span></span></div></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-29840523829610853892023-01-01T04:01:00.039+00:002023-04-23T21:28:08.714+01:00Thinking 1923. Buber: 'I and Thou' - Freud: 'The Ego and the Id' - Groddeck: 'The Book of the It' - Heidegger: 'Ontology: Hermeneutics of Facticity'. Centenary investigations. Anthony Stadlen conducts Inner Circle Seminar 282 (23 April 2023)<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Thinking 1923</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Martin Buber: <i>I and Thou</i> (1923)</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Sigmund Freud: <i>The Ego and the Id </i>(1923)</b></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Georg Groddeck: <i>The Book of the It </i>(1923)</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Martin Heidegger: <i>Ontology: Hermeneutics of Facticity </i>(1923)</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Centenary investigations</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">conducts </span><span style="color: #990000;">by Zoom</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 282</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Sunday 23 April 2023</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinEQHJcXnTjA5yN7c26x8WRmbuDWhywv6kIBZEO_BWEOTCKLhAFSkQqKHWa0Gyr6DA6RKMq4Xtz75vyx6gCXB4vd3_YtqikGc7G-O2KIALPPeLJDQB0xyQSCysYRRg2JKzwTKeYsYU7dY7JkKadcUVTUHD-vEsNZkCPryK1BHcF2lT6pLirMolAU02HQ/s246/Freud%20from%20Freud%20with%20Anna.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="246" data-original-width="156" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinEQHJcXnTjA5yN7c26x8WRmbuDWhywv6kIBZEO_BWEOTCKLhAFSkQqKHWa0Gyr6DA6RKMq4Xtz75vyx6gCXB4vd3_YtqikGc7G-O2KIALPPeLJDQB0xyQSCysYRRg2JKzwTKeYsYU7dY7JkKadcUVTUHD-vEsNZkCPryK1BHcF2lT6pLirMolAU02HQ/w203-h320/Freud%20from%20Freud%20with%20Anna.JPG" width="203" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Sigmund Freud<br />1856-1939</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuFipPf2HRQheT3ZjvlpmF0PR1FpUzytSCgS91p_ITY7jQjhgESF4Tc4sIqWCUNtczWxq67a55bDI0Lb3vOg3uLOODi8zEZa9dJPl9SD-c5vgKqcmEbJt1ZE0A8RQ1-h0cdtpnVPNXwgiV7k8u6WrOM3Xo8TX3RyYxHWJ_JkWRd9sI0i2v6Z1lItRnQ/s401/georg%20groddeck%202.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuFipPf2HRQheT3ZjvlpmF0PR1FpUzytSCgS91p_ITY7jQjhgESF4Tc4sIqWCUNtczWxq67a55bDI0Lb3vOg3uLOODi8zEZa9dJPl9SD-c5vgKqcmEbJt1ZE0A8RQ1-h0cdtpnVPNXwgiV7k8u6WrOM3Xo8TX3RyYxHWJ_JkWRd9sI0i2v6Z1lItRnQ/s320/georg%20groddeck%202.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>Georg Groddeck</span><br /><span>1866-1934</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLC5o9e91z5uONqLfojgAKSKng5cPYcRQXy4R3ov7vOvMHtLAb0C0uW2CYYBfvbsWXQsF8WbDfMh7rfivnXc3OnFzqfm7uVlJKZaqawMCGeAFCIrYJqW6TfGGHqHRBnOSzBe1GDbb6rgWO7Z7jf7IYWD3luWlV8Ir6h63Vzl6fK5nMlNN21C8MlFqQg/s718/Buber%205.JPG" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLC5o9e91z5uONqLfojgAKSKng5cPYcRQXy4R3ov7vOvMHtLAb0C0uW2CYYBfvbsWXQsF8WbDfMh7rfivnXc3OnFzqfm7uVlJKZaqawMCGeAFCIrYJqW6TfGGHqHRBnOSzBe1GDbb6rgWO7Z7jf7IYWD3luWlV8Ir6h63Vzl6fK5nMlNN21C8MlFqQg/s320/Buber%205.JPG" width="209" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Martin Buber<br />1878-1965</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqzFv_CpwukDkK4CV3sSzZ2lODad269BZlyjk4tmTKqx-v139lm1rMMuRb1AMwff6qrtTWcaRwwSvJQtUp9XYxBVaDI9Y1YP-BuVvA3buujXYRC8RN7Q1uJq-fZjaMoqsB5yhG6nV3hKSBvtf8I-MWyFbJ8HLh0YMVd8xta9eteF_SG3N5Oj73fzbhw/s823/Heidegger%201.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="765" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqzFv_CpwukDkK4CV3sSzZ2lODad269BZlyjk4tmTKqx-v139lm1rMMuRb1AMwff6qrtTWcaRwwSvJQtUp9XYxBVaDI9Y1YP-BuVvA3buujXYRC8RN7Q1uJq-fZjaMoqsB5yhG6nV3hKSBvtf8I-MWyFbJ8HLh0YMVd8xta9eteF_SG3N5Oj73fzbhw/s320/Heidegger%201.JPG" width="297" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Martin Heidegger<br />1889-1976</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A century ago, in the single year 1923, three important books were published and an important course of lectures was delivered, books and lectures all in German.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 1923, <b>Sigmund Freud</b> (1856-1939) published<b> </b><i>Das Ich und das Es</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (later translated as </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Ego and the Id</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">) </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Martin Buber </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">(1878-1965) published </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Ich und Du</i> (later translated as <i>I and Thou</i>)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></div></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s book, published in the third week of April 1923, is a statement of his later, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">structural</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, psychoanalytic theory. <b>Buber</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s book, published the same year, is a paradigmatic, if idiosyncratic, exposition of his dialogical existential thinking.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Both titles contain the word </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Ich</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">I</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">), and both books are also concerned with </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Es</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ (</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">it</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">). </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">But the books, and even the titles, are strikingly different.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Freud</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> reifies </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘<i>i</i></span><i>ch</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ and </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>es</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">as </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>das Ich</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">(</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">the I</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">) </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">and </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>das Es</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> (</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">the It</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">). </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">T</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">here is phenomenological and common-sense validity in distinguishing between </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>ich</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">(</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">I</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">) and </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>es</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">(</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">it</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">), as one can say in German, for example, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>ich </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.9333px;">träumte</i>’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">(</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">I dreamt</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">) or </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>es </i><i style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.9333px;">träumte</i><i> </i><i>mir</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">(</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">it dreamt to me</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">); and these are different ways of speaking of dreaming. But is there such an entity as </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>das Ich</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ or </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><i>das Es</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ (</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">the I</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> or </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">the It</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’)</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> to </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">do</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> the dreaming? (Of course, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘I</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> and </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">it</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ have different roles as pronouns referring to </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">specific persons or objects, just as </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">there</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">may refer to a specific place, but does not do so in </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘there is...</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’.)</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">A </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">psychoanalytic committee in England supervised the </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">translation of <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s works to try to ensure, amo</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">ng other requirements, that they would appear sufficiently </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">scientific</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’. T</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">o <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s dismay, but </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">in line with the committee</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’s i</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">deology</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b>Joan Riviere</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">translated </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>das Ich</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ and </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">das Es</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">into Latin: the book became, in her </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">English</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ translation</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, <i>T</i></span><i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">he Ego</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> and </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">the Id </span></i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">(1927)</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">This Latinised reification was retained in <b>James Strachey</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s (1961) revision of her translation in the English <i>Standard Edition </i>of <b>Freud</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> works.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Also in 1923, the psychoanalyst </span><b>Georg </b><b>Groddeck </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">(1866-1934)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, an admirer and friend of <b>Freud</b>,<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">published his own book </span><i>Das Buch vom Es</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (</span><i>The Book of the It</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">). It was </span><b>Groddeck</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> who </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">coined the term </span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">das Es</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>’</i> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the It</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">), which <b>Freud</b> adopted. But <b>Groddeck</b> was perhaps clearer than <b>Freud</b> that </span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘das </span>Es</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>’ </i>should not be reified as a pseudo-entity.</span></span></div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b>Peter Rudnytzky</b>, who conducted Inner Circle Seminars Nos. 175 (1 April 2012: <i>The Aetiology of Psychoanalysis</i>) and 256 (1 April 2020: <i>Mutual Analysis</i>) and participated in the recent No. 280 (3 March 2023: <i>Peter Lomas</i>), has </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">written that </span><b style="text-align: left;">Groddeck</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s</span><b style="text-align: left;"> </b><i style="text-align: left;">The Book of the It</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">is</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘by far the most profound and important</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">of the </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">four psychoanalytic works (the other three being by<b> <span style="text-align: center;">Sándor </span></b><b>Ferenczi</b> and<b> Otto Rank</b>) that constitute a contemporary </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">collective counterweight</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">to the intrapsychic focus of </span><i style="text-align: left;">The Ego</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> <i>and the Id</i>, tending towards the dialogical discourse of </span><b>Buber</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’s <i>I and Thou</i>.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span></div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Buber</b> speaks straightforwardly of <i>‘Ich’</i> (‘I’) and <i>‘Du’</i> (‘You’). He contrasts <i>Ich-Du</i> with <i>Ich-Es</i> (I-it). <b>Ronald Gregor Smith</b> translated <b>Buber</b>’s book in 1937, rendering <i>‘Du’</i> as ‘Thou’; but <b>Walter Kaufmann</b> translated it in 1970, rendering <i>‘Du’</i> as ‘You’ throughout the book, while retaining ‘Thou’ in the title to avoid confusion. We shall discuss, among other things, <b>Kaufmann</b>’s profound introduction to his own translation of<b> Buber</b>’s book.</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">I</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">n </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">the summer of the same year, 1923, in which <b>Freud</b>, <b>Groddeck</b>, and <b>Buber</b> published these books, t</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">he philosopher <b>Martin Heidegger </b>(1889-1976) </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">gave </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">a course of lectures, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>Ontologie: Hermeneutik der </i><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Faktizität</i>, </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">at Freiburg University. The lectures were published in book form in 1988, and translated </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">by <b>John von Buren</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">as </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Ontology: Hermeneutics of Facticity </i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">(2008)</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">Heidegger </b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">understands </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">the genitive </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">of</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">in </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">hermeneutics of facticity</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">as subjective as well as objective, or perhaps as a genitive that transcends both subjective and objective: hermeneutics and facticity are, for him, inseparable. This lecture course is remarkable for, among other things, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘tarrying for a while</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ at </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">the table in </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">s house which he reveals not as a secondarily derived and abstracted object, but, primordially, through </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">hermeneutic-phenomenological description and interpretation, as </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">the site of many activities of himself, his wife, his young sons, and their guests. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">We shall c</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">ompare this with <b>Jane Austen</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">s account of the table in <b>Fanny Price</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">s </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;">original family home in <i>Mansfield Park</i> (1816).</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One might think that hermeneutics entail a </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">dialectical</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> interplay of interpretations, but these lectures include one of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s most impassioned denunciations of dialectic as an approach to truth, a theme to which he was to return often elsewhere, for example in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Being and Time</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1927), where he describes dialectic as ‘a real philosophical embarrassment’. In these 1923 lectures he denounces dialectic as ‘double-sidedly unradical’, a ‘madame [</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Prokuristin</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">] for the public whoring of the spirit’. We discussed this in Inner Circle Seminar No. 279 (27 January 2023).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Does this mean that <b>Heidegger</b> opposed </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Buber</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s dialogical thinking? Clearly not; he reports or imagines a number of dialogues, for instance in his books <i>Unterwegs zur Sprache </i>(<i>On the Way to Language</i>) and <i>Gelassenheit</i> (<i>Discourse on Thinking</i>); and he likes to quote </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap;"><b>Hölderlin</b></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Seit ein Gespr</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: start;"><i>ä</i></span><i>ch wir sind</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since we are a conversation</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">). </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">He did say the </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Ich-Du</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> relationship should be more accurately called a </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Du-Du</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> relationship, but he had great respect for </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Buber</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">;</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and after the second world war <b>Heidegger</b> wrote to his wife about </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Buber</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s ‘wisdom</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and told a friend that he had ‘just had a </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">beautiful </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">conversation with </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Martin Buber</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, <b>Heidegger</b> does seem to have valued silence even above dialogue. Is this why <b>Buber</b>, perhaps paradoxically, chose silence by declining subsequent invitations to visit <b>Heidegger </b>and continue their conversations in his mountain hut? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thus there were conversations between the psychoanalysts <b>Freud</b> and <b>Groddeck</b> and between the philo</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">sophers </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b>Buber</b> and <b>Heidegger</b>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">The only meeting (or perhaps </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">mismeeting</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, to use<b> Buber</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s term) between one of the psychoanalysts and one of the philosophers seems to have been when <b>Buber</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">visited <b>Freud</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">in 1908,</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> only a year after <b>Carl Jung </b>and <b>Ludwig Binswanger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">first visit to <b>Freud</b>, which we examined in Inner Circle Seminar No. 110 (4 March 2007). <b>Buber</b> was </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">editing a </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">series of books, </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Gesellschaft</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> (</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Society</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">), and hoped </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b>Freud </b>would write a book, <i>Neurosis as a Social Institution</i>, for it. </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Freud</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, however, disdained philosophy, although he had attended <b>Brentano</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> lectures as a student. In any event, he did not write a book for <b>Buber</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s series; nor did he write a book with that title; but a number of his subsequent books, such as </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Totem and Taboo</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> (1913)</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, <i>The Future of an Illusion </i>(1927), and <i>Civilisation and its Discontents </i>(1930),<i> </i>do indeed discuss neurosis as a social institution, and religion as, in <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s view, one of that social institution</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">major aspects.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b>B</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b>uber </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">had spent a year as a young man studying with psychiatrists including <b>Bleuler</b>. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">In 1957 </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Buber</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> gave the William Alanson White Memorial Lectures for psychiatrists and others and also engaged in a remarkable recorded and published dialogue with the psychotherapist </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Carl Rogers</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, as we discussed in Inner Circle Seminars Nos. 112 (22 April 2007) and 124 (10 February 2008). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b>Heidegger</b> had discussions both with psychiatrists, including <b>Binswanger</b>, and with</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">schizophrenics</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, who fascinated him. <b>Heidegger</b> had a </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">breakdown</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ after the second world war and spent time in the Badenweiler sanatorium of the existential psychiatrist <b>Viktor von Gebsattel</b>. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Between 1959 and 1969 </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> conducted the Zollikon Seminars for psychiatrists, psychotherapists, and others in the house of the psychiatrist and psychoanalyst </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Medard Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, to which we have devoted many Inner Circle Seminars.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">It would be remarkable, though in a sense not surprising, given <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s deviousness, if in the course of his intensive conversations over more than two decades with </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Heidegger </b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">he </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">had not described </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">his revelatory personal experience as a student in Vienna in 1925 when he was a patient of <b>Freud</b>. <b>Boss </b>was, to be sure, as his colleague and successor <b>Gion Condrau</b> wrote, a </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">fantasist</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’: a</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> spinner of tall tales, who, as proved by the research of <b>Condrau</b> and <b>Anthony Stadlen</b>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">increased and multiplied </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">the length of his brief analysis with <b>Freud </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">over the years of (literally) recounting it. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">But his report of how he was astonished by <b>Freud</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s warm, direct, non-</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">‘technical’ way of relating to him has the ring of truth, and surely describes one of the founding experiences from which <b>Boss</b></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s vision of Daseinsanalysis sprang.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">It is also entirely possible that </span></span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> told </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> how </span><b>Groddeck</b> had taught him about dying, by his personal example and words when </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">in 1934 </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">he had come</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, as a patient, to die in <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s sanatorium at Bad Knonau near Zurich.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">A century on, basing ourselves on the evidence of these four books, and on what we know of these later discussions, we shall explore and try to extend the dialogue, dialectic, and interplay between these</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> extraordinary four thinkers and their thinking, from 1923 to 2023. Your contribution will be most welcome. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i> </i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><i>This </i></b></span><i style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">will be an online seminar, using Zoom.</span></b></i></div><span><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><i style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></b></i></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><i> </i>Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">,<b> </b>some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></span></div></span></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i>Tel:</i> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>E-mail:</i><span style="color: #0b5394;"> <span lang="EN-US"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span lang="EN-US"><u><br /></u></span></span></span></div><div><i style="font-family: verdana;">For further information on seminars, visit: </i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But they are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-72935535029129020482023-01-01T03:02:00.003+00:002023-10-11T18:25:57.681+01:00Søren Kierkegaard. From 16 October 1843 to the authorship as a whole. Marilyn Piety & Daniel Conway conduct Inner Circle Seminars 279 & 281 (12 February & 26 March 2023)<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Søren </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Kierkegaard</span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">(1813</span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">– </span></span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">1855)</span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="text-align: center;"><span>From the works published on 16 October 1843</span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span><span>to the authorship as a whole</span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Faith, repetition, anxiety, existence, despair, love</b></span></span></p><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Fear and Trembling</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>Repetition</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>Upbuilding Discourses</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>Philosophical Crumbs</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>The Concept of Anxiety</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>Concluding Unscientific Postscript</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>Works of Love</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>The Sickness Unto Death</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>and other works</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Marilyn Piety and Daniel Conway</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;">conduct </span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">by Zoom</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminars Nos. 279 and 281</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>introduced by </b></span><b style="color: #0b5394;">Anthony Stadlen</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sundays </span></b><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">12 February and 26 March 2023</span></b><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-za2y-zCKMg0/X_5Uo9tN7YI/AAAAAAAAKsQ/yol2rqaIai8rBs9Ws_gkD2Ju8p0zk4s_wCPcBGAYYCw/s253/image.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="190" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-za2y-zCKMg0/X_5Uo9tN7YI/AAAAAAAAKsQ/yol2rqaIai8rBs9Ws_gkD2Ju8p0zk4s_wCPcBGAYYCw/s0/image.png" /></a></div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FmbSAx3i5J0/S0D_arUVZSI/AAAAAAAAET0/E85XLqJ1jWk102ClOjm3BWLsXwF_PRtCwCPcBGAYYCw/s874/Kierkegaard%2B1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="698" height="254" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FmbSAx3i5J0/S0D_arUVZSI/AAAAAAAAET0/E85XLqJ1jWk102ClOjm3BWLsXwF_PRtCwCPcBGAYYCw/w202-h254/Kierkegaard%2B1.JPG" width="202" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GrLCH-r5f40/X_PCuqhJ4bI/AAAAAAAAKpo/M1RMH8eckUYdlU988toQ2uFo257H1JfFgCPcBGAYYCw/s318/image.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="238" height="253" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GrLCH-r5f40/X_PCuqhJ4bI/AAAAAAAAKpo/M1RMH8eckUYdlU988toQ2uFo257H1JfFgCPcBGAYYCw/w190-h253/image.png" width="190" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Søren Kierkegaard</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">and the three books he published on 16 October 1843</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span face="verdana, sans-serif"><i>Repetition </i>by </span></span><span face="verdana, sans-serif">Constantin Constantius</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i><span face="verdana, sans-serif"> by Johannes de silentio</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span face="verdana, sans-serif"> <i>Three Upbuilding Discourses </i>by<i> </i></span></span><span>Søren Kierkegaard</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5975002653149413835/8438094750320867601#" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></a></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our exceptional constellation of speakers and seminars on the writings of the foundational existential thinker </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><b>Søren</b> </span><b>Kierkegaard</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> is helping existential therapists to reach a deeper understanding of his thinking and, therefore, of the foundations of their discipline. This does not mean, of course, that they should expect to agree with everything he or his pseudonyms said, which would in any case be logically impossible, by the very nature of the sometimes contradictory interplay of his and his pseudonyms' perspectives. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some of the world’s greatest <b>Kierkegaard</b> authorities have guided us in nine seminars through the three extraordinary books, including <i>Fear and Trembling</i>, he (and two of his pseudonyms) published on 16 October 1843. We celebrated the 175th anniversary of this incandescence by starting on 14 October 2018.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 2023, we resume this exploration, with another expertly guided seminar on <i>Fear and Trembling</i>. But we also move on to an examination of all <b>Kierkegaard</b>’s main works over the coming years, with particular focus on their relevance to psychotherapy, starting with <i>Philosophical Crumbs</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">1. <i>Philosophical Crumbs</i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;">or <i>A Crumb of Philosophy</i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;">by Johannes Climacus</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;">published by Søren Kierkegaard</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;">13 June 1844</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;">Marilyn Piety</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;">conducts</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 279</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;">Sunday 12 February 2023</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;">2 p.m. to 5 p.m. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. London time (GMT)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor <b>Marilyn Gaye Piety</b> of Drexel University in 2021 conducted a much praised seminar on <i>Repetition</i>, which she had herself translated. Today she will discuss <b>Kierkegaard</b>’s pseudonym <b>Johannes Climacus</b>’s book <i>Philosophical Crumbs</i> (1844), which she has also excellently translated.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;"><b>2.<i> Fear and Trembling</i></b></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Dialectical Lyric</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>by Johannes de silentio</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>published 16 October 1843</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>From Problema 3 to the end</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Daniel Conway Anthony Stadlen</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>conduct</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 281</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Sunday 26 March 2023</b></span></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b>10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. London time (GMT)</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We have, in four seminars, three of them guided by Professor <b>John Lippitt,</b> closely perused the <i>text</i> of Kierkegaard’s pseudonym <b>Johannes de silentio</b>’s book <i>Fear and Trembling </i>(1843), to the end of Problema 2. Five seminars on the <i>context</i> – </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the other works published by </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and another pseudonym on 16 October 1843 (<i>Three Upbuilding Discourses</i> and <i>Repetition</i>), and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">divine command theory and the Akedah (the binding of <b>Isaac</b> by <b>Abraham</b>) in Judaism and Islam </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">– have been conducted by </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professors <b>George Pattison</b>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Marilyn Piety</b>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>C. Steven Evans</b>, <b>Yehuda Gellman</b>, and <b>Mariam al Attar</b>, respectively. Today Professor <b>Daniel Conway</b> in Australia and <b>Anthony Stadlen</b> in London will lead our fifth seminar on the <i>text</i> of </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Fear and Trembling</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">from Problema 3 to the end of the book.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span><b><span><span><b><span><b><span><b><span><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></div></span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;">[Other seminars in this series will soon be announced.]</span></span></b></div></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Why study <b>Kierkegaard</b>? Everyone now seems to be talking about ‘mental health’. But is this the best way of understanding what people are experiencing in today</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> undoubted crises? Are these not existential, ethical, spiritual, religious problems? But what does ‘existential’ mean? And do not many existential therapists object to the ‘religious’, whatever that means? But, again, do not some existential therapists find religious experience, their own or others’, of fundamental importance? Should not all existential therapists at least understand what their religious clients, or clients who say they have had some religious experience, are talking about?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our subseries of nine seminars between 2018 and 2021 </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">devoted to </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and his other </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">books published on 16 October 1843 has </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">showed decisively that a significant number of existential therapists do indeed know and value religious experience. In 2023 we continue with two more seminars on </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, but also broaden out into an exploration over the coming years of <b>Kierkegaard</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s authorship as a whole.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Existential therapists, whether or not they are aware of this, are implicitly using the previously already existing, neutral, English word ‘existential’ to convey something of the more restricted, but also more potent and highly charged, meaning of the Danish word </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existentiel</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ as used and, apparently, actually coined </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">by </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Søren Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855). His pseudonym </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Johannes Climacus</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">introduced it in <b><i>Concluding Unscientific Postscript </i></b></span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>to the Philosophical Crumbs</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1846): </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in its subtitle <i style="font-weight: bold;">An Existential Contribution</i><span> </span>and, for instance, in its discussion of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘existential </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">pathos</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’. It </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">is intended to</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">convey thinking with all one’s being, as an ‘existing’ thinker: as opposed to constructing a ‘system’ which, as his pseudonym </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Anti-Climacus</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> wrote in </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>The Sickness Unto Death</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1849), would be like building a house in which one does not live.</span></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Ludwig Feuerbach</b> used the word ‘existence’ in a similar sense, but he wanted to secularise religious thinking, whereas <b>Kierkegaard</b> affirmed authentic religion as not reducible to social ethics (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Sædelighed</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ in Danish, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sittlichkeit</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ in German).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Martin Heidegger </b>translated <b>Kierkegaard</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s ‘e<i>xistentiel</i>’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">into German as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>existenziell</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ but restricted it to what he called the <i>ontic</i>; </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">for </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the <i>ontological </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">he used </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existenzial</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, a word rare in German, though <b>Edmund Husserl</b> had used it in <b><i>Philosophy as Rigorous Science</i></b> (1910-11), and <b>Kierkegaard</b> had even on occasion used, probably coined, a Danish word </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existential</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, meaning for him the same as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">existentiel</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in his private writings</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. He is alternatively alleged, but without evidence, to have adopted the word(s) after he learned </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">from a conversation with, or about, the Norwegian poet and critic <b>Johann Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven</b> that <i>he</i> used the Norwegian </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">existensiell</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ in this way.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The poet </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Samuel Taylor Coleridge</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">had used </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existential</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">as an English word and meditated on the nature of <span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existence</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span>in <i><b>The Friend</b></i> as early as 1809, before <b>Kierkegaard </b>was born. The philosopher <b>Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">influenced <b>Coleridge</b>, <b>Kierkegaard</b>, and <b>Heidegger</b>, and was said by <b>Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz</b> to have orally named his own later philosophy as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>E</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>xistenzialphilosophie</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’; but </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">it is by no means established, although it is possible, that </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Coleridge</b><i style="font-family: verdana;">'s </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">use of</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> </i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existential</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ or </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Kierkegaard</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s use of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existentiel'</i> or </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existential'</i> were themselves directly suggested by, or derived from, <b>Schelling</b>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">None of these usages, of course, should be confused with, or reduced to, the bare </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">existential quantifier</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">there exists an </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">x</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> such that...</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">) in subsequent logic and mathematics. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> insisted that, whether pseudonymous (‘with the left hand’) or in his own name (‘with the right hand’), his writing was <i>always</i> religious, though he denounced institutionalised religion (such as Danish 19th-century ‘Christendom’) as a perversion of authentic, existential religion. Much writing by ‘existential’ therapists censors (and implicitly censures) </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s always-religious writing at the outset, claiming to find its ‘relevant’, secular-‘existential’ meaning. </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ludwig Binswanger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> secularises </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>The Sickness Unto Death</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in this way in his ‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>The Case of Ellen West</b>’</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. But this is just what </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Kierkegaard</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> was attacking as a betrayal.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nowhere is this more explicit than in </span><b style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">Fear and Trembling: A Dialectical Lyric </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">by</span><b style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;"> </b><b style="font-family: verdana;">Johannes de silentio</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, published in Copenhagen on <b>16 October 1843</b>, together with two other books, </span><b style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">Repetition: An Essay in Experimental Psychology </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">by </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Constantin Constantinus</b><b style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;"> </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Three Upbuilding Discourses</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> by </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Søren Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. Our seminars on this extraordinary event in publishing history, its context, and its implications, started on 14 October 2018, celebrating these three books’ hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary, and will conclude, at least for the time being, on 29 October 2023, the one hundred and eightieth anniversary.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The author of all three books was </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, as he acknowledged in ‘</span><b style="font-family: verdana;">A First and Last Declaration</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, the further postscript that he, in his own name, added to </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Concluding Unscientific Postscript</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We bega by exploring this astonishing creative incandescence and its aftermath in a subseries of the Inner Circle Seminars, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard: 16 October 1843 and beyond</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our close reading of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Fear and Trembling </i></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">will continue in 2023 with the fifth and sixth seminars on this text, conducted by Professor <b>Daniel Conway</b> and other world authorities</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Other leading international specialists will explore over the next few years the other major works by <b>Kierkegaard</b> and his pseudonyms: </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Philosophical Crumbs</i>, </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">The Concept of Anxiety</i>, </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><i>Concluding Unscientific Postscript</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">,</span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><i> </i></b><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><i>Works of Love</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">,</span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><i> </i></b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">The Sickness Unto Death</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Marilyn Piety</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, conducted in </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">2021 </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">2023</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">memorable seminars on </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Repetition</i> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Philosophical Crumbs</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, published by the pseudonyms <b>Constantine Constantius</b> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Johannes Climacus</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in 1843 and 1844, respectively, which she has also translated.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> focusses with terrible intensity on the dialectical tension between </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Abraham</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s love and awe for </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">God</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and his love for his son </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Isaac</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. It is a ‘dialectical lyric’ on the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Akedah</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, the account (</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Genesis</b>,</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> 22:1-19) of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Abraham</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s ‘binding’ of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Isaac </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">in preparation for a sacrifice prevented only by an angel’s last-minute intervention. The meaning of the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Akedah</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> has been debated for millennia by Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and (more recently) atheist thinkers. It is chanted from the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Torah</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> scroll in synagogues at the <b>New Year,</b> with great textual precision, though everyone is free to propose his or her own <i>interpretation</i>. In Christianity it is held to prefigure the crucifixion of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. The </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Qur’an</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> does not name </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ibrahim</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s son in this narrative, and Islamic scholars have debated whether it was </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ishmael </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">or </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Isaac</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">; today it is held to have been </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ishmael</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">; animal sacrifices on </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Eid al-Adha</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> commemorate </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ibrahim</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s sacrifice of a ram instead of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ishmael</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. The </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Akedah</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> has been the basis of many great works of art, music, drama, and poetry.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Other seminars, conducted by world authorities, including </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">George Pattison</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Marilyn Piety</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">C. Stephen Evans</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Jerome (Yehuda) Gellman</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Mariam al-Attar</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, have focussed in turn on: the problem of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s pseudonyms; the two other works (</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Three Upbuilding Discourses</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Repetition</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">) published with </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> on <b>16 October 1843</b>; the interpretations of the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Akedah</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and the Hasidic masters; and whether or not some form of ‘divine command theory’ is advocated by </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, his pseudonyms, or any or all of the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Abrahamic</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam. (In a dialogue of <b>Plato</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Euthyphro</b> is confused when <b>Socrates</b> asks him whether the gods love the good because it is good or whether the good is good because the gods love it. Many philosophers have thought that <b>Socrates</b>’s question presents a severe problem for divine command theory, but recently other philosophers have argued that there are forms of this theory not vulnerable to the problem <b>Socrates</b> raises for <b>Euthyphro</b>.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">insisted in ‘</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>A First and Last Declaration</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i></i></span></div><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">... if it should occur to anyone to want to quote a particular passage from the books, it is my wish, my prayer, that he will do me the kindness of citing the respective pseudonymous author’s name, not mine.</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">’</span><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Johannes de silentio</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Johannes Climacus</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, and the other pseudonyms are like characters in a drama written by </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. He called it ‘indirect communication’, a dialectic of perspectives which invites the reader to work out his or her own point of view. Much commentary on </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and the other pseudonymous works ignores </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Kierkegaard</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s urgent request to respect their pseudonymous nature. This leads to serious misunderstandings. Even the pseudonymous writers sometimes entertain and expound diametrically opposite views within a single work. The pseudonym is not necessarily committed to either view, and Kierkegaard is not necessarily committed either to a polarity of views as entertained by the pseudonym or to either such view as entertained by the pseudonym or to the pseudonym</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s non-commitment to such a polarity of views or to either of these.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Evaluations of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> vary.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ludwig Wittgenstein</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, himself one of the most profound thinkers of the 20th century, said </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">was</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> ‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>by far the most profound thinker of the last [19th] century</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">and</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> ‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>too deep for me</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dr </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Abraham Myerson</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, a psychiatrist,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in 1945 diagnosed </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> as</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> ‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">a psychiatric case</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">and his writing as</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> ‘</span><i>a schizoid and certainly utterly incomprehensible presentation by a mind which is quite deviate</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"></i></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Professor <b>Ernesto Spinelli</b>, an existential therapist, in his 2017 essay ‘Kierkegaard’s dangerous folly’ in <i>Existential Analysis</i>, denounced <b>Kierkegaard</b> for allegedly admiring <b>Abraham</b>’s</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> ‘</span><i style="text-align: left;">self-evident lunacy</i><span>’</span><span style="text-align: left;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those who have acknowledged indebtedness to, or have struggled with, </span><b>Søren Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> include </span><b>Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, Edvard Munch, Miguel de Unamano, Rainer Maria Rilke, Martin Buber, Theodor Haecker, Ludwig Binswanger, Ferdinand Ebner, Igor Stravinsky, Viktor Emil von Gebsattel, Karl Jaspers, Franz Kafka, Rudolf Bultmann, György Lukács, Niels Bohr, Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Charles Williams, Franz Rosenzweig, Georg Trakl, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger, Dietrich von Hildebrand, Emil Brunner, Edith Stein, Herbert Read, Mikhail Bakhtin, Jorge Luis Borges, Viktor Frankl, Jean-Paul Sartre, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Hannah Arendt, </b><b>Maurice Merleau-Ponty, </b><b>Emmanuel Levinas, Abraham Joshua Heschel, W. H. Auden, Jan </b><span itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b>Patočka </b></span><b style="color: #333333;">Maurice Blanchot, Simone de Beauvoir, Rollo May, R. S. Thomas, Albert Camus, Thomas Merton, Emil Fackenheim, Iris Murdoch, Thomas Szasz, David Holbrook, Peter Lomas, Alice von Hildebrand, Aaron Esterson, Paul Feyerabend, Gilles Deleuze, </b><b style="color: #333333;">Frantz Fanon, </b><b style="color: #333333;">John Heaton, R. D. Laing, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jacques Derrida, David Cooper, John Updike, David Lodge, Henrik Stangerup,</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> <b>Roger Poole</b>, <b>Robert Stolorow,</b> <b>Alice Holzhey, </b>and many others.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s idea of authentic religion differed from everybody else’s. He had contempt for the Danish Church: for ‘Christendom’, as he called it. For him, religion was radically existential, individual. But his vision of the individual was, despite what many have alleged, the antithesis of an encapsulated, isolated, unsocial, worldless, reified ‘self’. Rather, as </span><b>Anti-Climacus</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> put it in </span><b><i>The Sickness Unto Death</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, the ‘self’ is a ‘relation’ which ‘relates itself to its own self’; it is ‘that in the relation that the relation relates itself to its own self’, while ‘resting in the [divine] power that established it’; and, as </span><b>Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> insisted in his own name in </span><b><i>Works of Love </i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">(1847), this ‘self’ is only truly itself in loving God <i>and</i>, <i>inextricably</i>, the <i>other</i>: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">whether spouse, child, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">family member, friend, neighbour, stranger.</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s most important early courses of lectures was on <i><b>The </b></i></span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Phenomenology of Religious Life </i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">(1920-21). </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> wrote in </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Being and Time</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1927) that, of all </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s writings, his ‘upbuilding’ (<i>i.e.</i>, explicitly religious) works had the most <i>philosophical</i> significance.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s work is a fundamental investigation of the existential phenomenology of individual, non-institutionalised, religious experience, as well as the religious implications of all experience, indispensable for unprejudiced understanding of both ‘religious’ and ‘non-religious’ clients.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">John Lippitt</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, who </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">guided our reading of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Fear of Trembling </i>in three remarkable seminars,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> has pointed out in his book </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Humour and Irony in Kierkegaard’s Thought</b> that</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Søren </b><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> can be very <i>funny. </i>His readers take the risk of being compelled to laugh out loud.<i> </i>As his pseudonym <b>Johannes Climacus </b>wrote in </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Concluding Unscientific Postscript</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span>... an existing humourist is the closest approximation to one who is religious ...</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">’</span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These seminars on <b>Kierkegaard</b><span>’s works</span> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">have enabled existential therapists, Daseinsanalysts and others, to reflect more deeply on the foundations of their discipline. <i>Invited speakers often attend their colleagues</i></span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Inner Circle Seminars, in addition to those they themselves conduct.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor <b>C. Stephen Evans</b>, who conducted a superb seminar on Divine Command Theory and <i><b>Fear and Trembling</b></i>, described the seminars as</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>a real </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>intellectual feast</i>.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Professor <b>Marilyn Piety</b>, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor of Philosophy, Drexel University, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Philadephia, USA, </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">who conducted a marvellous seminar on <b>Kierkegaard</b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span>s </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Repetition</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> on 28 February 2021</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, wrote: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span><i>I can’t thank you enough for inviting me to be a part of the seminar series. It was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had. It was a wonderful group of people and an excellent discussion.</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">’</span></blockquote><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">And a seminar participant wrote afterwards:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></span></p></div></div></div><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span><i>What a remarkable opportunity to sit with some of the greatest Kierkegaard scholars in the world.</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">’</span></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><p></p></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000;">These will be online seminars, using Zoom. All are on Sundays, but the times for some of them will differ (see above) from the usual 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time or British Summer Time, to accommodate invited speakers from distant lands.</span></b></div><div><b style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><br /></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">Cost:</i></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Individual Kierkegaard seminars: psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175<br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">25% reduction for </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">six Kierkegaard seminars: </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">per seminar, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">psychotherapy trainees £105, others £131</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some bursaries; payable in advance by bank transfer or PayPal; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A Alexandra Avenue, London N22 7XE</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Tel:</i> +44 (0) 7809 433250 <i>E-mail:</i> <a href="mailto:stadlenanthony@gmail.com">stadlenanthony@gmail.com</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>For further information on seminars, visit: </i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5975002653149413835/8438094750320867601#">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But they are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-50868695229514317232023-01-01T03:01:00.124+00:002023-08-02T19:59:25.034+01:001920s-born existential therapists. 2. Peter Lomas. Anthony Stadlen conducts Inner Circle Seminar 280 (5 March 2023) <p> </p><p><br /></p><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Existential therapists born in the 1920s</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Centenary seminars</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">2. Peter Lomas</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">27 February 1923 </span></b><strong style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">–</span></strong><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US"> 12 January 2010</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>The extraordinary ordinary</b></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p></div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><strong style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuDrXfxw9sU3LnnAOynMqq44T7f2r7BevbGXyL_iyPw1Daaj9fm2q9zyQuJ0qnry69usxHClkxfl8jECL3JrrVeRP7xc22VHBH4SVkTzccde35BxsezfDzrfmODxCeAz0zC4tapRTV8-nDHPw-dwULPeBWB9Dg4O7j_kmuzAvy8kmPjEnUpttl7QDhQ/s460/Peter-Lomas%20from%20Guardian.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="460" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuDrXfxw9sU3LnnAOynMqq44T7f2r7BevbGXyL_iyPw1Daaj9fm2q9zyQuJ0qnry69usxHClkxfl8jECL3JrrVeRP7xc22VHBH4SVkTzccde35BxsezfDzrfmODxCeAz0zC4tapRTV8-nDHPw-dwULPeBWB9Dg4O7j_kmuzAvy8kmPjEnUpttl7QDhQ/w400-h240/Peter-Lomas%20from%20Guardian.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span></strong><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Peter Lomas</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">1923</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">–</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">2010</span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong></div><div><strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen</span></strong></div><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">con</span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">ducts</span></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 280</span></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sunday 5 March 2023</span></strong></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</span></strong></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><strong><br /></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><b>Peter Lomas</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"> was born on 27 February 1923 and died on 12 January 2010 aged nearly 87. His central thought, that psychotherapy is ‘ordinary’, made him, paradoxically, an extraordinary figure in the history of psychotherapy. By ‘ordinary’, he meant that psychotherapy deals with decency, love, kindness, goodness, creativity, courage, and truth </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">– and their absence or negation</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">; and that it is therefore best described in ordinary language. This he did, with great sensitivity, in ‘ordinary’, but very good, English. Well versed in psychoanalytic and existential literature, he valued their authentic findings but disliked their pretentious jargon. A respected Member of the British Psychoanalytical Society and founder in 1973 of the Guild of Psychotherapists, he resigned from both because of what he thought they had become. He then founded in 1980 </span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">a training scheme and network for provision of psychotherapy known as the ‘Outfit’ (officially, the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Cambridge Society for Psychotherapy</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">), which has survived him.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="color: black;">Today we shall discuss some of <b>Peter Lomas</b>’s books and papers, psychoanalytic and existential. He is perhaps best known today for his writings on individual psychotherapy: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="color: black;">Psychoanalysis </span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span>– Freudian or Existential</span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ in <i>Psychoanalysis Observed</i>, edited by <b>Charles Rycroft</b> (1966);</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span> </span></span></span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><i>True and False Experience</i> (1973); <i>The Case for a Personal Psychotherapy</i> (1982), revised as <i>The Psychotherapy of Everyday Life</i> (1993); <i>The Limits of Interpretation: What</i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><i>s Wrong with Psychoanalysis </i>(1987); <i>Cultivating Intuition: An Introduction to Psychotherapy </i>(1994); and <i>Doing Good? Psychotherapy Out of its Depth</i> (1999). But he was also deep</span></span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;">ly concerned with </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">family relationships and their relevance for the individual: he edited and contributed to </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Predicament of the Family: A Psychoanalytic Symposium </i><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(1967); and his own papers on the family were collected in </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: left;">Personal Disorder and Family Life </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: left;">(1997).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: left;"><b>Lucy King </b>has edited a book, <i>Committed Uncertainty in Psychotherapy: Essays in Honour of Peter Lomas</i> (1999), containing interviews with <b>Lomas</b> by <b>Sian Morgan</b> and <b>Peter Rudnytzky</b> (who will both attend today</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s seminar</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">); and contributions by, among others, </span><b style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">John Heaton</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, </span><b style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">David Holbrook</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, and </span><b style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Paul Roazen</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">. <b>Rudnytsky</b> includes another interview with <b>Lomas</b> in his book <i>Psychoanalytic Conversations: Interviews with Clinicians, Commentators, and Critics </i>(2000)<i>.</i></span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>R. D. Laing</b>, in his paper </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mystification, Confusion, and Conflict</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(1965), acknowledges <b>Lomas</b> as one of three investigators (the others were <b>A. Russell Lee</b> and <b>Marion Bosanquet</b>) who collaborated with <b>Laing</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Aaron Esterson</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in the research they reported in their book </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sanity, Madness and the Family: Families of Schizophrenics</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1964). But the book itself, while thanking various colleagues for their participation, does not mention </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Lomas</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps this is because, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">as <b>Lomas</b> explains in his interviews with <b>Morgan</b> and <b>Rudnytsky</b>, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">he withdrew from the research as he disliked <b>Laing</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">narcissistic</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> attempts to dominate</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. However, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">as the original tape recording shows, it was <b>Lomas</b>, named merely as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Interviewer</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in the book, who, for example, gently asked the supposedly ‘schizophrenic’ </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ruth Gold</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> ‘But do you feel you have to agree with what most of the people around you believe?’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <span style="text-align: left;">He was rewarded with</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> her immortal reply: ‘Well if I don’t I usually land up in hospital.’</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This straightforwardness and simplicity, going to the heart of the matter, epitomises <b>Lomas</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> way of speaking and relating. And, as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Thomas Szasz</b> wrote </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">to </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Anthony Stadlen </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">a month after <span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Lomas</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span>death </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(email, 1</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">0 February 2010): </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Honesty shines through his </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">writing.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This quiet ordinariness and honesty constitutes an existential revolution in the technocratic, alienated world of psychiatrised psychotherapy. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today we shall explore this extraordinary ordinariness. Your contribution to the discussion </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">will be most welcome, whether this is your first encounter with the work and thinking of <b>Peter Lomas</b>, or whether you were his </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">client, supervisee, colleague, or friend.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Peter Lomas</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s</span> daughter <b>Sally Lomas</b>, <b>Peter Rudnytsky</b>, <b>Lucy King</b>, and <b>Sian Morgan </b>are all participating in this unique seminar.</span></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b><span></span><br /></b></span><div align="left"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><i>This </i></span><i style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">will be an online seminar, using Zoom.</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><div style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><i style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: start;"><i> </i>Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175</span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: start;">, some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></span></span></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i>Tel:</i> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>E-mail:</i> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="text-align: left;">For further information on seminars, visit: </i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span></span><span lang="EN-US">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></div></span></span></span></div></div></div></div></span></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-3022888160481917322023-01-01T01:01:01.416+00:002023-09-18T19:20:23.642+01:001920s-born existential therapists. 1. Martti Siirala. Anthony Stadlen conducts Inner Circle Seminar 278 (22 January 2023)<p><span style="color: #990000; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Existential therapists born in the 1920s</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Centenary seminars</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">1. Martti Siirala</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">24 November 1922 <strong style="background-color: transparent; color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">– </span></strong>18 August 2008</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>‘Who are you? Could it be that you might be...?’ </b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Might Daseinsanalysis become Diahermeneutics?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">assisted by </span></span></b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b style="text-align: left;">Ale<span style="background-color: white;">š </span></b><span style="text-align: left;"><b>and </b></span><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: nowrap;"><span>Šá</span></span><span>rka Wotruba</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">conducts</span></b><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">by Zoom</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 278</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sunday 22 January 2023</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br /></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4bALbcQ7dxqQr0hJdc75yMQAv-OPxyFt6CICE9VmZa6n_QF2aF1xW28nAdaaonG2Nrj_HUKnqxDo7bvgf8ZEA545nQo5UKhT9RcFZ2bv720CKKeQaYUk7-a4_V6x0U-8HMcYc9dFgH3s4UzXAPmd2a9SMMnVmQ2M8SpEtd8xw3XU66KszRyfY7g_ziQ=s1127" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1127" data-original-width="786" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4bALbcQ7dxqQr0hJdc75yMQAv-OPxyFt6CICE9VmZa6n_QF2aF1xW28nAdaaonG2Nrj_HUKnqxDo7bvgf8ZEA545nQo5UKhT9RcFZ2bv720CKKeQaYUk7-a4_V6x0U-8HMcYc9dFgH3s4UzXAPmd2a9SMMnVmQ2M8SpEtd8xw3XU66KszRyfY7g_ziQ=w279-h400" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Martti Siirala<br />1922</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">–2008</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Martti Siirala</b> was one of the world</span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US">s great original existential psychotherapists. He and his wife <b>Ann-Helen</b> came from Helsinki to London on his 80th birthday (24 November 2002) to conduct Inner Circle Seminar No. 63, devoted to his work. Today, a little belatedly, we celebrate his centenary (24 November 2022) by focussing on his penetrating critique of a central aspect of Daseinsanalysis.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The composer <b>Jean Sibelius</b> was buried in 1957 by <b>Martti Siirala</b>’s brother <b>Aarne</b>, a theologian and pastor. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Paul Griffiths</b> wrote </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Times</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, 30 August 1983) </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Sibelius</b> discovered that symphonic composition entailed not making statements but asking questions</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’; and i</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">t was said that </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Martti </b><b style="font-family: verdana;">Siirala</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> wrote as </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Sibelius </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">composed. </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Siirala</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> himself confirmed this to <b>Naomi </b>and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Anthony Stadlen</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in Helsinki in 1998</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, saying that </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Sibelius</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s way of composing and his own way of writing were like the Finnish language, approaching all beings with a ‘humble but passionate’ questioning: ‘Who are you? Could it be that you might be...?’</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But, according to <b>Siirala</b>, ordinary language and especially psychological language, in whatever tongue, is all too easily used to grasp and dominate: to commit </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">violence</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ rather than approach with questioning and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">wonder.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> In this seminar we shall consider in detail one of his examples, from </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">his 1980 paper, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">On malignant violence: Where to look for hope in reaching its roots</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, in <i>From Transfer to Transference </i>(1983, Helsinki: Therapeia Foundation, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">p. 137</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">), where </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Siirala </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">writes of the</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘violent elements in the absolutist claims for </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Daseinsanalysis</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> to a direct access to the phenomena in an adequate, undistorted way.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">does, despite this, acknowledge that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Daseinsanalysis</span></div><div><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">has however </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">essentially contributed to the unreducibility of human bodily existing.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">How seriously should we take this </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">forty-three-year-old criticism of Daseinsanalysis by </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Siirala</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">? Was it true of pioneers such as </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Medard Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> or </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Gion Condrau</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">? Is it true of some, or all, Daseinsanalysts today? If true, can this be remedied, or is it a necessary consequence of the basic assumptions of Daseinsanalysis?</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today, we shall explore evidence that <b>Siirala</b>’s warning should be taken seriously, as individual Daseinsanalysts do sometimes lapse, explicitly or implicitly, into the ‘absolutist claims’ that he terms ‘violent’; but we shall suggest that, far from this being a necessary consequence of the principles of Daseinsanalysis, it is an unnecessary betrayal of their true, enlightening potential.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What are these </span><i style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;">absolutist claims</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’? Not all is necessarily as it may first appear.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Gion Condrau</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> was invited as the central figure of the Fifth</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;"> Conference of the Society for Existential Analysis (SEA) in 1992. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">He explained that trainees in the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">Z</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">ürich Daseinsanalytic Institute were examined on their ability to analyse dreams: without meeting or communicating with the dreamer, without being told the dreamer’s associations to the dream, and without being told anything else except the reported dream and the dreamer’s age and sex.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.2pt;">Sarah Young</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.2pt;"> questioned this in </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.2pt;">Existential Analysis</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.2pt;">:</span></p></div><div><div><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>‘Ultimately it must be for the dreamer to decide on the meaning of their dream. So why this exercise?’</i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Condrau</b>’s reply was unequivocal:</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><i>‘If we did, indeed, base our thinking on the idea that the dreamer decides on the meaning of his/her dream, this would open the doors wide to a subjectivistic phenomenology. Isn’t it precisely the essence of neurotic (or psychotic) perception, namely not to be able to distinguish phenomena from personal prejudices or projections?’</i></blockquote></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This may appear, at first sight, to be an obvious confirmation of <b>Siirala</b></span><span style="text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s assertion that the Daseinsanalyst makes a </span><span style="text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">violent</span><i style="text-align: left;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><span style="text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">absolutist</span><i style="text-align: left;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> claim to </span><span style="text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">direct access to the phenomena</span><i style="text-align: left;">’. </i><span style="text-align: left;">But let us look more closely. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Anthony Stadlen </b>reminded both existential therapists and Daseinsanalysts of this exchange in his obituary of <b>Condrau</b> in <i>Existential Analysis</i> and <i>Daseinsanalyse</i> in 2007. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">But, as recently as 2018, at the 30th-anniversary conference of SEA, a senior existential therapist was still lecturing that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Freud </b>and <b>Jung</b> imposed <i>their</i> interpretations but <b>Boss </b>encouraged dreamers to find their own interpretation. This, in the light of what <b>Condrau</b> wrote as quoted above, appears, <i>prima facie</i>, to be the opposite of the truth, especially when one considers that there </span><i style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">is</i><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;"> a school of thinking on dreams that does trust dreamers, even ‘neurotic’ ones, to discover the meaning of their own dreams. One would expect existential therapists to be attracted to such statements as the following:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-indent: 18.9333px;"><i></i></span><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘</span><span style="text-align: left;">Well, what do you do if I make an unintelligible utterance to you? You ask me, don’t you? Why should we not be allowed to do the same thing, ask the dreamer what his dream means? [...] So the dreamer himself should also tell us what his dream means.’</span></i></blockquote><span style="text-align: left;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately, the man who wrote this was <b>Sigmund Freud</b>, and existential therapists ‘know’ that he is not ‘existential’, and should be ignored. (One student who boasted never to have read <b>Freud</b> received official permission to continue to ignore him and </span><span style="text-align: left;">not to read him </span><span style="text-align: left;">even while attending a class on <b>Freud</b> in </span><span style="text-align: left;">a course on dreams at Regent</span><span style="text-align: left;">’</span><span style="text-align: left;">s College.) </span><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Freud</b> proudly </span><span style="text-align: left;">insisted, in fact, that his was the first dream theory where the </span><span style="text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="text-align: left;">interpreter</span><span style="text-align: left;">’</span><span style="text-align: left;"> did </span><i style="text-align: left;">not</i><span style="text-align: left;"> claim to be able to decode dreams and inform the dreamer of the dream</span><span style="text-align: left;">’</span><span style="text-align: left;">s meaning.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">Existential therapists tend to </span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">imagine that they are in sympathy with the daseinsanalytic paradigm, often without much knowledge of what it is. Their sentiments are, in fact, often closer to the psychoanalytic paradigm which they believe they have rejected, again without having adequately studied it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">In </span><b style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">Boss</b><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">’s first dream-book, </span><i style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">The Analysis of Dreams</i><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">, he asks</span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">:</span></div></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><i>‘Or are there perhaps in reality no dream symbols at all?’ </i></span><i>(‘Oder gibt es am Ende in Wirklichkeit gar keine Traumsymbole?’)</i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;"><b>Boss </b>insists that when the dreamer of the paradigmatic dream in this first dream-book, the ‘strange dream of an urn’, interprets the urn in her dream as a ‘symbol’ and so, in<b> Condrau</b>’s words, ‘decides on the meaning of her dream’, she is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wrong.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;"><b>Boss</b> writes as if we all know that <b>Freud</b></span><span style="text-indent: 18.9333px;">’</span><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">s dream theory was a theory of symbolism. But </span><b style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">Freud </b><i style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">also</i><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">, in his original theory in the first edition of </span><i style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">The Interpretation of Dreams</i><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">, largely rejected symbolism, though few notice this.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">Freud</b><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;"> did come, under the influence of </span><b style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">Stekel</b><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">, to concede, with reservations, that symbolism and symbols played a minor part:</span></div></span></div><div><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.9333px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">They allow us in certain circumstances to interpret a dream without questioning the dreamer [...] But do not let yourselves be seduced by this. […] Interpretation based on a knowledge of symbols is not a technique which can replace or compete with the associative one. It forms a supplement to it […].</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.9333px;">’</span></i></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Symbolism remained, for <b>Freud</b>, an ‘aid’ or ‘auxiliary method’ (‘<i>Hilfsmittel</i>’). ‘Existential’ authors, and <b>Boss</b>, often give the false impression that symbolism is central in psychoanalytic dream interpretation. Thus, in <b>Hans Cohn</b>’s misleading caricature: ‘Psychoanalytically the umbrella might be seen as an erect penis displayed at an inappropriate time.’ But in fact, for <b>Freud</b>, it was the method of asking the <i>dreamer </i>for his ‘associations’ (a poor translation of ‘<i>freier Einfall</i>’ [</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">what freely falls in</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’]</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">) that was central, whereas for <b>Boss</b> and <b>Condrau</b> ‘associations’ were a distraction from the dream itself, which they claimed could be understood without </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana;">any help from the dreamer.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To summarise: it may appear from the above that, <i>prima facie</i>, <b>Boss</b> and <b>Condrau</b> did indeed make an </span></span></span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">absolutist</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ claim, as <b>Siirala</b> said, to privileged direct access to the phenomena.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But this does not logically follow. To declare that a particular interpretation is wrong is not necessarily to imply that one has access to the only right interpretation, or to a truth that transcends the need for interpretation. In the Talmud, Tractate <i>Berakhot</i>, twen</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ty-four different interpretations of a certain dream are all declared to be right, but some interpretations are regarded as definitely wrong. One particular wrong interpretation of another dream is shown to bring disastrous consequences <i>for the interpreter</i>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 14.2pt;">However, </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 14.2pt;">Alice Holzhey</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; text-indent: 14.2pt;">, from within the daseinsanalytic tradition, independently made the same criticism as <b>Siirala</b>, almost in the same words:</span></div><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>‘<b>Martin Heidegger</b> in the Zollikon seminars conducted with <b>Medard Boss </b>defined the phenomenological method as “essential vision” and thus made it easy for authority-persons to claim “essential seeing” for themselves.’</i></span></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Holzhey</b> claimed that <b>Boss</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">followed the later </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">in allegedly abandoning, as was widely supposed, the </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">hermeneutics </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">of the early </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> of </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Being and Time</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">. Hermeneutics essentially is the study of interpretation. So <b>Holzhey</b> was saying that <b>Boss</b>,<b> </b>following <b>Heidegger</b>, was abandoning interpretation as such, in favour of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘essential seeing</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">But </span><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Heidegger </b>explains in his </span>‘<span style="text-align: left;">Dialogue on Language</span>’<span style="text-align: left;"> in </span><i style="text-align: left;">On the Way to Language </i><span style="text-align: left;">(1959) that, while he does not use the term </span>‘<span style="text-align: left;">hermeneutics</span>’ in his later writings, he is as committed as ever to its profound meaning, though this is ‘<i>r<span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368; text-align: left;">ä</span>tselhaft</i>’ (‘enigmatic’). He speaks of ‘<span style="text-align: left;">hermeneutics</span>’ repeatedly in this ‘<span style="text-align: left;">Dialogue</span>’, and also a number of times in the Zollikon seminars themselves, where, for instance, in the seminar of 23 November 1965 he laments that <b>Husserl</b>’s and consequently <b>Binswanger</b>’s idea of ‘consciousness’</div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><i>‘prevents clear insight into the phenomenological hermeneneutics of Dasein’.</i></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Professor <b>Friedrich-Wilhelm von Herrmann</b>, one of the world’s greatest <b>Heidegger</b> authorities, demonstrates in his book, <i>Weg und Methode: Zur hermeneutischen Ph<span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368; text-align: left;">ä</span>nomenologie des seinsgeschictlichenen Denken </i>(1990), that <b>Heidegger</b>’s later work, no less than his earlier, was hermeneutic.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And <b>Condrau</b> writes in his books, <i>Sigmund Freud und Martin Heidegger </i>(1992) and <i>Daseinsanalyse</i> (1998, 2nd ed.), that daseinsanalytic therapy is ‘phenomenological-hermeneutic dialogue’.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Siirala</b>’s and <b>Holzhey</b>’s reproaches about ‘violent’ and ‘absolutist’ claims perhaps have greater weight when we recall that Daseinsanalysis was conceived by <b>Heidegger</b>, <b>Boss</b>, and <b>Condrau</b> as <i>medical</i>. <b>Stadlen</b> demonstrated this in ‘Medical Daseinsanalysis’ (<i>Existential Analysis</i> 16.1, 2005). We have already discussed this in a number of Inner Circle Seminars. Medical science seeks to identify a ‘disease’ with a definite, unique <i>diagnosis</i>; but the phenomena discussed in psychotherapy, and in particular in Daseinsanalysis, are within the realm of social phenomenology. If one does not make the presumption of illness, the phenomena call not for diagnosis but for <i>dialogue</i> and <i>dialectic</i>: the interplay of interpretations which never fetishises one interpretation as final. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And here there really is a problem, on which we shall focus today. <b>Heidegger</b>, from his earliest lectures more than a hundred years ago to his last seminar fifty years ago this year, quite distinctly <i>disparaged </i>dialectic. (Though we shall have to investigate today just what he meant by dialectic.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The philosopher <b>Oskar Becker</b> reported that <b>Heidegger</b> added to his prepared text for one </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">of his earliest lectures, in 1919 at Freiburg University, a statement that philosophical </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">dialectic is ‘diahermeneutics’ (GA58, 263). This sounds like a promising description of what therapeutic Daseinsanalysis might in due course become. But <b>Heidegger</b> seems never to have </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mentioned it again, although in <i>Being and Time</i> he does describe phenomenology as <i>logos</i> (discourse, conversation), in </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the middle voice, revealing phenomena; and this might seem as if he were a<i>ffirming</i> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">dialectic. But <b>Heidegger</b>, early and late, <i>distrusts </i>and <i>denounces</i> dialectic, whatever he means by this. This has been comprehensively documented by <b>Francisco J. Gonzales </b>in his book <i>Plato and Heidegger: A Question of Dialogue</i> (2008). A few examples may convey something of <b>Heidegger</b></span>’s distaste for dialectic.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In <i>Being and Time </i><b>Heidegger </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">calls dialectic </span>‘<span style="font-family: verdana;">a genuine philosophical embarrassment’ and ‘superfluous’, and in his 1923 lecture course <i>Ontology: The Hermeneutics of Facticity</i> he says it is</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> ‘double-sidedly unradical’, a ‘madame for the public whoring of the spirit’ (GA63, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">46).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the Zollikon seminar of 10 March 1965, <b>Heidegger</b> said:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span><i>Within phenomenology, neither are conclusions drawn, nor are dialectical mediations allowed.</i></span><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>At </span></span>the end of <b>Heidegger</b>’s very last seminar, in 1973 in his Zähringen home, he says, in answer to a question from <b>Jean Beaufret </b>(GA15, 400):</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span><span><span><span><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;">‘[...] if </span><span><span><i>it is correct that “dialectic is a genuine philosophical embarrassment” as </i>Being and Time </span></span><i>says, [...] tautology is the only possibility for thinking what dialectic can only veil.’</i></blockquote></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span>It will follow, says <b>Heidegger</b>, that <b>Parmenides</b>, with his </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">‘</span><span><span>tautological</span></span><i style="text-align: left;">’</i><span><span> thinking, is </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">‘</span><span><span>more profound and essential</span></span><i style="text-align: left;">’</i><span><span> than <b>Heraclitus</b>.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span><b>Heidegger</b></span></span><i style="text-align: left;">’s</i><span><span> disparagement of dialectic did not go unnoticed by the pioneer Daseinsanalysts. <b>Condrau</b> in his important book <i>Daseinsanalyse </i>(1998, 2nd edn) quotes, apparently approvingly, from an article by <b>Heidegger</b>, </span></span>‘<i>Zeichen</i>’ (‘Signs’), in the <i>Neue Z</i><span style="color: #5f6368;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">ürcher </span></i></span><i>Zeitung</i> of 21 September 1969 (GA13, 211-2):</div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;">‘D</span><span><i>ialectic is the dictatorship of the questionless. In its net every question is smothered.</i></span><i>’</i></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Clearly, this evaluation of </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">dialectic</span><i style="text-align: left;">’</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> is radically at odds with that of <b>Jean-Paul Sartre</b>, <b>R. D. Laing</b>, and <b>Aaron Esterson</b>. Are they talking about the same concept?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In<b> </b></span>‘<span style="font-family: verdana;">The Madhouse of Being</span>’ (2007), <span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Stadlen</b> urged Daseinsanalysts to acknowledge <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b>’s dialectical family studies in </span><i>Sanity, Madness and the Family: Families of Schizophrenics</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1964),</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span> grounded in the philosophy of <b>Sartre</b>’s <i>Critique de la Raison Dialectique</i> (1960), as a contribution </span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>to Daseinsanalysis complementing <b>Heidegger</b>’s Zollikon seminars with which they were contemporary.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>However, in the light of <b>Heidegger</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s disdain for dialectic, it is hardly surprising that Daseinsanalysts have continued to ignore <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b></span>’s family studies<span style="font-family: verdana;">, although <b>Condrau</b> in <i>Sigmund Freud und Martin Heidegger</i> (1992) had mentioned <b>Watzlawick</b>, <b>Beavin</b>, and <b>Jackson</b></span>’s <i>Pragmatics of Human Communication </i>(1968).</div><div style="text-align: justify;">How can Daseinsanalysts ever make sense of what goes on in families if they are not able to think dialectically? How can they understand <b>Esterson</b>’s account, in <i>The Leaves of Spring: A Study in the Dialectics of Madness </i>(1970), of <b>Sarah Danzig</b>’s being invalidated as ‘schizophrenic’ because, alone of her family, she is attempting to ‘reason dialectically’, meaning, <i>contra </i><b>Heidegger</b>, to <i>question</i>?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Esterson</b> wrote:</div><blockquote><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span><i>The dialectic is not hidden, however. On the contrary, it is perfectly open, for, in a sense, it is the rationality used by every person all the time. But this is true only in a sense. For to reason dialectically means to reason aware of the pattern of reasoning. And its very openness causes it to be overlooked. In so far as it is a mystery, it is hidden in a clear light, for its pattern is to be found in the clarity that reveals and conceals it.</i><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is not just a matter of understanding families in family therapy or groups in group therapy. It is not possible to understand an individual client in individual therapy if one does not know what goes on in families or in groups or, in general, <i>between</i> people. And to understand what goes on between people requires, in <b>Sartre</b></span>’<span style="font-family: verdana;">s and <b>Esterson</b></span>’<span style="font-family: verdana;">s sense, <i>dialectical reason</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In today</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s seminar, we shall ask, as did <b>Gonzales</b> in his neglected paper </span>‘<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;">Why <b>Heidegger</b></span></span>’s Hermeneutics is not a <span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;">“Diahermeneutics</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;">”</span>’ <span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;">(2001), why <b>Heidegger</b> did not develop his early glimpse of a possible </span></span>‘<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;">Diahermeneutics</span>’, in which hermeneutics and dialectic would surely be united, not opposed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We saw, above, that<b> Heidegger </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in his last seminar in 1973 asserted that <i>if</i> dialectic is an </span>‘<span style="font-family: verdana;">embarrassment for philosophy</span>’<span style="font-family: verdana;"> then <b>Parmenides</b> is </span>‘<span style="font-family: verdana;">more profound and essential</span>’<span style="font-family: verdana;"> than <b>Heraclitus</b>. But his final sentence of this final seminar is </span><span style="text-align: left;">(GA15, 400)</span>:</div></span><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>‘If one is able to read <b>Heraclitus</b> from out of the <b>Parmenidean</b> tautology, he himself then appears in closest proximity to the same tautology, he himself in the entrance to a single way which gives access to Being.’</i></span></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This grants to </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heraclitus</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, and, since <b>Heidegger</b> has just explicitly linked <b>Heraclitus</b> with dialectic, it appears to grant to <i>dialectic</i></span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">a validity if </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">read</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in <span style="text-align: left;">‘proximity</span>’ to </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Parmenides</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘tautological thinking’ and, presumably, to the goddess <b>Aletheia</b> (truth, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">unconcealedness</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">). Is <b>Heidegger</b> at last, at the very end of his life-long quest, conceding that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">dialectic</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, if seen in the light of <b>Aletheia</b>, may <i>not</i> be such an </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">embarrassment</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ after all?</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In any event, may not <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s last words in his last seminar suggest to us, if not to him </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">himself, a possible reformed Daseinsanalysis, worthy of the scrutiny of a </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Siirala</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">? May we not renew Daseinsanalysis through, or as, </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Diahermeneutics</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, the word that <b>Heidegger</b> coined in passing at the start of his long journey but never mentioned again? Is this the stone the builders forgot?</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">We are privileged that the Daseinsanalysts </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Ale<span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a18;">š </span></b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">and </span><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; white-space: nowrap;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Šá</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">rka Wotruba</span></b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> will attend this seminar. They both attended the last year, 1969, of <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s Zollikon seminars in <b>Medard Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">s house; and </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Ale</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a18;">š</span></b> was subsequently in training analysis with </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Boss</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> himself. Their direct evidence will be of incalculable assistance to our investigation.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">It is hoped that, as well as those curious about <b>Martti Siirala</b> and about Daseinsanalysis, other </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Daseinsanalysts</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">will attend this seminar and defend the honour of their profession by addressing his criticism frankly and rigorously, whether endorsing it or disputing it, or taking an intermediate position. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Your contribution to the discussion will be warmly welcomed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Note on previous Inner Circle Seminars on Martti Siirala</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is our third Inner Circle Seminar devoted to the work of <b>Martti Siirala</b>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Twenty years ago, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">on his </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">80th birthday, 24 November 2002,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Martti</b> and his wife <b>Ann-Helen Siirala</b> came from Helsinki to London to conduct Inner Circle Seminar No. 63, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">devoted to discussion of his life</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s work.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">[See:</span></div><div><a href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/2009/12/inner-circle-seminar-no-63-24-november.html"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Daseinsanalysis, Existential Psychotherapy, Inner Circle Seminars: Anthony Stadlen, London W1, N22: Martti and Ann-Helen Siirala conduct: Martti Siirala’s 80th Birthday. Inner Circle Seminar 63 (24 November 2002)</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Six days later, on Saturday 30 November 2002, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Anthony Stadlen</b> contributed a long lecture, <i>The Profound Logic</i>, to the two-day </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">celebrations of <b>Siirala</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s birthday in the architect <b>Alvar Aalto</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s Finlandia Hall, Helsinki.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">[See:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/martti-siirala-on-his-eightieth.html" style="text-align: left;">Daseinsanalysis, Existential Psychotherapy, Inner Circle Seminars: Anthony Stadlen, London W1, N22: Martti Siirala on his 80th birthday by Ann-Helen Siirala and Anthony Stadlen (January 2003)</a><span>]</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Martti </b><span><b>Siirala</b> died on 18 August 2008, and the reminiscences and celebrations continued late into the night after his funeral in </span><span>Helsinki.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>On Sunday 23 January 2011, </span><b>Ann-Helen Siirala</b><span> again came to London, as did <b>Martti Siirala</b></span><span style="text-align: left;">’</span><span>s </span><span>daughter <b>Marja-Liisa Siirala</b>. Both </span><span>assisted <b>Anthony Stadlen</b> in conducting </span><span>Inner Circle Seminar No. 159, <i>Existential Pioneers, 4. Martti Siirala</i>.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">[See:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/2010/01/existential-pioneers-3-martti-siirala.html" style="text-align: left;">Daseinsanalysis, Existential Psychotherapy, Inner Circle Seminars: Anthony Stadlen, London W1, N22: Existential Pioneers. 4. Martti Siirala (1922–2008). Inner Circle Seminar 159 (23 January 2011)</a>]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b>Ann-Helen </b>and <b>Marja-Liisa Siirala</b> will not attend </span><span><b>Martti Siirala</b></span><span style="text-align: left;">’</span><span>s centenary Inner Circle Seminar </span><span>No. 278 today </span><span>in person but </span><b>Ann-Helen </b><span>has </span><span>translated most of </span><span>an unpublished paper of her late husband<span style="text-align: left;">’</span><span>s </span></span><span>on which we may draw.</span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>This </i></b></span><i style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">will be an online seminar, using Zoom.</span></b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><div style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><i style="font-style: italic; text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: start;"><i> </i>Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175</span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: start;">,<b> </b>some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></span></span></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i>Tel:</i> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>E-mail:</i> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="text-align: left;">For further information on seminars, visit: </i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span></span><span lang="EN-US">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"></div></span></span></span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-72390796695903324622022-01-01T12:01:00.040+00:002023-07-07T11:39:09.554+01:00What science can’t see: From what-is to that-it-is. Raymond Tallis conducts Inner Circle Seminar 277 (11 December 2022)<p><br /></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">What science ca<span style="background-color: white;">n</span></span></span></b><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>’</b></span></span><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">t see</span></span></b></span></p><p><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">From what-is to that-it-is</span></span></b></p><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #0b5394;">Raymond Tallis</span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">conducts </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">by Zoom</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 277</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">introduced by Anthony Stadlen</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Sunday 11 December 2022</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</span></span></b></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV9YYNh4OIJ6d_G1VjBTyfYWolVKp9FSxSPPHw9TzzR0U0DkOBuc877xnnUQ8DxqpnrnfRiWwdlSrdU8ku2eVgk2QfzFpD7yU0-quzd6f7CI_beRtRYmv9eQtYy8EGq2fJckTwZZHZWPCbt632P4PMRnWJ2gDcWgz-lmOO_u_82ZwCUktom6QmS0goaQ=s460" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="460" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV9YYNh4OIJ6d_G1VjBTyfYWolVKp9FSxSPPHw9TzzR0U0DkOBuc877xnnUQ8DxqpnrnfRiWwdlSrdU8ku2eVgk2QfzFpD7yU0-quzd6f7CI_beRtRYmv9eQtYy8EGq2fJckTwZZHZWPCbt632P4PMRnWJ2gDcWgz-lmOO_u_82ZwCUktom6QmS0goaQ=w640-h384" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Raymond Tallis</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Raymond Tallis</span></b><span style="font-family: verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> is one of our best-loved invited speakers. Today he conducts his ninth Inner Circle Seminar, and we celebrate the tenth anniversary of his first </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Inner Circle Seminar which he conducted on</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> 2 December 2012. His seminar today, <i>What science can</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">’</span>t see: </i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">From what-is to that-it-is</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> goes to the heart of the thinking which has informed all his thirty books and all the seminars he has conducted for us. This thinking is in harmony with the underlying philosophy and <i>raison d'</i></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">ê</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>tre</i> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">of the Inner Circle Seminars as a whole. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_3696575910632117737yiv9854659110gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">Professor<b> Tallis </b>has shown in eight profound Inner Circle Seminars that he is one of the world’s leading demystifiers of what he calls the ‘neuroscience delusion’ (‘neuromania’) and the ‘intellectual plague of biologism’ (‘animalism’). His ruthless, good-humoured exposure of reductive natural-scientism continues the tradition of <b>Heidegger</b> and <b>Szasz</b>, for example, but is utterly his own. Psychotherapists are free to choose to go on pretending to be ‘validated’ by ‘neuroscience’; but their work, such as it is, sometimes radically transforming and helpful, sometimes best passed over in silence, speaks for, or against, itself, as the case may be; and no pseudo-scientific ‘validation’, or </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">‘invalidation’,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">can disguise this.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">is one of the select few who affirms and advocates human language to depict and describe the human world and human relationships.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span>In his book <i>Logos </i></span><span>Professor </span><b>Tallis</b><span> exposes the absurdity of the argument that evolutionary biology or neuroscience show that our thinking is merely a function of our bodies-as-objects-for-science and therefore can have no truth-value of its own unless it is in some way itself derived from evolutionary biology or neuroscience, which are taken to be</span><span> ‘</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">objectively true<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">’</span>. But those sciences are themselves human creations, and therefore, by this argument, <i>not</i> ‘objectively true<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">’</span>. Professor <b>Tallis </b>remarks that those who use this argument are worthy successors of the Cretan of old who said all Cretans were liars. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Raymond Tallis</b> introduces his seminar today as follows:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><div><b><i>What Science Can’t See. From What-is to That-it-is</i> </b></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><i>One of the most fundamental philosophical mysteries is </i><i>also one of the most difficult to see. It is that, in conscious </i><i>subjects, what-is is made explicit as that-it-is or (more </i><i>ponderously) that-it-is-the-case. We take this transition for </i><i>granted and overlook it because it is the ground on which our </i><i>investigations and our thinking stand.</i></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Bringing explicitness to the forefront of our thinking is </i><i>an essential step towards highlighting the limitations of </i><i>science and challenging the claim that the authority of </i><i>science extends to the fundamental nature of what-is, </i><i>including human subjects. Science necessarily by-passes the t</i><i>ransition in virtue of which it is itself possible. In its pursuit </i><i>of the nature of what-is, from a purely objective, quantitative </i><i>viewpoint, it conceals the explicitness of which it is a late, </i><i>sophisticated manifestation.</i></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><i>In the seminar, I shall examine the necessary failure of </i><i>science to account for the transition from what-is to that-it-</i><i>is. This is most clearly manifested in the impossibility of </i><i>seeing how conscious subjects arise out of neural activity. </i><i>This will open on to a discussion of the attempt to break the </i><i>mind-brain barrier by describing events on either side of the </i><i>barrier as ‘information’ – as that-it-is – thus seeming to </i><i>promise to dissolve the barrier and also to render conscious </i><i>experience amenable to treatment by objective, quantitative </i><i>science.</i></div></blockquote></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The final element of the seminar will be a more general examination of what lies at the heart of science – measurement – and the belief that what-is can be reduced to ‘how-much’. By this means natural science is given a unique cognitive authority. The paradox of the Measurement Problem in quantum mechanics – according to which what-is is indeterminate until it is measured – exposes the error of privileging the quantitative and objective take on what-is. The reduction of what-is to how-much-it-is not only overlooks the intrinsic nature of what-is but also the transition to that-it-is by which it is made explicit.</i></div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div></div></span></div></span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">The heart of these seminars is dialogue, and it will of course be possible to argue in depth with Professor </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Tallis</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> if you disagree with any of his points or positions.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><b>Note added the evening after the seminar, 11 December 2022:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><b></b></span><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><b>Raymond Tallis</b> clarified a possible misunderstanding, in response to questions during the seminar itself. His terms </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">what-is</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">and </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">that-it-is</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> are not meant to contrast beings with Being, the ontic with the ontological, or the fact that something is with the wonder that there is something at all. He means to indicate, rather, the so-called </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">hard problem of consciousness</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">: how can matter, such as the brain, become conscious, as it is supposed to do? He decided to replace the term </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">that-it-is</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> in his future writing with another term to avoid this ambiguity. </span></blockquote><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Raymond Tallis</b> is a philosopher, poet, novelist and cultural critic, and a retired physician and clinical neuroscientist. He ran a large clinical service in Hope Hospital Salford and an academic department in the University of Manchester. His research focussed on epilepsy, stroke, and neurological rehabilitation.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">He trained in medicine at Oxford University and at St Thomas</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’s Hospital </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">in London before going on to become Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Manchester and a consultant physician. He was an editor and major contributor to two key textbooks in the field, <i>The Clinical Neurology of Old Age</i> and <i>Textbook of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology</i>, and author of over 200 original scientific articles, mainly in clinical neuroscience, including papers in <i>Nature Medicine</i>, <i>Brain,</i> <i>Lancet</i>. In 2000, he was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in recognition of his contribution to medical research. Among many prizes, he was awarded the Lord Cohen Gold Medal for Research into Ageing. He played a key part in developing guidelines for the care of stroke patients in the UK. From 2011-14 he was Chair, Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying (HPAD). He was a member of the Council of Royal College of Physicians between 2016 and 2019. He is a member of the criteria-setting group for the UK Research Excellence Framework 2021 in philosophy.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He has published fiction, poetry, and 30 books on the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophical anthropology, and literary and cultural criticism. <i>Aping Mankind</i> (2010) was reissued in 2016 as a Routledge Classic. <i>Of Time and Lamentation. Reflections on Transience </i>(2017; 2019) a comprehensive inquiry into the nature of time was widely praised. <i>NHS SOS</i> (2012), co-edited with Jacky Davis, examined the destructive impact of Tory policies on the NHS. <i>Logos. An Essay on the Mystery of the Sense-Making Animal</i> was published in Spring 2018. His most recent volume of verse – <i>Sunburst</i> – was published in November 2019.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A series of eight seminars on Humanism given in the philosophy department of Charles University Prague, formed the basis of his book, published in 2020, <i>Seeing Ourselves. Reclaiming Humanity from God and Science</i>. A defence of free will – <i>Freedom. An Impossible Reality</i> – was published in May 2021 and an issue of the philosophy journal <i>Human Affairs </i>was devoted to it. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Professor </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Tallis</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> has based his last three Inner Circle Seminars on these books.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">His current projects include <i>Prague 22. A Book of Tenuous Connections</i> – which is a collection of essays; and <i>De Luce. Reflections on My Time in the Light</i> – a philosophical autobiography.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">In 2009, the <i>Economist Intelligent Life Magazine</i> described him as one of the world’s leading polymaths. The critic Stuart Kelly said of him in <i>Scotland on Sunday</i> in 2016 that </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">he is one of the very few contemporary thinkers whom I would unequivocally call a genius</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">. He has four honorary degrees: DLitt (Hull, 1997) and Litt.D. (Manchester, 2001) for contributions to the humanities; and DSc (St George’s Hospital Medical School, 2015; University of East Anglia, 2017) for contributions to research in medicine.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">For an account of how </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">writes his extraordinary books, see his article ‘My writing day: In my favourite pub, the staff turn down the speaker in my writing corner’, in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Guardian Review</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> of 29 April 2017:</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="m_3696575910632117737yiv9854659110MsoNormal" id="m_3696575910632117737yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1494695096392_3438" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"></div><u><div><u><span style="background: white; color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><span style="color: blue;"><strong><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-day-raymond-tallis&source=gmail&ust=1494845012979000&usg=AFQjCNFjQdPFjG32EYwtDTucgPQfNFHUvQ" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-day-raymond-tallis" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/<wbr></wbr>books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-<wbr></wbr>day-raymond-tallis</a></strong></span></span></u></div></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Nicholas Fearn</b> wrote in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Independent</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #281e1e;">When Kirsty Young was asked to name her favourite guest on Desert Island Discs, the rock star Paul Weller was beaten into second place, for her own luxury item would be the writer <b>Raymond Tallis</b>.</span></span></i></blockquote><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">,</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> </b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;">whose ninth Inner Circle Seminar this will be, kindly confirms that our seminar structure, in which dialogue is of the essence, enables him to communicate and reflect on his ideas. He wrote, after his first Inner Circle Seminar, <b><i>The Intellectual Plague of Biologism</i></b>, on 2 December 2012:</span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="background: white;">The seminar was for me an incredible experience. I have never previously had the opportunity to discuss the topics we covered in such depth with a group of people who came at it from such different angles but in a way that I found illuminating. I learned a lot. It was a tremendous privilege.</span></span></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>This will</i></b></span><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b> be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175</span><span lang="EN-US">,<b> </b>some bursaries; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></span></div></div></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Apply to: </span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";">Tel:</span></i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"> +44 (0) 7809 433250 </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><i>E-mail:</i> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><a href="mailto:stadlen@aol.com"><span lang="DE">stadlenanthony@gmail.com</span></a></span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US">For further information on seminars, visit: </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></span><br /><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But they are independent of all institutes, schools, and universities.</span></span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-72695188209206605422022-01-01T10:02:00.054+00:002022-10-31T18:00:13.583+00:00Thomas Szasz: The Insanity Defence – and Competency to Stand Trial. Jeffrey Schaler and Richard Vatz conduct Inner Circle Seminar 276 (30 October 2022)<p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Thomas Szasz</b></p></b><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: xx-large;"></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">(15 April 1920 </b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><b>–</b></span><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"> 8 September 2012)</b></span></p><div><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The second </b><b>of two Inner Circle Seminars</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>marking the 10th anniversary of Thomas Szasz</b><b><span style="text-align: left;">’s</span></b><b> death</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Insanity Defence </b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.9333px;"><b>– </b></span><b>And Competency To Stand Trial</b></p></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Jeffrey Schaler Richard Vatz</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>conduct </b></span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">by Zoom</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 276</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>introduced by Anthony Stadlen</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Sunday 30 October 2022</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>2 p.m. to 5 p.m. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. London time </b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="text-align: left;">– </span></span></b><b style="color: #990000;">GMT</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkoJ-9kH_Za9YBDV22cYgJNaNBjCQj89iQyo0CqKkrpBG4gN3JluGfRlxo8JslZdvrqIhsZu8CGGr30o4O_ZyP7PzdPqX-KWdOL3bV3K69CxPHlP_XdL57FzDpFpH7hn0ZoIP3pboqfqU5SPMwbp5GIon6nHoHk00qVuynfheMPx7iL1R7FABZ6vrbUQ=s259" style="clear: left; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="259" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkoJ-9kH_Za9YBDV22cYgJNaNBjCQj89iQyo0CqKkrpBG4gN3JluGfRlxo8JslZdvrqIhsZu8CGGr30o4O_ZyP7PzdPqX-KWdOL3bV3K69CxPHlP_XdL57FzDpFpH7hn0ZoIP3pboqfqU5SPMwbp5GIon6nHoHk00qVuynfheMPx7iL1R7FABZ6vrbUQ=w400-h386" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Jeffrey Schaler</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Richard_Vatz.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="439" height="384" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Richard_Vatz.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Richard Vatz</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"></span></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s seminar is the second of two Inner Circle Seminars this month marking the tenth anniversary of </span><b>Thomas Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s death.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this seminar, Professors <b>Jeffrey Schaler</b> and <b>Richard Vatz</b> will </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">answer
questions, lead discussion, and address a myriad of clinical, legal, and social
policy concerns in relation to the <i>insanity defence</i> and related issues, including
competency to stand trial and irresistible impulse. Their discussion will be illuminated by the writings of their
close friend and colleague, the late psychiatrist and professor </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">Thomas Szasz</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"></span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">Schaler</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"> and </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">Vatz</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"> are widely respected experts on and exponents of </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">’s
thinking on disease and behaviour, liberty and responsibility, psychiatry,
psychology, and psychiatric rhetoric and jargon. They have taught and debated </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">’s
ideas since the 1980s. Their latest edited book is </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">Thomas Szasz:</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">The
Man and His Ideas</i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> (2017).</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: 18.9333px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">They are both responsible </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">for teaching <b>Szasz</b>’s ideas to thousands of university students around the </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: 18.9333px;">world.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Thomas Szasz</b> explained to the world for over fifty-five years how </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">involuntary commitment to mental hospitals and the insanity defence are </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">two sides of the same coin.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In a similar way, <b>Schaler </b>and <b>Vatz </b>will explain how responsibility and freedom are two sides of the same metaphorical coin, positively correlated to one another. The therapeutic state, that union of medicine and state that has come to replace the theocratic state, is the primary architect of the myth of mental illness and its function as the greatest threat to freedom today.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-weight: bold;">Vatz</b> and <b style="font-weight: bold;">Schaler</b> have collaborated as authors and teachers for many years now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Professor <b>Vatz </b>was one of the very first people to receive the esteemed <b>Szasz</b> Award. Professor <b>Schaler</b> is the only person in the world to receive two <b>Szasz</b> awards.</div></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 189.0pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Strictly speaking, ‘insanity’ is a legal, not a medical term. It is used in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere to exculpate or remove responsibility for criminal behaviour. Its origins were in the <b>M’Naghten</b> case of the 1800s. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: justify;"><b>Daniel </b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: justify;">M’Naghten</b><span style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: justify;"> in 1843 shot the secretary of England</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: justify;">’</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: justify;">s prime minister Sir <b>Robert Peel</b>, whom he had mistaken for <b>Peel</b>. Medical experts testified that </span><b style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: justify;">M’Naghten </b><span style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: justify;">was insane, and the jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: justify;">The <b>M’Naghten Rule </b>(pronounced, and sometimes spelled, McNaughton) was </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: justify;">established by the House
of Lords on the basis of this verdict. It states:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<p style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></p></span><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>‘Every man is to be presumed to be sane and, to establish a defence on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly proved that, at the time of the committing of the act, the party accused was labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong.’</i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Queen v. M'Naghten, 8 Eng. Rep. 718 [1843])</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hvr" style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana;"></span><p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; margin: 7.5pt 0cm 4.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="hvr"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Thus </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">the issue is whether
a criminal defendant (1) knew the nature of the crime or (2) understood right from
wrong at the time it was committed. To be declared legally insane</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> under this test, a
defendant must meet one of these two distinct criteria.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Professors <b>Schaler </b>and <b>Vatz</b> will identify v</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">ariations on the insanity defence</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> in </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">claims
relating to addiction, competency to stand trial, and involuntary mental
hospitalization procedures. These will include the <b>Durham Rule</b> and
the <b>American Law Institute (ALI) Model Penal Code Rule</b>. The <b>ALI Rule</b> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">broadened the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #404040; font-family: Verdana;"><span class="hvr"><b>M'Naghten Rule </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">to a question of whether
a defendant had ‘substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of [his] conduct’ and added a volitional component as to
whether he was lacking in ‘substantial capacity to conform his conduct
to the law’.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p>
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">Professor <b>Schaler</b> will
also discuss the thinking on addiction and
insanity, including three highly influential United States
Supreme Court rulings on addiction as a form of insanity: Robinson <i>v.</i> <st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state>, 1962; Powell <i>v.</i> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>, 1968; and Traynor <i>v.</i> Turnage,</span><span style="background-color: white;">
1988.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Participants will learn how to deconstruct claims regarding insanity and mental illness.<span><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Professors <b>Schaler</b> and <b>Vatz</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’s work d</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">evelops and updates the ideas of <b>Thomas Szasz</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">s astonishing and refreshing books and papers written over a period of sixty years.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 108.0pt 189.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 108.0pt 189.0pt;"><br /></div></b></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 108.0pt 189.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.2pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US"><b style="text-align: justify;">Jeffrey A. Schaler<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">is an existential psychoanalyst in private practice since 1975; former Professor of Justice, Law, and Society at American University; author of </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Addiction is a Choice </i><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">(2000); editor of</span><span class="apple-converted-space" face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"> </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Szasz under Fire: The Psychiatric Abolitionist Faces his Critics</i><span class="apple-converted-space" face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">(2004), and co-editor of</span><span class="apple-converted-space" face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"> </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Thomas S. Szasz: The Man and His Ideas</i><span class="apple-converted-space" face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">(2017). He produced and owns </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; cursor: pointer;"><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.szasz.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">www.szasz.com</a>. </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; text-align: left;">His website is </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; text-align: left;"><u>www.s</u><a dir="ltr" href="http://schaler.net/" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">chaler.net</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; text-align: left;">. He received the <b>Thomas S. Szasz Award</b> in 1999 and </span></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">the <b>Thomas </b></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><b>Szasz</b> Award of the Citizens</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #fdfdfd; text-align: justify;">’</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"> Commission on Human Rights in 2002. </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white;">Professor <b>Schaler</b></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space" face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background: white; text-align: justify;">conducted Inner Circl</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.2pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background: white; text-align: justify;">e Seminar No. 132,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Addiction is a Choice</i>, on 12 October 2008, one of the best attended of all the Inner Circle Seminars so far. He co-conducted Inner Circle Seminar No. 188, <i>Thomas Szasz: In Memoriam</i>, on 3 March 2013; </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">Inner Circle Seminar </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span>No. 234, </span><i>Thomas Szasz: 65 Years of Writing: 1947-2012</i>,<span> </span><span>on 12 March 2017; and </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.2pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">Inner Circle Seminar </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background: white; text-align: justify;">No. 258, </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i>The Myth of </i><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; text-align: justify;">Thomas Szasz</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span></i><i><span style="font-style: normal;">, on 14 June 2020.</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></div></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><i style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><i style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">Richard Vatz</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;"> is</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;"> </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">tenured full Professor of Rhetoric and Communication at Towson Univer</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">sity wherein he has served for 45 years. He received the <b style="color: black; text-align: left;">Thomas S. Szasz Award</b> in 1993. He received many awards from Towson University. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">He is co-author of </span><i style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">Thomas Szasz: Primary Values and Major Contentions </i><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">(1983), co-editor of </span><i style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">Thomas S. Szasz: The Man and His Ideas</i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">(2017), and author of </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: justify;">The Only Authentic Book of Persuasion: the Agenda-Spin Model </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">(new edition, 2019)</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: justify;">. </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">He has published hundreds of articles, reviews and blogs. Professor <b>Vatz</b> co-conducted </span></span></i></span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">Inner Circle Seminar </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background: white; text-align: justify;">No. 258, </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i>The Myth of </i></span></span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background: white; text-align: justify;">Thomas Szasz</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">, on 14 June 2020.</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><i style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="background: white; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;"> </span></span></i></span></i></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><div style="color: black; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s seminar is the second of two </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">this month marking the tenth anniversary of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Thomas Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s death. The first, Inner Circle Seminar No. 275, on 9 October 2022, <i>Addressing <b>Your</b> Questions</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">will be conducted by <b>Keith Hoeller</b> and <b>Anthony Stadlen</b>, both also colleagues and friends of <b>Thomas Szasz</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s, who co-conducted with </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Jeffrey Schaler</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Richard Vatz</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Inner Circle Seminar No. 258 on 14 June 2020, </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Myth of </i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>‘</i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Thomas Szasz</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>’</i>,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> celebrating the centenary of <b>Szasz</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s birth.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b>These </b></span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b>will both be online seminars, using Zoom.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">There will be a reduction for those attending both of this month</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s </span></i><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><i>Szasz</i></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><i>-related</i> </span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">seminars.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><i style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: start;"><i> </i>Psychotherapy trainees £140, or £210 for both this month</span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #333333;">s</span> </span><b style="color: #333333;">Szasz</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">-related seminars; </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">others £175, or £262 for both seminars;<b> </b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></div></span></div><div class="NormalPar" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i>Tel:</i> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>E-mail:</i> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span></span></div></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">For further information on seminars, visit: </i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></span></span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-69693710391446898562022-01-01T09:02:00.091+00:002023-01-30T09:04:36.981+00:00 Thomas Szasz. The first of two Inner Circle Seminars marking the 10th anniversary of Thomas Szasz’s death. Addressing your questions – Keith Hoeller and Anthony Stadlen conduct Inner Circle Seminar 275 (9 October 2022)<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: xx-large;">Thomas Szasz</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: xx-large;"></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">(15 April 1920 </span><span style="color: #990000; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.9333px;">–</span><span style="color: #990000;"> 8 September 2012)</span></b></span></p><div><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"></span></p><p style="text-align: center;">The first of two Inner Circle Seminars</p><p style="text-align: center;">marking the 10th anniversary of Thomas Szasz<span style="text-align: left;">’s</span> death</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">Addressing <i>Y</i></span><i>our</i> Questions</p><p style="text-align: center;">Szasz<span style="text-align: left;">’s</span> radical rejection of <span style="text-align: left;">‘</span>mental health<span style="text-align: left;">’ </span>and <span style="text-align: left;">‘</span>mental illness<span style="text-align: left;">’</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Keith Hoeller Anthony Stadlen</span></p></b></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">conduct </span><span style="color: #990000;">by Zoom</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 275</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Sunday 9 October 2022</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span>(The day before </span></span><span style="color: #990000;">World Mental Health Day</span><span style="color: #0b5394;">)</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">3 p.m. to 6 p.m. 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. London time </span><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="text-align: left;">– BST</span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6KaWbLiP8mw6D8CV5esBawAzXzCGgT9AmFShZjMtWuwcy5GwwPjvj-rViDDFVu6h14h4cDl2A8CP85sA2pjRrTC_bpuZWEBAf23XPOAiFjUFB4OBQLzQfAbZgGRVWE_YcpNWM7reVg3EYJI79_7iM0h7T29piguD7KPFZe8csmYHiaqfC8W1EMNpaZQ=s268" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="218" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6KaWbLiP8mw6D8CV5esBawAzXzCGgT9AmFShZjMtWuwcy5GwwPjvj-rViDDFVu6h14h4cDl2A8CP85sA2pjRrTC_bpuZWEBAf23XPOAiFjUFB4OBQLzQfAbZgGRVWE_YcpNWM7reVg3EYJI79_7iM0h7T29piguD7KPFZe8csmYHiaqfC8W1EMNpaZQ=w260-h320" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thomas Szasz<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>ca.</i> 1970</div></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyF4HhlEVJ7PoKHFFHVFxzMv_5dODy0Df82FSExGlbWYHFPuspQ1dO4QlAirrVihIY6YHR5Z8kTXHy0Vgjl0OlIbnsEjp3V8p6_moWi0rq1871oS52IZccSj5UsLAIx6kQLb_EANa1GpDlyjuDxST8DiO1J_3IZXOa2Z4yGUbT6_kjX1xUEHHE6v6vOg=s806" style="clear: left; color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="806" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyF4HhlEVJ7PoKHFFHVFxzMv_5dODy0Df82FSExGlbWYHFPuspQ1dO4QlAirrVihIY6YHR5Z8kTXHy0Vgjl0OlIbnsEjp3V8p6_moWi0rq1871oS52IZccSj5UsLAIx6kQLb_EANa1GpDlyjuDxST8DiO1J_3IZXOa2Z4yGUbT6_kjX1xUEHHE6v6vOg=w320-h320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thomas Szasz</span></div></div></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Photograph by his grandson<br />Andrew Thomas Peters<br />August 2008</span></div><span style="color: #0b5394;"><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; text-align: right;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"></div></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTGQfmAl4QaWf9q227Y6JxCZoPU238igqDYVOFjqfGdms0ziJFYCBXr7SQA-EsvTgOU3c7kIOohJ-a7qGNF2MCI77OE1phb13SQ4HxlUHjA8B6QECZVzDlmlhWbPgjCIyRifXqMV0Ew21zysHHASRn_RcBmAYGcDzHZVyR11oOPMYdkX3jk4mV7zwIGw=s1346" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1346" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTGQfmAl4QaWf9q227Y6JxCZoPU238igqDYVOFjqfGdms0ziJFYCBXr7SQA-EsvTgOU3c7kIOohJ-a7qGNF2MCI77OE1phb13SQ4HxlUHjA8B6QECZVzDlmlhWbPgjCIyRifXqMV0Ew21zysHHASRn_RcBmAYGcDzHZVyR11oOPMYdkX3jk4mV7zwIGw=w320-h226" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>Thomas Szasz at his 90th-birthday seminar</span><br /><span>13 June 2010 (Inner Circle Seminar No. 153)</span><br /><span>Photograph copyright jennyphotos.com</span><br /><span>Not to be used without permission<br /><br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s seminar is the first of two Inner Circle Seminars this month marking the tenth anniversary of </span><b>Thomas Szasz</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s death. Today is the day before World Mental Health Day, which is devoted to what <b>Szasz</b> regarded as a myth, a metaphor, and a mystification. This did not mean that he failed to recognise that people have existential, spiritual, religious, ethical, interpersonal, emotional, psychological problems. It did mean that he wrote thirty-five books, published hundreds of papers, and gave countless lectures questioning whether these p</span></span><span style="text-align: left;">roblems </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: verdana;">were accurately categorised as medical questions of </span></span><span style="text-align: left;">‘</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: verdana;">health</span></span><i style="text-align: left;">’</i><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span></span><span style="text-align: left;">‘</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: verdana;">illness</span></span><i style="text-align: left;">’</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Ten years ago, on <b>8 September 2012</b>, </span>at hs home in Manlius, New York, <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Professor <b>Thomas S. Szasz </b>died. Fifteen years ago, on <b>Sunday 16 September 2007</b>, </span>in Herringham Hall, Regent<span style="text-align: left;">’</span>s College, London, <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><b>Thomas Szasz</b> gave the second of his three </span>electrifying Inner Circle Seminars, No. 117. What was most remarkable about it was that Professor <b>Szasz </b>did not say a single word except in response to specific questions from individual members of the audience. The title of that seminar, as of today<i style="text-align: left;">’</i>s, was <span style="text-align: left;">‘</span>Addressing <i>Your</i> Questions<span style="text-align: left;"><i>’</i></span>, which was elucidated as follows:</div></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i>Many people admire Thomas Szasz’s passionate devotion to personal freedom and responsibility, and his indignation at coercion masquerading as compassion. But some are troubled by uncertainty as to what he has in mind to replace the present arrangements, however imperfect these may be. Too often there is not time in a public debate for people to put these questions and for Professor Szasz to give a measured and considered answer. Today’s seminar is deliberately designed to be a true seminar, not a virtuoso performance which leaves people puzzled. The focus today is on your questions, and the seminar has no other purpose than for Professor Szasz to strive with all his powers to give you satisfactory answers.</i></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Thomas Szasz</b> is no longer here to address your questions. But today <b>Keith Hoeller</b> and <b>Anthony Stadlen</b>, who were both close friends and colleagues of his, will strive with all <i>their</i> powers to address any questions you may have about <b>Szasz</b> or the issues to which he devoted his life.</p></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Keith Hoeller</b>, who has already co-conducted Inner Circle Seminars on<b> Szasz</b> and <b>Heidegger</b>, will join us from Seattle, USA, where he was Professor of Philosophy for many years. He edited the <i>Review of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy</i> from 1978. He received the Thomas S. Szasz Award in 2002. He is one of the very few authorities on both <b>Szasz</b> and <b>Heidegger</b>. He edited <i>Thomas Szasz: Moral Philosopher of Psychiatry </i>(1997), translated <b>Heidegger</b>’s <i>Elucidation of Hölderlin’s Poetry</i> (2001), and contributed a chapter on <b>Szasz </b>to <i>Existential Therapy</i> (ed. Barnett, L. and Madison, G., 2012).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Today<span>’</span><span>s</span> seminar is the first of </span><span>two this month marking the tenth anniversary of </span><b>Thomas Szasz</b><span>’</span><span>s death. The second, Inner Circle Seminar No. 276, on 30 October 2022, </span><i>The Insanity </i><span><i>Defence </i><span style="text-align: left;"><i>– </i></span><i>and Competency to Stand T</i></span><i>rial</i><span>, </span><span>will be conducted by Professors <b>Jeffrey Schaler</b> and <b>Richard Vatz</b>, both also colleagues and friends of <b>Thomas Szasz</b></span><span>’</span><span>s, who co-conducted with </span><b>Keith Hoeller</b><span> and </span><b>Anthony Stadlen</b><span> Inner Circle Seminar No. 258 on 14 June 2020, </span><i>The Myth of </i><span style="text-align: left;"><i>‘</i></span><i>Thomas Szasz</i><span><i>’</i>,</span><span> celebrating the centenary of <b>Szasz</b></span><span>’</span><span>s birth. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b>These </b></span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b>will both be online seminars, using Zoom.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span>There will be a reduction for those attending both of this month</span><span>’</span></i><span><i>s </i></span><b style="color: #333333;"><i>Szasz</i></b><span style="color: #333333;"><i>-related</i> </span><i>seminars. </i><span> </span></span></div></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-US"><i style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: start;"><i> </i>Psychotherapy trainees £140, or £210 for both this month</span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;">’</span><span><span style="color: #333333;">s</span> </span><b style="color: #333333;">Szasz</b><span style="color: #333333;">-related seminars; </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; text-align: start;">others £175, or £262 for both seminars;<b> </b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; text-align: start;">some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></span></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i>Tel:</i> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>E-mail:</i> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="color: #333333;"><i style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="text-align: left;">For further information on seminars, visit: </i><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></span></span></div></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-57035134338007243242022-01-01T06:01:00.009+00:002024-01-14T20:59:16.328+00:00Heidegger’s ‘Worlds’. The Rise and Fall of Heidegger’s Three-‘Worlds’ Theory (1919-25). Inner Circle Seminar 274 (19 June 2022)<div style="text-align: center;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><span><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><span><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><span><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #990000;">Heidegger</span></span></b><b style="color: #990000;">’</b><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #990000;">s </span></span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">‘W</b><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">orlds</b><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">’</b></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>The Rise and Fall of Heidegger</b></span><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">’</span></b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>s </b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>T</b></span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>hree-</b></span><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">‘W</b><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">orlds</b><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">’ Theory</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">(1919-25)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">A centenary investigation</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Anthony Stadlen</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>conducts </b></span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">by Zoom</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 274</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sunday 19 June 2022</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>10 a.m to 5 p.m.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><div style="color: #333333; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: #333333; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Cbj9k-g0Dko/Ycf1XBVVGKI/AAAAAAAAM3M/t-7j3WihfWIr-bv1nUSAcQxnq9auQuaBwCNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="268" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Cbj9k-g0Dko/Ycf1XBVVGKI/AAAAAAAAM3M/t-7j3WihfWIr-bv1nUSAcQxnq9auQuaBwCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h268/image.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Martin Heidegger<br />at the well by his hut above Todtnauberg</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEha9-iJijuJMfErHYtzAAAzO6gcScQE-5YnrshOIUFMavVLhTg-e8_QahGdInSfzi0kIMGzdoQCbgyc5cTMxfFhZiAo_68a-7ovYXO7l9H-GCM6HFWncQYrmOv6SZcbT4ErYQBv_crynH7sPY9wVSLz2iqAI-IvQOcxEXGp__goz-r5WMTPyB4a3v1L-w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="960" data-original-width="638" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEha9-iJijuJMfErHYtzAAAzO6gcScQE-5YnrshOIUFMavVLhTg-e8_QahGdInSfzi0kIMGzdoQCbgyc5cTMxfFhZiAo_68a-7ovYXO7l9H-GCM6HFWncQYrmOv6SZcbT4ErYQBv_crynH7sPY9wVSLz2iqAI-IvQOcxEXGp__goz-r5WMTPyB4a3v1L-w=w267-h400" width="267" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Emmy van Deurzen</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUnlzzrK9gWtIjtCWvTq3s5p2bX8Phf0K7oewBVfFEhgl1QWrYt4YmR0h3eF1NTPOFAUekGS333RPPibYX1NGLO17VQR1xKaJXaj6LqDeMIIwEgw5NiKEyE0JUYxkGoBqwqePARB4_rhRltEJAEde3AyNGPnA2qZ24CljJ7MaRChgUhMTT6aPdc3CmBg=s1019" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1019" data-original-width="730" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUnlzzrK9gWtIjtCWvTq3s5p2bX8Phf0K7oewBVfFEhgl1QWrYt4YmR0h3eF1NTPOFAUekGS333RPPibYX1NGLO17VQR1xKaJXaj6LqDeMIIwEgw5NiKEyE0JUYxkGoBqwqePARB4_rhRltEJAEde3AyNGPnA2qZ24CljJ7MaRChgUhMTT6aPdc3CmBg=w286-h400" width="286" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ludwig Binswanger</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the 1940s, the psychiatrist <b>Ludwig Binswanger</b> described many idiosyncratic ‘worlds’ of his patients, such as ‘<b>Ellen West</b>’. The ‘swamp world’, the ‘tomb world’, and the ‘aetherial world’ seem to have been good phenomenological descriptions of <b>Ellen</b>’s actual experience. <b>Binswanger</b> also, only for a short time, tentatively proposed a relatively constant interrelated triad of ‘worlds’ supposedly of more general application, though explicitly, as he said, not meant to be exhaustive: ‘<i>Umwelt</i>’ (‘around-world’), ‘<i>Mitwelt</i>’ (‘with-world’), ‘<i>Eigenwelt</i>’ (‘own world’). </div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Half a century on, the existential therapist <b>Emmy van Deurzen</b> added a fourth: the ‘<i>Überwelt</i>’ (‘over-world’).</div></span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">These four ‘worlds’, or </span></span><span>‘</span><span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">dimensions</span></span><span>’, </span><span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">have been taught in training institutes, and regarded as an important part of existential therapy, at least in London, for more than thirty years. Trainee therapists say they have found them helpful. But how far d</span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">o they clarify a client</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">s experience? May they not entail an arbitrary and restrictive conceptualisation? </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">How is it that, for example, personal rela</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">tionships are assigned in one book to the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Eigenwelt</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ and in another book by the same author to the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Mitwelt</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’? How could such </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">relationships be confined to one or other such partial </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">world</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ or </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">dimension</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">rather than by their very nature embodying an implicit shared search for wholeness that always already precedes and transcends such fragmentation into </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">worlds</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">?</span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>As it happens, </span><i>a hundred years ago</i><span>, from 1919 to 1924, </span><span>decades before <b>Binswanger</b> and <b>van Deurzen</b> proposed their three- and four-world schemes, </span><span><b>Martin Heidegger</b> had already, in five lecture courses (GA58,59,60,61,63) and in his essay <i>The Concept of Time </i></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(GA64),<i> </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>proposed a triad like <b>Binswanger</b>’s, also with </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>Um</i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">welt</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(‘around-world’) and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Mitwelt</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(‘with-world’), but </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">with ‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Selbstwelt</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ (‘self-world’) rather than ‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Eigenwelt</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(‘own world’)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>But </span><b>Heidegger</b>,<b> </b><span>only </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">a few years after introducing the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Selbstwelt</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">denounced and renounced his own triad of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">worlds</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">as misconc</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">eived and thereafter appears never to have mentioned the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Selbstwelt</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ again.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This was </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in 1925, even before he had published </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Being and Time</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1927), and decades before first <b>Binswanger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and then <b>van Deurzen </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">proposed their sets of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">worlds</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. Neither of them could have been expected to mention either <b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s earlier </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">proposal or his subsequent retraction of his three-</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">world</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">scheme, as his relevant lectures were only published posthumously towards the end of the twentieth century.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today we shall explore </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> reasons for this early </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">turn</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in his</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">thinking.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Heidegger</b>, like <b>Sigmund Freud</b>, used such colloquial, rough-and-ready, terms as the ‘work-world’, the ‘classical world’, the ‘dream-world’, the ‘wish-world’. <b>Freud</b>, indeed, in his <i>Gesammelte Werke</i> (<i>Collected Works</i>) used ‘<i>Mitwelt</i>’ 9 times, ‘<i>Umwelt</i>’ 20 times, and ‘<i>Unterwelt</i>’ (‘underworld’) 14 times, but in their colloquial sense, without making them components of a formal scheme. <b>Heidegger</b>’s threefold world-scheme was meant to be more systematic.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, in his 1925 summer term Marburg University lecture course, <i>Prolegomena zur Geschichte des Zeitbegriffs</i> (GA20, S.333) [<i>History of the Concept of Time: Prolegomena</i> (1992, p.242)], <b>Heidegger </b>denounced his own threefold system of ‘<i>Umwelt</i>’, ‘<i>Mitwelt</i>’, and ‘<i>Selbstwelt</i>’ as ‘<i>grundfalsch</i>’ (‘fundamentally false’).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i></i></div></span><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>He went on to write in <i>Sein und Zeit</i> (1927, S.118) [<i>Being and Time</i> (1962, p.155)]: ‘The world </span><span>of <i>Dasein</i> is </span><i>Mitwelt</i><span>.’</span></span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>So he retained </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Mitwelt</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, but not as a component of a triadic system. O</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ur </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Mitwelt</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, as he now conceived it, is not merely one ‘world’, or one ‘dimension’, among others, of being human. Being-in-the-world-with-others is what being human </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">is</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Furthermore, the early ‘existential’ and ‘phenomenological’ psychiatrists and psychologists, especially the self-styled </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Wengen</b> Circle</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(<b>Ludwig Binswanger</b>, <b>Viktor Emil von Gebsattel</b>, <b>Eug</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; text-align: left;"><b>è</b></span><b>ne Minkowski</b>, <b>Erwin Straus</b>), wrote about ‘the world of the compulsive’, ‘the world of the schizophrenic’, and so on: the ‘worlds’ of those whom psychiatrists traditionally classified as ‘degenerate’, not like ‘us’. Even those ‘existential’ therapists who today discard psychiatric diagnoses often claim that they are helping the client explore ‘the client</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s world’. This may be helpful if it is a stage on the way to acknowledgement, by therapist and client, of what </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">called our ‘being-in-the-world’ [‘<i>in-der-Welt-sein</i>’]: the one world we all share. But this is often unclear.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was already <b>Josef Breuer</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Freud</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s revolutionary innovation in the last decade of the nineteenth century to regard their ‘hysterical’ patients, such as ‘Frau </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Cäcilie M</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">.’, not as ‘degenerates’ who were living in their </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">own world</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, as many, perhaps most, of their contemporaries supposed, but as sharing with the rest of us the one world in which we live and move and have our being.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this respect, were not <b>Freud</b> and <b>Heidegger<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">more advanced than many existential therapists today?</span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span><b>Heidegger</b></span></span></span>, as well as the Daseinsanalysts <b>Medard Boss</b> and <b>Gion Condrau</b>, argued explicitly </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span>against the supposition </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘meaning</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">spirituality</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ are to be found in a separate, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span>split-off, </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">quasi-schizoid</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">world</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. On the contrary, they insisted, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">our one, shared world is always already illumined by meaning and spirit.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span>It is in any case unclear why, </span><span>if there were an </span><span>‘</span><i>Überwelt</i><span>’</span><span>, there would not also be an </span><span>‘</span><span><i>Unterwelt</i></span><span>’ (</span><span>‘</span><span>underworld</span><span>’</span><span>)</span><span>, as documented from ancient mythology, through <b>Virgil</b> and <b>Dante</b>, to <b>Freud</b> and <b>Jung</b>. Should not such an </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Unterwelt</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span>be </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">a fifth </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Welt</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in its own right?</span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>And does <b>Heidegger</b></span><span>’</span><span>s later vision of the </span><span>‘</span><i>Geviert</i><span>’ </span><span>(</span><span>‘</span><span>Fourfold</span><span>’)</span><span> of </span><span>‘</span><span>earth, sky, mortals and gods</span><span>’</span><span>, itself questionable, really justify a resuscitation of his long-abandoned three<span style="font-family: verdana;">-</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">worlds</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span> scheme and its a</span><span>ugmentation</span><span> </span><span>with an </span><span>‘</span><i>Überwelt</i><span>’?</span></span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>And again, why this fetishising by the later <b>Heidegger</b> of <i>four</i>? Why not, for instance, a <i>sevenfold</i>, traditionally implying greater wholeness? But Heideggerians and Daseinsanalysts reverently repeat the reference to the fourfold and do not question it.</span></span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We shall explore these enigmas today. We shall try in particular to clarify the logic by which <b>Heidegger</b> came to conceive, and then renounce, his own three-</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">worlds</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> theory.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Your contribution to the discussion will be warmly welcomed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i>This </i></b></span><i style="color: #990000;"><b>will be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-US"><i style="text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: start;"> Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175</span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: start;">,<b> </b>some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i>Tel:</i> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">+44 (0) 7809 433250</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>E-mail:</i> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-US">For further information on seminars, visit: </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></span><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></span></span></div>
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Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-91489340455497358312022-01-01T02:01:00.023+00:002023-03-07T01:09:46.373+00:00Love in Dark Places: You shall love your crooked neighbour / With your crooked heart (Auden). Derek Jeffreys conducts Inner Circle Seminar 273 (13 February 2022)<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Love in Dark Places</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Working with prisoners who will never be released</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Seifert’s critique of Hildebrand’s phenomenology of Heart </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>‘You shall love your crooked neighbour</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>With your crooked heart.’</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>(W. H. Auden)</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Derek Jeffreys</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>conducts </b></span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">by Zoom</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminar No. 273</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>introduced by</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Anthony Stadlen</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Sunday 13 February 2022</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>2 p.m. to 5 p.m. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. London time</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; text-align: right;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x5GRMyGsFN4/YMzMmB7jigI/AAAAAAAALdk/sBO4Uf04Q1s9aU176wRZ6CV5N59IV1sogCLcBGAsYHQ/s175/Derek%2BJeffreys.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="131" data-original-width="175" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x5GRMyGsFN4/YMzMmB7jigI/AAAAAAAALdk/sBO4Uf04Q1s9aU176wRZ6CV5N59IV1sogCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h240/Derek%2BJeffreys.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><span style="background-color: white; text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Derek S. Jeffreys</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span>In this seminar </span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">Professor <b>Derek S. Jeffreys</b> will discuss his project of loving, as his </span><span style="color: #222222;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif">‘</span></span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">neighbours</span><span style="color: #222222;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif">’</span></span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">, his fellow human beings, </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222;">prisoners who will never be released, whose crimes he regards as utterly evil. This is no sentimental notion of ‘love’, but a clearsighted radical attempt to love perpetrators of radical evil, without denying or colluding with the evil they have done. Professor </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: start;"><b>Jeffreys</b> is a distinguished teacher of the philosophy of, among other thinkers, <b>Dietrich von Hildebrand</b>, great phenomenological philosopher of love; favourite pupil, with <b>Martin Heidegger</b>, of <b>Edmund Husserl</b>,<b> </b>who was disappointed that both rejected his later phenomenology; friend and colleague of <b>Max Scheler</b>, whom he made it his business to rescue from disaster after <b>Scheler</b>'s sexual escapades. </span><b style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Derek Jeffreys</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: start;"> finds <b>Hildebrand</b>'s philosophy of the Heart of great practical help in his approach to prisoners, especially when refined by <b>Hildebrand</b>'s friend <b>Joseph Seifert</b>'s critique of it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><b>Derek Jeffreys</b> and <b>Anthony Stadlen</b> will also discuss the flattening of ethical sensibility by many psychiatrists, psychotherapists and psychologists, whose</span><span style="color: #888888;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"> </span><span style="color: #222222;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif">‘non-judgemental’</span> </span></span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">psychologism and denial of personal moral responsibility erodes the perception of good and evil, entails sentimental collusion, and precludes authentic love.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">The discussion will start, but not end, with <b>Derek Jeffreys</b></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"> stark statement, in his book </span></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Spirituality in Dark Places: The Ethics of Solitary Confinement</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (2013):</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Many inmates in solitary are not heinous or vicious, but such inmates do exist. They commit crimes that separate them from any community. Moreover they show no remorse and no interest in reconciliation. It seems remarkably naive to think we can communicate morally with them. Those promoting moral respect for all people seem to foster foolish convictions about human equality. Their ideas fall apart at the appearance of radical evil. Perhaps we should honestly admit that we can no longer associate with some people. </i></span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">Is this the last word? No; but it is the necessary absolute zero from which <b>Derek Jeffreys</b></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;">s profound, positive thinking and clear-sighted engagement springs. At the end of this book he writes:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><i>[...] we can use our creativity to acknowlege the dignity of even those who have committed horrific crimes. Despite political and economic forces, we can end a morally and spiritually bankrupt policy.</i></span></blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;">Your contribution to the discussion will be warmly welcomed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;">Professor </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;">Jeffreys</b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;"> will structure the day as follows:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><b>Session 1</b>. (2 p.m. to 3.20 p.m.)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">The credit of love: Freedom and gift in the human person</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;"><b>Session 2.</b> (3.40 p.m. to 5 p.m.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">Life imprisonment: An American anomaly</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;"><b>Session 3.</b> (6 p.m. to 7.20 p.m.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">Should we banish the wicked forever? Revisiting life imprisonment.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana;"><b>Session 4.</b> (7.40 p.m. to 9 p.m.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">General discussion of love, ethics and imprisonment.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Derek S. Jeffreys </b>is Professor of Humanities and Religion at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay. He teaches courses</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span><span style="color: #201f1e; text-align: right; white-space: pre-wrap;">on love, Thomas Aquinas, ethics, ethics and punishment, evil, Dante, Buddhism, and other topics. For more than a decade he has been involved in jail and prison education, giving volunteer religion and philosophy lectures to inmates in Wisconsin’s jails and prisons. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">His research focusses on personalism and violence, with a particular emphasis on punishment and incarceration. He is author of <i>Defending Human Dignity: John Paul II and Political Realism</i> (2004), <i>Spirituality and the Ethics of Torture</i> (2009), <i>Spirituality in Dark Places: The Ethics of Solitary Confinement</i> (2013), and <i>America</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>’</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>s Jails: The Search for Human Dignity in an Age of Mass Incarceration</i> (2018). He is currently working on issues relating to love and mental illness in penal institutions.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">See also:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><ul style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><li style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/hildebrand-project.html" style="color: #336699;">Hildebrand Project 10th Summer Seminar 2020, ‘The Heart’. Derek Jeffreys and Anthony Stadlen on Emotional Brokenness and Healing. 8 July 2020</a></li><li style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/httpswww.html" style="color: #336699;">Discussion of Hildebrand Project 10th Summer Seminar 2020, ‘The Heart’, including discussion of Derek Jeffreys and Anthony Stadlen session on Emotional Brokenness and Healing on 8 July 2020</a></li><li style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/the-desecartion-of-love.html" style="color: #336699;">The Desecration of Love. For the Hildebrand Project 10th annual summer seminar: The Heart (6-10 July 2020)</a></li></ul></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span><div><span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; text-align: justify;"><i style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">This will be an online seminar, using </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span>Zoom</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">.</span></span></b></i></p></span></div></span></div></div><div style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana";">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana";"> Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>some bursaries; payable in advance by bank transfer or PayPal; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; tab-stops: 194.4pt 221.75pt; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Apply to: </span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Tel:</span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> +44 (0) 7809 433250<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>E-mail:</i> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">For further information on seminars, visit: </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana";">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></div></span><p></p>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-5100869226287935342021-01-01T12:01:00.034+00:002022-08-11T09:20:33.166+01:00Freedom: An Impossible Reality. Raymond Tallis conducts Inner Circle Seminar 272 (12 December 2021)<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">Freedom: </span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 28.5333px;">An Impossible Reality</span></span></span></b></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #0b5394;">Raymond Tallis</span></span><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">conducts </span><span style="color: #990000;">by Zoom</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> Inner Circle Seminar No. 272</span><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">introduced by Anthony Stadlen</span><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">Sunday 12 December 2021</span><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</span></span></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fymYeHnKLPY/UQh7s35bPtI/AAAAAAAAEUo/nhB67wb6mA0M1xRE8oweNU5eS2xYMZ4MACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Raymond%2BTallis%2Bred%2Bhat%2B2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="207" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fymYeHnKLPY/UQh7s35bPtI/AAAAAAAAEUo/nhB67wb6mA0M1xRE8oweNU5eS2xYMZ4MACPcBGAYYCw/s320/Raymond%2BTallis%2Bred%2Bhat%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div class="h7" role="listitem" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; max-width: 100000px; outline: none; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: justify;" tabindex="-1"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Raymond Tallis</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> is one of our best-loved invited speakers. Today</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s seminar, </span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">Freedom: An Impossible Reality</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">, is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">his eighth </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Inner Circle Seminar </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">(</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">his first was on 2 December 2012).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_3696575910632117737yiv9854659110gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";">Professor<b> Tallis </b>has shown in seven profound Inner Circle Seminars that he is one of the world’s leading demystifiers of what he calls the ‘neuroscience delusion’ (‘neuromania’) and the ‘intellectual plague of biologism’ (‘animalism’). His ruthless, good-humoured exposure of reductive natural-scientism continues the tradition of <b>Heidegger</b> and <b>Szasz</b>, for example, but is utterly his own. Psychotherapists are free to choose to go on pretending to be ‘validated’ by ‘neuroscience’; but their work, such as it is, sometimes radically transforming and helpful, sometimes best passed over in silence, speaks for or against itself as the case may be, and no pseudo-scientific ‘validation’ (or </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">‘invalidation’)</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">can disguise this.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">is one of the select few who affirms and advocates human language to depict and describe the human world and human relationships.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><span>In his book <i>Logos </i></span><span>Professor </span><b>Tallis</b><span> exposes the absurdity of the argument that evolutionary biology or neuroscience show that our thinking is merely a function of our bodies-as-objects-for-science and therefore can have no truth-value of its own unless it is in some way itself derived from evolutionary biology or neuroscience, which are taken to be</span><span> ‘</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">objectively true<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">’</span>. But those sciences are themselves human creations, and therefore, by this argument, <i>not</i> ‘objectively true<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">’</span>. Professor <b>Tallis </b>remarks that those who use this argument are worthy successors of the Cretan of old who said all Cretans were liars.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">In today</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">s seminar he takes up again the question of human freedom, which he discussed in Inner Circle Seminar No. 216, <i>Tensed Time and Free Will</i> (28 June 2015).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"><b>Raymond Tallis</b> writes:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Many of us have been persuaded by philosophers and
psychologists that we do not have free will. We are not the ultimate source of
action; nor do we have the capacity genuinely to choose between possible
courses of action. The most compelling arguments against free will rest on the
fact that actions are material events and our bodies (including our brains) are
material objects. All such events and objects are stitched into a net of causation
regulated by the unbreakable laws of nature.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> </span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";"><i>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I will argue that the processes by which we discover the
laws of nature and identify causes of events demonstrate the extent to which we
stand outside of nature. This is further highlighted by our deliberate exploitation
of those laws and the transformation of causes into handles by which we
manipulate the physical world.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">These unique powers are dramatically illustrated by the
landscape of artefacts in which we pass much of our lives and the vast bodies
of knowledge by which we guide ourselves. The fact that the most recent
geologic age has been called the Anthropocene testifies to our ability – for
good or evil – to shape the material environment in which we find ourselves.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I will then examine how this is possible. I look for explanation
to the intentionality of consciousness in virtue of which we both engage with
material world and yet are separate from it. This opens up a space that lies outside
of nature. The space is vastly expanded by the unique degree to which
intentionality in humans is developed. A trillion, trillion cognitive
handshakes weave a distinctive human world.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">That world is populated with possibilities that are not part
of nature: nature is confined to actuality whereas possibilities exist only
insofar as they are envisaged. Actions are the realization of possibilities envisaged
by individuals or groups of individuals. As such they are neither the products
of external causes nor expressions of the law-governed unfolding of nature. Nor,
on the other hand, are they in breach of those laws.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The seminar will end with a discussion of the limits to
human freedom. While the biological and cultural constraints on agency, the
role of unconscious influences, and of accident and luck, will be acknowledged,
they serve only to highlight, by contrast, the role of true freedom in much of
day-to-day human life.</p></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">The heart of these seminars is dialogue, and it will of course be possible to argue in depth with Professor </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">Tallis</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;"> if you disagree with any of his points or positions.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Raymond Tallis</b> is a philosopher, poet, novelist and cultural critic, and a retired physician and clinical neuroscientist. He ran a large clinical service in Hope Hospital Salford and an academic department in the University of Manchester. His research focussed on epilepsy, stroke, and neurological rehabilitation.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">He trained in medicine at Oxford University and at St Thomas</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">in London before going on to become Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Manchester and a consultant physician. He was an editor and major contributor to two key textbooks in the field, <i>The Clinical Neurology of Old Age</i> and <i>Textbook of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology</i>, and author of over 200 original scientific articles, mainly in clinical neuroscience, including papers in <i>Nature Medicine</i>, <i>Brain,</i> <i>Lancet</i>. In 2000, he was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in recognition of his contribution to medical research. Among many prizes, he was awarded the Lord Cohen Gold Medal for Research into Ageing. He played a key part in developing guidelines for the care of stroke patients in the UK. From 2011-14 he was Chair, Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying (HPAD). He was a member of the Council of Royal College of Physicians between 2016 and 2019. He is a member of the criteria-setting group for the UK Research Excellence Framework 2021 in philosophy.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He has published fiction, poetry, and 30 books on the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophical anthropology, and literary and cultural criticism. <i>Aping Mankind</i> (2010) was reissued in 2016 as a Routledge Classic. <i>Of Time and Lamentation. Reflections on Transience </i>(2017; 2019) a comprehensive an inquiry into the nature of time was widely praised. <i>NHS SOS</i> (2012), co-edited with Jacky Davis, examined the destructive impact of Tory policies on the NHS. <i>Logos. An Essay on the Mystery of the Sense-Making Animal</i> was published in Spring 2018. His most recent volume of verse – <i>Sunburst</i> – was published in November 2019.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A series of eight seminars on Humanism given in the philosophy department of Charles University Prague, formed the basis of his book, published in 2020, <i>Seeing Ourselves. Reclaiming Humanity from God and Science</i>. A defence of free will – <i>Freedom. An Impossible Reality</i> – was published in September 2021. His seminar today will expound its argument.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">His current projects include <i>Prague 22. A Book of Tenuous Connections</i> – which is a collection of essays; and <i>De Luce. Reflections on My Time in the Light</i> – a philosophical autobiography.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">In 2009, the <i>Economist Intelligent Life Magazine</i> described him as one of the world’s leading polymaths. The critic Stuart Kelly said of him in <i>Scotland on Sunday</i> in 2016 that </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">he is one of the very few contemporary thinkers whom I would unequivocally call a genius</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">. He has four honorary degrees: DLitt (Hull, 1997) and Litt.D. (Manchester, 2001) for contributions to the humanities; and DSc (St George’s Hospital Medical School, 2015; University of East Anglia, 2017) for contributions to research in medicine.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">For an account of how </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">writes his extraordinary books, see his article ‘My writing day: In my favourite pub, the staff turn down the speaker in my writing corner’, in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Guardian Review</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"> of 29 April 2017:</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="m_3696575910632117737yiv9854659110MsoNormal" id="m_3696575910632117737yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1494695096392_3438" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"></div><u><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="background: white; color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><span style="color: blue;"><strong><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-day-raymond-tallis&source=gmail&ust=1494845012979000&usg=AFQjCNFjQdPFjG32EYwtDTucgPQfNFHUvQ" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-day-raymond-tallis" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/<wbr></wbr>books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-<wbr></wbr>day-raymond-tallis</a></strong></span></span></u></div></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Nicholas Fearn</b> wrote in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Independent</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #281e1e;">When Kirsty Young was asked to name her favourite guest on Desert Island Discs, the rock star Paul Weller was beaten into second place, for her own luxury item would be the writer <b>Raymond Tallis</b>.</span></span></i></blockquote><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">,</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"> </b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana;">whose eighth Inner Circle Seminar this will be, kindly confirms that our seminar structure, in which dialogue is of the essence, enables him to communicate and reflect on his ideas. He wrote, after his first Inner Circle Seminar, <b><i>The Intellectual Plague of Biologism</i></b>, on 2 December 2012:</span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="background: white;">The seminar was for me an incredible experience. I have never previously had the opportunity to discuss the topics we covered in such depth with a group of people who came at it from such different angles but in a way that I found illuminating. I learned a lot. It was a tremendous privilege.</span></span></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>This will</i></b></span><i style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b> be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> Psychotherapy trainees £140, others £175</span><span lang="EN-US">,<b> </b>some bursaries; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></span></div></div></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Apply to: </span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";">Tel:</span></i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"> +44 (0) 7809 433250 </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><i>E-mail:</i> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><a href="mailto:stadlen@aol.com"><span lang="DE">stadlenanthony@gmail.com</span></a></span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US">For further information on seminars, visit: </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></span><br /><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But they are independent of all institutes, schools, and universities.</span></span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-32438264583766919462021-01-01T11:01:00.002+00:002023-03-20T00:09:11.735+00:00Kierkegaard 16 October 1843. George Pattison, Marilyn Piety, C. Stephen Evans, John Lippitt, Jerome (Yehuda) Gellman, Mariam al-Attar conduct Inner Circle Seminars 263, 264, 265, 268, 269, 271 (14, 28 February; 21 March; 23 May; 13 June; 31 October and 28 November 2021)<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Kierkegaard 16 October 1843</b></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>Repetition</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>Three Upbuilding Discourses</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Text and Context </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">George Pattison Marilyn Piety C. </span></b><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Stephen Evans</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b style="color: #0b5394;">John Lippitt </b><b style="color: #0b5394;">Jerome (Yehuda) Gellman Mariam al-Attar</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">conduct</span></b><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;">by Zoom</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Inner Circle Seminars Nos. 263, 264, 265, 268, 269, 271</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>introduced by </b></span><b style="color: #0b5394;">Anthony Stadlen</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sundays</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">14, 28 February; 21 March; 23 May; 13 June; 31 October and 28 November 2021</span></b></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-za2y-zCKMg0/X_5Uo9tN7YI/AAAAAAAAKsQ/yol2rqaIai8rBs9Ws_gkD2Ju8p0zk4s_wCPcBGAYYCw/s253/image.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="190" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-za2y-zCKMg0/X_5Uo9tN7YI/AAAAAAAAKsQ/yol2rqaIai8rBs9Ws_gkD2Ju8p0zk4s_wCPcBGAYYCw/s0/image.png" /></a></div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FmbSAx3i5J0/S0D_arUVZSI/AAAAAAAAET0/E85XLqJ1jWk102ClOjm3BWLsXwF_PRtCwCPcBGAYYCw/s874/Kierkegaard%2B1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="698" height="254" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FmbSAx3i5J0/S0D_arUVZSI/AAAAAAAAET0/E85XLqJ1jWk102ClOjm3BWLsXwF_PRtCwCPcBGAYYCw/w202-h254/Kierkegaard%2B1.JPG" width="202" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GrLCH-r5f40/X_PCuqhJ4bI/AAAAAAAAKpo/M1RMH8eckUYdlU988toQ2uFo257H1JfFgCPcBGAYYCw/s318/image.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="238" height="253" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GrLCH-r5f40/X_PCuqhJ4bI/AAAAAAAAKpo/M1RMH8eckUYdlU988toQ2uFo257H1JfFgCPcBGAYYCw/w190-h253/image.png" width="190" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></b><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Søren Kierkegaard and the three books he published on 16 October 1843</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span face="verdana, sans-serif"><i>Repetition </i>by </span></span><span face="verdana, sans-serif">Constantin Constantius</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i><span face="verdana, sans-serif"> by Johannes de silentio</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 1cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span face="verdana, sans-serif"> <i>Three Upbuilding Discourses </i>by<i> </i></span></span><span>Søren Kierkegaard</span></span></p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5975002653149413835/8438094750320867601#" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rl2J7Dob100/Ws8tHhARUJI/AAAAAAAAF8Q/rUo0mUcGiNgYCl1biBYgbEOolXaa8ntgACLcBGAs/w211-h309/Rembrandt%2BAbraham%2BIsaac.jpg" width="211" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Abraham, Isaac, and the angel<br />(by Rembrandt)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Everyone now seems to be talking about ‘mental health’. But is this the best way of understanding what people are experiencing in this pandemic crisis? Are these not existential, ethical, spiritual, religious problems? But what does ‘existential’ mean? And do not many existential therapists object to the ‘religious’, whatever that means? But do not some existential therapists find religious experience, their own or others’, of fundamental importance? Should not all existential therapists at least understand what their religious clients, or clients who say they have had some religious experience, are talking about?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Existential therapists, whether or not they are aware of this, are implicitly identifying the already existing English word ‘existential’ with the Danish word ‘<i>existentiel</i>’ apparently subsequently coined by <b>Søren Kierkegaard</b> (5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855). His pseudonym <b>Johannes Climacus</b> introduced it in <i><b>Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the Philosophical Crumbs</b></i> (1846), described in its subtitle as <b><i>An Existential Contribution</i></b>, and containing discussion, for instance, of ‘existential pathos’, to convey thinking with all one’s being, as an ‘existing’ thinker: as opposed to constructing a ‘system’ which, as his pseudonym <b>Anti-Climacus</b> wrote in <b><i>The Sickness Unto Death</i></b> (1849), would be like building a house in which one does not live.</span></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Ludwig Feuerbach</b> used the word ‘existence’ in a similar sense, but he wanted to secularise religious thinking, whereas <b>Kierkegaard</b> affirmed authentic religion as irreducible to social ethics (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Sædelighed</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ in Danish, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Sittlichkeit</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ in German).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Martin Heidegger </b>translated <b>Kierkegaard</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s ‘e<i>xistentiel</i>’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">into German as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>existenziell</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ but restricted it to what he called the <i>ontic</i>; </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">for </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the <i>ontological </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">he used </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existenzial</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, a word rare in German, though <b>Edmund Husserl</b> had used it in <b><i>Philosophy as Rigorous Science</i></b> (1910-11), and <b>Kierkegaard</b> had even on occasion used, perhaps coined, a Danish word </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existential</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, meaning for him the same as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">existentiel</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in his private writings</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. He is alternatively alleged to have adopted the word(s) after he learned </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">from a conversation with, or about, the Norwegian poet and critic <b>Johann Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven</b> that <i>he</i> used the Norwegian </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">existensiell</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ in this way. The poet </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Samuel Taylor Coleridge</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">had used </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existential</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">as an English word and meditated on the nature of <span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existence</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span>in <i><b>The Friend</b></i> as early as 1809, before <b>Kierkegaard </b>was born. The philosopher <b>Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling</b> influenced <b>Coleridge</b>, <b>Kierkegaard</b>, and <b>Heidegger</b>, and was said by <b>Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz</b> to have termed his own later philosophy, orally, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘<i>E</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>xistenzialphilosophie</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’; but </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">it is by no means clear that </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Coleridge</b><i style="font-family: verdana;">'s </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">use of</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> </i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existential</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ or </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Kierkegaard</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s use of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existentiel'</i> or </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>existential'</i> were themselves directly suggested by, or derived from, <b>Schelling</b>. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">None of these usages, of course, should be confused with, or reduced to, the bare </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">existential quantifier</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">there exists an </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">x</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> such that...</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">) in subsequent logic and mathematics. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> insisted that, whether pseudonymous (‘with the left hand’) or in his own name (‘with the right hand’), his writing was <i>always</i> religious, though he denounced institutionalised religion (such as Danish 19th-century ‘Christendom’) as a perversion of authentic, existential religion. Much writing by ‘existential’ therapists censors (and implicitly censures) </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s always-religious writing at the outset, claiming to find its ‘relevant’, secular-‘existential’ meaning. </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ludwig Binswanger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> secularises </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>The Sickness Unto Death</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in this way in his ‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>The Case of Ellen West</b>’</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. But this is just what </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Kierkegaard</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> was attacking as a betrayal.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nowhere is this more explicit than in </span><b style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">Fear and Trembling: A Dialectical Lyric </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">by</span><b style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;"> </b><b style="font-family: verdana;">Johannes de silentio</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, published in Copenhagen on <b>16 October 1843</b>, together with two other books, </span><b style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">Repetition: An Essay in Experimental Psychology </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">by </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Constantin Constantinus</b><b style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;"> </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Three Upbuilding Discourses</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> by </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Søren Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. Our seminars on this extraordinary event in publishing history, its context, and its implications, started on 14 October 2018, celebrating these three books’ hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The author of all three books was </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, as he acknowledged in ‘</span><b style="font-family: verdana;">A First and Last Declaration</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, the further postscript that he, in his own name, added to </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Concluding Unscientific Postscript</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We are exploring this astonishing creative incandescence in two series of seminars: one series (‘</span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Søren Kierkegaard: <i>Fear and Trembling</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’) a close reading of this <i><b>text </b></i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">over a few years</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, with a fourth seminar in this series this May, conducted by Professor <b>John Lippitt</b> from Sydney, Australia, on its central section of maximal tension and intensity; the other series (‘</span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard: 16 October 1843</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’) a detailed study of its <b><i>context</i></b>, in five ‘satellite’ seminars between February and July.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> focusses with terrible intensity on the dialectical tension between </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Abraham</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s love and awe for </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">God</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and his love for his son </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Isaac</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. It is a ‘dialectical lyric’ on the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Akedah</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, the account (</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Genesis</b>,</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> 22:1-19) of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Abraham</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s ‘binding’ of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Isaac </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">in preparation for a sacrifice prevented only by an angel’s last-minute intervention. The meaning of the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Akedah</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> has been debated for millennia by Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and (more recently) atheist thinkers. It is chanted from the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Torah</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> scroll in synagogues at the <b>New Year,</b> with great textual precision, though everyone is free to propose his or her own <i>interpretation</i>. In Christianity it is held to prefigure the crucifixion of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. The </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Qur’an</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> does not name </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ibrahim</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s son in this narrative, and Islamic scholars have debated whether it was </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ishmael </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">or </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Isaac</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">; today it is held to have been </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ishmael</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">; animal sacrifices on </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Eid al-Adha</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> commemorate </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ibrahim</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s sacrifice of a ram instead of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ishmael</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. The </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Akedah</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> has been the basis of many great works of art, music, drama, and poetry.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The ‘satellite’ seminars, conducted by world authorities, including </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">George Pattison</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Marilyn Piety</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">C. Stephen Evans</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Jerome (Yehuda) Gellman</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Mariam al-Attar</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, will focus in turn on: the problem of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s pseudonyms; the two other works (</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Three Upbuilding Discourses</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Repetition</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">) published with </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> on <b>16 October 1843</b>; the interpretations of the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Akedah</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and the Hasidic masters; and whether or not some form of ‘divine command theory’ is advocated by </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, his pseudonyms, or any or all of the </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Abrahamic</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam. (In a dialogue of <b>Plato</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Euthyphro</b> is confused when <b>Socrates</b> asks him whether the gods love the good because it is good or whether the good is good because the gods love it. Many philosophers have thought that <b>Socrates</b>’s question presents a severe problem for divine command theory, but recently other philosophers have argued that there are forms of this theory not vulnerable to the problem <b>Socrates</b> raises for <b>Euthyphro</b>.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">insisted in ‘</span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>A First and Last Declaration</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i></i></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>... if it should occur to anyone to want to quote a particular passage from the books, it is my wish, my prayer, that he will do me the kindness of citing the respective pseudonymous author’s name, not mine.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Johannes de silentio</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Johannes Climacus</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, and the other pseudonyms are like characters in a drama written by </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">. He called it ‘indirect communication’, a dialectic of perspectives which invites the reader to work out his or her own point of view. Much commentary on </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and the other pseudonymous works ignores </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Kierkegaard</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s urgent request to respect their pseudonymous nature.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here is our sequence of six seminars:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b style="text-align: justify;">Søren Kierkegaard</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Three Upbuilding Discourses</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><b>George Pattison</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><b>conducts</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 263</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Sunday 14 February 2021</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. London time (GMT)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Professor<b> George Pattison</b>, English theologian and Anglican priest, has been Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow since 2013. He was previously Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford. Among his books are <i style="font-weight: bold;">Kierkegaard’s Upbuilding Discourses</i>,<b> <i>Kierkegaard</i></b></span><i><b>’</b></i><span><b><i>s Pastoral Dialogues</i> </b>(with<b> Helle M</b></span><b>ø</b><span><b>ller Jensen</b>),<b> <i>Kierkegaard and the Theology of the Nineteenth Century</i></b>, <i><b>The Mystical Sources of Existentialist Thought</b></i>, <i><b>Heidegger on Death</b></i>; he has translated and edited a selection of <b>Kierkegaard</b></span><span>’s <i style="font-weight: bold;">Spiritual Writings</i> (including the first two of the <b><i>Three Uplifting Discourses</i></b> he will discuss today); </span><span>and he has edited <i><b>The Oxford Handbook of Kierkegaard</b></i> (with <b>John Lippitt</b>). Today he will explain, in the first seminar on the <i><b>context</b></i> of <b><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b>, the complexity and subtlety of the problem of the pseudonyms. He will then guide us through <b><i>Three Upbuilding Discourses </i></b>(1843), discussing among other things why <b>Martin Heidegger </b>regarded these and <b>Kierkegaard</b></span><i>’s </i><span>other </span><span>‘</span><span>upbuilding</span><i>’</i><span> writings</span><span> as his most important works <i>philosophically</i>.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000;">Constantine Constantius</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Repetition</i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Marilyn Piety</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">conducts</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 264</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Sunday 28 February 2021</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000;">2 p.m. to 5 p.m. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. London time (GMT)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor <b>Marilyn Gaye Piety</b> is Professor of Philosophy in the Department of English and Philosophy at Drexel University, Philadelphia. She is author of many scholarly articles on <b>Kierkegaard</b> and of the book <i><b>Ways of Knowing: Kierkegaard’s Pluralist Epistemology</b></i>. She has translated <b><i>Repetition</i></b> and <b><i>Philosophical Crumbs</i></b>. She is working on a book, <i><b>Fear and Dissembling: The Copenhagen Kierkegaard Controversies</b></i>. She is the author of the blog <i><b>Piety on Kierkegaard</b></i>. Her insistence on honesty and integrity in academic discourse is exemplary. Today, in the second seminar on the <i><b>context</b></i> of <b><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b>, she will help us make sense of the brilliant, perplexing short book <b><i>Repetition</i></b>, and the many conflicting interpretations it has received; and she will relate it to the other books, <b><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b> and <b><i>Three Upbuilding Discourses</i></b>, also published on <b>16 October 1843</b>.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard<i> </i>and</span></span></span><span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Divine Command Theory</span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b style="text-align: justify;">C. Stephen Evans</b></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b style="text-align: justify;">conducts</b></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 265</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Sunday 21 March 2021</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;">11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 2 p.m. to 3.45 p.m. 4.15 p.m. to 6 p.m. London time (GMT)</span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"> </span></b></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor <b>C. Stephen Evans</b> is University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. He has been Curator of the Howard and Edna Hong Kierkegaard Library at<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"> Saint Olaf College, Minnesota</span>. His books include <i><b>Kierkegaard’s Fragments and Postscript: The Religious Philosophy of Johannes Climacus</b></i>, <i><b>God and Moral Obligation</b></i>, <i><b>Kierkegaard’s Ethic of Love: Divine Commands and Moral Obligations</b></i>, <i><b>Foundations of Kierkegaard’s Vision of Community: Religion, Ethics and Politics in Kierkegaard</b></i>, <i><b>A History of Western Philosophy</b>: <b>From the Presocratics to Postmodernism</b></i>, <i style="font-weight: bold;">Kierkegaard and Spirituality: Accountability as the Meaning of Human Existence</i>, and many others. He has edited, with <b>Sylvia Walsh</b>, a new translation of <b><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b>. In today</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s seminar, the third on the <i><b>context</b></i> of that book, <b>Anthony Stadlen</b> will lead a two-hour morning discussion on the phenomenology of ancient and modern </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">divine discourse</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, the <span style="font-style: italic;">Euthyphro dilemma</span><span>, </span>and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘divine command theory’; and in a four-hour afternoon session (with half-hour break) <b>C. Stephen Evans</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">will disentangle the subtle varieties of that theory in </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Fear and Trembling</i>, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Works of Love</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, and more recent philosophical writing.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;">Johannes de silentio</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i> 4</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;">Problemata 1 and 2</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;">John Lippitt </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;">conducts</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 268</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;">Sunday 23 May 2021 </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000;">2 p.m. to 5 p.m. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. London time (BST)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor <b>John Lippitt</b> is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Institute for Ethics and Society at the University of Notre Dame Australia, based in Sydney. He is also Visiting Professor at the University of Hertfordshire, UK where he previously worked for twenty-eight years. He is author of many papers and books on <b>Kierkegaard</b>, including the <b><i>Routledge Guide to Fear and Trembling</i></b>, <i><b>Love’s Forgiveness</b></i>, <i><b>Kierkegaard and the Problem of Self-Love</b></i>, <i><b>Humour and Irony in Kierkegaard’s Thought</b></i>, and editor of <i><b>The Oxford Handbook of Kierkegaard</b></i> (with <b>George Pattison</b>) and <i><b>Narrative, Identity and the Kierkegaardian Self</b> </i>(with <b>Patrick Stokes</b>). He has already guided us in the second and third seminars on the<i> <b>text</b> </i>of <i><b>Fear and Trembling</b></i>. I</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">n the fourth seminar in the series on the </span><i style="font-family: verdana;"><b>text</b></i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, we shall discuss, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in a structured way suggested by him, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">his brilliant pre-recorded reflections </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">on the intense central section, </span><b style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">Problema 1: Is there a teleological suspension of the ethical? </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">and</span><b style="font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;"> Problema 2: Is there an absolute duty to God?</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> The seminar will culminate in his personal interactive Zoom presence from Australia in his early Monday morning and our British late evening.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000;">The Akedah in Kierkegaard and the Hasidic Masters</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Jerome (Yehuda) Gellman</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">conducts</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 269</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Sunday 13 June 2021</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. London time (BST)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor <b>Jerome (Yehuda) Gellman</b> is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Philosophy of Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. He has published many papers and books on religion, Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah, and Hasidism, including <i><b>The Fear, the Trembling, and the Fire</b></i>, <i><b>Experience of God and the Rationality of Religious Belief</b></i>, <i><b>Mystical Experience of God: A Philosophical Inquiry</b></i>, <i><b>Abraham! Abraham! Kierkegaard and the Hasidim on the Binding of Isaac</b></i>, <i><b>This was from God: A Contemporary Theology of Torah and History</b></i>, <b style="font-style: italic;">Perfect Goodness and the God of the Jews: A Contemporary Jewish Theology</b>, <i><b>The History of Evil from the Mid-Twentieth Century to Today</b></i>. Today, in the fourth seminar on the <b style="font-style: italic;">context</b> of <b><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b>, he will explore the interpretations of the <b><i>Akedah </i></b>by <b>Kierkegaard </b>and the Hasidic masters, as well as the tradition of Hasidic therapy. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000;">Divine Command Theory in Early and Contemporary Islam</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Mariam al-Attar</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">conducts</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 271</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000;">Sundays 31 October and 28 November 2021</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000;">1 p.m. to 4 p.m. London time (GMT)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor <b>Mariam al-Attar</b> teaches Arab heritage, introduction to philosophy, and Islamic philosophy at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. She has taught at the University of Jordan and at King's Academy in Jordan. Her research interests include ethics in medieval Arabo-Islamic thought, modern and contemporary Arab moral thought, and women and gender in the Islamic tradition. She is also a qualified physicist and has worked as a clinical scientist in Jordanian hospitals and in the United Kingdom. Her papers include ‘<b>Divine command ethics in the Islamic legal tradition</b>’ and ‘<b>Meta-ethics: A Quest for Epistemological Basis of Morality in Classical Islamic Thought</b>’. Today, in the fifth seminar on the <b style="font-style: italic;">context</b> of <b><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b>, she will continue our exploration starting from the story of <b>Ibrahim</b> (<b>Abraham</b>) in the <b><i>Qur</i></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>an</i></b> and in the Islamic tradition; and she will cite evidence from her book </span><i style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Islamic Ethics: Divine Command Theory in Arabo-Islamic Thought</b></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> that, although many Islamic thinkers have endorsed ‘divine command theory’, Islamic tradition in general contradicts this.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This exceptional constellation of speakers and seminars on the foundational existential thinker </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and the religious and philosophical context in which he wrote will perhaps help existential therapists to reach a deeper understanding of both him and his context.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Evaluations of <b>Kierkegaard</b> differ wildly.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For example, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ludwig Wittgenstein</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, himself a profound thinker of the 20th century, said </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">was ‘by far the most profound thinker of the last [19th] century’, ‘too deep for me’. But </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ernesto Spinelli</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, an existential therapist, in 2017 denounced </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s ‘dangerous folly’ in allegedly admiring </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Abraham</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s ‘self-evident lunacy’. This is in line with a long history of clinical-psychiatric thinking: for example, Dr </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Abraham Myerson</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> in 1945 diagnosed </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> as ‘a psychiatric case’, and his writing as ‘a schizoid and certainly utterly incomprehensible presentation by a mind which is quite deviate’.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Are these demystifying insights? Or is the existential tradition here degenerating into abject uncomprehending psychiatric reductionism?</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Those who have acknowledged indebtedness to, or have struggled with, <b>Søren </b><b>Kierkegaard</b> include <b>Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, Edvard Munch, Miguel de Unamano, Rainer Maria Rilke, Martin Buber, Theodor Haecker, Ludwig Binswanger, Ferdinand Ebner, Igor Stravinsky, Viktor Emil von Gebsattel, Karl Jaspers, Franz Kafka, Rudolf Bultmann, György Lukács, Niels Bohr, Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Charles Williams, Franz Rosenzweig, Georg Trakl, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger, Dietrich von Hildebrand, Emil Brunner, Edith Stein, Herbert Read, Mikhail Bakhtin, Jorge Luis Borges, Jean-Paul Sartre, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Hannah Arendt, Emmanuel Levinas, Abraham Joshua Heschel, W. H. Auden, Maurice Blanchot, Simone de Beauvoir, Rollo May, R. S. Thomas, Albert Camus, Emil Fackenheim, Iris Murdoch, Thomas Szasz, Alice von Hildebrand, Aaron Esterson, Paul Feyerabend, Frantz Fanon, R. D. Laing, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jacques Derrida, David Cooper, John Updike, David Lodge, Henrik Stangerup,</b> and many others. </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s idea of authentic religion differed from everybody else’s. He had contempt for the Danish Church: for ‘Christendom’, as he called it. For him, religion was radically existential, individual. But his vision of the individual was the antithesis of an encapsulated, isolated, unsocial, worldless, reified ‘self’. Rather, as </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Anti-Climacus</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> put it in </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>The Sickness Unto Death</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, the ‘self’ is a ‘relation’ which ‘relates itself to its own self’; it is ‘that in the relation that the relation relates itself to its own self’, while ‘resting in the [divine] power that established it’; and, as </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> insisted in his own name in </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Works of Love </i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">(1847), this ‘self’ is only truly itself in loving God <i>and</i>, <i>inextricably</i>, the <i>other</i>: the other-as-</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘neighbour</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, whether spouse, child, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">family member, friend, neighbour, stranger.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s most important early courses of lectures was on <i><b>The </b></i></span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Phenomenology of Religious Life </i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">(1920-21). </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> wrote in </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Being and Time</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (1927) that, of all </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s writings, his ‘upbuilding’ (<i>i.e.</i>, explicitly religious) works had the most <i>philosophical</i> significance.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s work is a fundamental investigation of the existential phenomenology of individual, non-institutionalised, religious experience, as well as the religious implications of all experience, indispensable for unprejudiced understanding of both ‘religious’ and ‘non-religious’ clients.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above all, perhaps, as Professor </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">John Lippitt</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, who has been guiding our reading of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear of Trembling</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, has pointed out in his book </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Humour and Irony in Kierkegaard’s Thought</b> and elsewhere</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Søren </b><b style="font-family: verdana;">Kierkegaard</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> can be very <i>funny. </i>His readers take the risk of being compelled to laugh out loud.<i> </i>As his pseudonym <b>Johannes Climacus </b>wrote in </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Concluding Unscientific Postscript</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><i style="font-family: verdana;">... an existing humorist is the closest approximation to one who is religious ...</i></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is hoped that these seminars, on the text and context of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear and Trembling</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, will enable existential therapists, Daseinsanalysts and others, to reflect more deeply on the foundations of their discipline. All of the invited speakers hope to attend, or at least study reports of, some of their colleagues</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> seminars, in addition to those they are themselves conducting. As one of them commented: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘This looks like a real </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">intellectual feast.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our dialogical tradition will surely be much enhanced. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b>These will be online seminars, using Zoom. All are on Sundays, but the times for some of them will differ (see above) from the usual 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time or British Summer Time, to accommodate invited speakers from distant lands.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">Cost:</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Individual Kierkegaard seminars:</b> psychotherapy trainees £132, others £165</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Six Kierkegaard seminars 14 February 2021 to 28 November 2021:</b> psychotherapy trainees £588 (= £98 per seminar), others £738 (= £123 per seminar) - a reduction of about 25% - payment may be spread over six months</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some bursaries; payable in advance by bank transfer or PayPal; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Apply to: </i>Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A Alexandra Avenue, London N22 7XE</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Tel:</i> +44 (0) 7809 433250 <i>E-mail:</i> <a href="mailto:stadlenanthony@gmail.com">stadlenanthony@gmail.com</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>For further information on seminars, visit: </i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5975002653149413835/8438094750320867601#">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But they are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.<br /></span></div></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-48628935910782604982021-01-01T08:02:00.272+00:002022-02-02T19:37:31.747+00:00‘Mindfulness’ East and West. Jyoti Nanda and Anthony Stadlen conduct Inner Circle Seminar 270 (15 and 22 August 2021)<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span><span><span style="text-align: justify;">‘</span><span>Mindfulness</span></span></span><span style="text-align: justify;">’</span></b></span><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;">East and West</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jyoti Nanda and Anthony Stadlen</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">conduct</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;">by Zoom</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 270</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Sundays 15 and 22 August 2021</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">10 a.m. to 1 p.m.</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span><span></span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SuNbH36PSVk/YQVkIICj5YI/AAAAAAAALrg/EG0Hycf_7K4ZhF_TnLLWaeLEr6gKBjIhwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="963" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SuNbH36PSVk/YQVkIICj5YI/AAAAAAAALrg/EG0Hycf_7K4ZhF_TnLLWaeLEr6gKBjIhwCLcBGAsYHQ/w240-h320/image.png" width="240" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Sri Aurobindo Ghose</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iNQ-BPPhv5g/YQE17EvOvqI/AAAAAAAALqQ/Wh_dg0I20RIrHU6LPxCZza2LS6qJk8G7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8364.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iNQ-BPPhv5g/YQE17EvOvqI/AAAAAAAALqQ/Wh_dg0I20RIrHU6LPxCZza2LS6qJk8G7wCLcBGAsYHQ/w240-h320/IMG_8364.jpg" title="Sri Ramakrishna" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span>Sri Ramakrishna </span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span><span style="color: #202122;">Paramahamsa</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6IovhzZFkJE/YQE2iQd80sI/AAAAAAAALqY/nRZ4oKD3Xuoi2Th1CQxsADs-G-XPEN8DwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1380/IMG_8370.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1380" data-original-width="925" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6IovhzZFkJE/YQE2iQd80sI/AAAAAAAALqY/nRZ4oKD3Xuoi2Th1CQxsADs-G-XPEN8DwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_8370.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sri Ramana Maharshi</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span> <span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PUpEpwvaqYE/Sz1zxa2Q4nI/AAAAAAAAEVg/WYx93ww6mWAvfvBuJJvCjbMv0T98d_lWgCPcBGAYYCw/s1128/Heidegger%2B2.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="1128" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PUpEpwvaqYE/Sz1zxa2Q4nI/AAAAAAAAEVg/WYx93ww6mWAvfvBuJJvCjbMv0T98d_lWgCPcBGAYYCw/s320/Heidegger%2B2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Martin Heidegger</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: right;"> </span></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6tccJAysCCg/Sz-3aWwB1jI/AAAAAAAAEUw/k08JdAdqjC4u-9_z5YBNE2Joa8SO18oQACPcBGAYYCw/s1381/Boss%2B1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1381" data-original-width="965" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6tccJAysCCg/Sz-3aWwB1jI/AAAAAAAAEUw/k08JdAdqjC4u-9_z5YBNE2Joa8SO18oQACPcBGAYYCw/s320/Boss%2B1.JPG" width="224" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Medard Boss</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jJd8tvxfRQQ/S0k8XLZKqYI/AAAAAAAAEUA/jKR7q1s4mAQI-kt0i8dQnJU-3COMQJsaQCPcBGAYYCw/s856/Erna%2BHoch%2B%2526%2BGobind%2BKaul%2B2.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="856" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jJd8tvxfRQQ/S0k8XLZKqYI/AAAAAAAAEUA/jKR7q1s4mAQI-kt0i8dQnJU-3COMQJsaQCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h268/Erna%2BHoch%2B%2526%2BGobind%2BKaul%2B2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Erna Hoch </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">Gobind Kaul</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The existential psychotherapist </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Jyoti Nanda </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">recently published a deeply moving account, ‘My Ramakrishna’ (</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Hermeneutic Circular, </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">April 2021: 27-31), of her lifelong love of the Bengal sage </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Ramakrishna </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">and his influence on and inspiration for her therapeutic practice, including a report of a brief but profound therapy. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Her beautiful account should be read as a whole, and we shall not risk distorting it by attempting to summarise it here.) </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">She will continue to speak of this, and introduce us to her way of meditation, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in this seminar</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[<b>Note</b>, 11 October 2021:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Jyoti </b>has now also published a </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">response</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> to her own first article, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘Tread lightly in my heart space of the sacred’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Hermeneutic Circular, </i><span style="font-family: verdana;">October 2021: 16-18). It is </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">an inspired essay on, and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">marvellous </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">invocation of,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> the <b>Goddess Kali</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, to whom Sri <b>Ramakrishna</b> was devoted; it concludes with an important vignette from her practice as a supervisor of psychotherapy, contrasting invalidating with understanding responses to a client</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s religious experience.]</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">She and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Anthony Stadlen</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> will also discuss the leading Eastern and Western thinkers of ‘mindfulness’, and what they meant by it. We shall explore the links between them. In some cases, </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">we</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> shall make these links, tentatively; but in others, we shall show that </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">the thinkers themselves</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> made great efforts to get to know and to understand one another, even if at a great physical distance.</span></div></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">For example, the sage <b>Sri Aurobindo Ghose </b>studied at St Paul’s School in London and at Cambridge University before engaging as a leader in the Indian independence struggle, going to prison, and becoming a spiritual teacher and founder of an Ashram of great renown. He compared Eastern and Western thinking—Vedanta and the Presocratic philosophers—in his book <i>Heraclitus </i>(1941 [1916-17]). And in September 1955 the <b>Sri Aurobindo</b> Ashram of Pondicherry was represented—along with the Sorbonne, G<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;">ö</span>ttingen, and Princeton—at an international colloquium on contemporary British linguistic philosophy in Oxford. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The philosopher <b>Martin Heidegger</b> wrote <i>Mindfulness</i> [<i>Besinnung</i>], one of his most important books, in 1938. It is not well known, as it was not published until 1997, posthumously, in German, and 2016 in English. He had long been influenced by personal contact with Japanese thinkers and by <b>Martin Buber</b>’s translation of the ancient Chinese writings of <b>Chuang Tse</b>. In 1946-7 he worked in his mountain hut at Todtnauberg with a Chinese colleague <span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;"><b>Paul Shih-yi Hsiao </b>on a translation of the <i>Tao Te Ching</i> (unfortunately never completed).</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Heidegger</b>’s friend and colleague, the Swiss psychoanalyst and founder of psychotherapeutic Daseinsanalysis, <b>Medard Boss</b> (in whose home Heidegger conducted the Zollikon seminars from 1959 to 1969), visited India in 1956 as described in his book <i>A Psychiatrist Visits India</i>, and studied meditation and Indian philosophy with a number of sages, including the Kashmiri guru <b>Gobind Kaul</b>, whose disciple he became, and with whom he was reported by a colleague to have remained in telepathic contact on returning to Switzerland.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The psychiatrist<b> Erna Hoch</b>, herself a Daseinsanalyst and also a disciple of <b>Gobind Kaul</b>, worked for decades in India and Kashmir. In conversation with <b>Anthony Stadlen </b>she demonstrated contradictions in some of <b>Boss</b>’s claims about his relation with <b>Kaul</b>. Her book <i>Sources and Resources: A Western psychiatrist’s search for meaning in the ancient Indian scriptures</i> contains a profound and far-reaching investigation of the correspondences and subtle differences between ancient Indian thinking and <b>Heidegger</b>’s philosophy. The book includes a chapter, ‘Messenger between East and West’, describing how she put detailed questions on behalf of <b>Heidegger </b>and <b>Boss</b> to an Indian philosopher and professor of Sanskrit, and explaining how ultimately rather unsatisfactory this academic method of comparing or translating can be.</div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(See: <span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: underline;">https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/2010/01/existential-pioneers-2.html</span>)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We shall discuss the following </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">thinkers of East and West, and the links between them:</span></div></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa</b> (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886)</span></div></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Sri Aurobindo Ghose</b> (</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950)</span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi</b> (30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950)</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Martin Heidegger</b> (26 September 1889</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">–</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> 26 May 1976)</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Gobind Kaul</b> [<i>birth and death dates sought from Kashmir</i>]</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Medard Boss</b> (4 October 1903</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">–</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> 21 December 1990)</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Erna Hoch</b> (18 March 1919</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">–</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> 29 August 2003)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The seminar will be divided, as usual, into four parts, of 1 hour 20 minutes each. But, in this case, they will be spread over two Sunday mornings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Your contribution to the discussion will be warmly welcomed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Jyoti Nanda</b> is a Chartered Counselling Psychologist and Existential Psychotherapist. She has taught on the Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology Programme at Regent’s University, School of Psychotherapy and Counselling Psychology.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; white-space: pre-wrap;">She has received education in India and the UK and she brings a wide cross-cultural perspective and openness of world-view to her work. She has trained at Master’s level in Counselling Psychology and in Child Development and Family Relationships, and at the Advanced level in Existential Counselling Psychology, and Existential Psychotherapy. She has also trained at the Advanced level in teaching Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the Center for Mindfulness, UMASS Medical School, Worcester, USA.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Jyoti</b> is a long term practitioner of meditation in more than one tradition. Her research interests have centred on The Effect of Meditation on Existential Therapeutic Practice. Her love for spiritual practice and the company of sages draws much from the influence of her family lineage.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her wide clinical experience includes working with out-patients in an NHS hospital and with clients in Private Practice. She has offered Mindfulness workshops and courses with the aim of exploring the ‘Domain of Being’ and its implications for therapeutic practice. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #990000;">This will be an online seminar, over two mornings, using Zoom.</span></i></b></div></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></i></div><div style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: normal; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana";">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;"> Psychotherapy trainees £132, others £165</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>some bursaries; payable in advance by bank transfer or PayPal; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></span></i></div><div style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Apply to: </span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Tel:</span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> +44 (0) 7809 433250<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>E-mail:</i> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">For further information on seminars, visit: </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana";">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-57094613283159985142021-01-01T05:01:00.079+00:002024-03-03T21:39:36.178+00:00The Myth of ‘Mental Health’ and of ‘Psychopathology’ in Existential Analysis and Daseinsanalysis. The Dialectic: Heidegger/Szasz. Anthony Stadlen conducts Inner Circle Seminar 267 with assistance from Miles Groth (9 May 2021)<span style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div _msthash="165555" _msthidden="1" _msttexthash="9805991" style="text-align: center;"><span _msthash="15040220" _msttexthash="15040220" style="font-size: x-large;"><span _msthash="650637" _msttexthash="6260358"><span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-weight: 700;">The Myth of </span></span><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;">‘Mental Health</span></span></b><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">’</span></b></span></span></span></div><div _msthash="165555" _msthidden="1" _msttexthash="9805991" style="text-align: center;"><span _msthash="650637" _msttexthash="6260358" style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div><div _msthash="165555" _msthidden="1" _msttexthash="9805991" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span _msthash="650637" _msttexthash="6260358"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">and of </span></b></span></span><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: justify;">‘</span></span></b><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">Psychopathology</span></b><b style="text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="747747" _msttexthash="747747" style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">’</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="46540" _msttexthash="1393171" style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">in Existential Analysis and Daseinsanalysis</span></b></div><div _msthash="650638" _msttexthash="1900301" style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b><span _msthash="4459" _msttexthash="4459" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></span></b></div><div _msthash="650638" _msttexthash="1900301" style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span _msthash="4459" _msttexthash="816114" style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Dialectic: Heidegger/Szasz</span></b></span></b></div><div _msthash="650638" _msttexthash="1900301" style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b><span _msthash="4459" _msttexthash="4459" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial";"><span _msthash="650639" _msttexthash="256750" face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span _msthash="650640" _msttexthash="119132" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">conducts</span></b><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;">by Zoom</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span _msthash="650641" _msttexthash="596869" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 267</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span _msthash="650641" _msttexthash="596869" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">with assistance from Miles Groth</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large;"><b><span _msthash="650642" _msttexthash="193440" style="color: #0b5394;">Sunday 9 May 2021</span></b></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span _msthash="650643" _msttexthash="170014" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.4pt;"><div style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-indent: 14.4pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qttjcCa-Tdc/X7ee_Yk0pPI/AAAAAAAAKhA/wY0LuyPEOhwozNJGAQYL4P84x3jR-OtzgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1154/Heidegger%2Breason.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-indent: 14.4pt;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="1154" height="306" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qttjcCa-Tdc/X7ee_Yk0pPI/AAAAAAAAKhA/wY0LuyPEOhwozNJGAQYL4P84x3jR-OtzgCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h306/Heidegger%2Breason.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span _msthash="3126253" _msttexthash="278759" style="font-size: medium;">Martin Heidegger</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ieDjIAQ9JQU/X7eaHh9KS6I/AAAAAAAAKgY/HX1BN7y39vE96GnEutSADBt_Turd_98zACLcBGAsYHQ/s808/Szasz%2B90th%2Bbirthday%2B10%2BIMG_6730wBW.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="808" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ieDjIAQ9JQU/X7eaHh9KS6I/AAAAAAAAKgY/HX1BN7y39vE96GnEutSADBt_Turd_98zACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h268/Szasz%2B90th%2Bbirthday%2B10%2BIMG_6730wBW.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span _msthash="3647995" _msttexthash="183456" style="font-size: medium;">Thomas Szasz</span><br /></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IEGN2KE99Oo/Sz_5EJz5GcI/AAAAAAAAEVg/2RW58HXt03QipQQYBNA8kvPmLnneRSONgCPcBGAYYCw/s980/Esterson.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="719" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IEGN2KE99Oo/Sz_5EJz5GcI/AAAAAAAAEVg/2RW58HXt03QipQQYBNA8kvPmLnneRSONgCPcBGAYYCw/w294-h400/Esterson.JPG" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span _msthash="3647996" _msttexthash="232778" style="font-size: medium;">Aaron Esterson</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ziGINtYFlYI/X7ebtJnzrXI/AAAAAAAAKg0/bjyLG39DrlcJJPXqJPvfyianZE1OPkYgACLcBGAsYHQ/s1395/Boss%2B%2528obituary%2529.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1395" data-original-width="989" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ziGINtYFlYI/X7ebtJnzrXI/AAAAAAAAKg0/bjyLG39DrlcJJPXqJPvfyianZE1OPkYgACLcBGAsYHQ/w284-h400/Boss%2B%2528obituary%2529.JPG" width="284" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="3648398" _msttexthash="151424" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Medard Boss</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: small; text-align: left; text-indent: 14.4pt;"> </span></div></span></span></div></span><div><span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; margin: 0cm 14.2pt 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;"></b></span></p><blockquote><span _msthash="1266993" _msttexthash="202645547" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Heidegger</b><i> was
interested in psychiatry, especially with schizophrenics, with whom he sought
contact and conversations when this was possible for him. On walks he regularly
remained standing lost in thought for a while before the villa of the
Freiburg psychiatrist </i><i style="font-weight: bold;">Ruffin </i>[...].<i> Once he said forthrightly that he was not convinced of the
correctness of the solely medical interpretation of schizophrenia as illness.
Could it not even simply be a question of an ‘other’ kind of thinking?</i></span></blockquote><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><i></i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; margin: 0cm 14.2pt 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p _msthash="808106" _msttexthash="3607812" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; margin: 0cm 14.2pt 0.0001pt; text-align: right;"><b><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Wiesenhütter, E.</span></b><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: DE;"> <i>Die
Begegnung zwischen Philosophie und Tiefenpsychologie</i>.</span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; margin: 0cm 14.2pt 0.0001pt; text-align: right;"><span _msthash="808223" _msttexthash="892450" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">(1979: 158,
translation by <b>A. Stadlen</b>)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p _msthash="808340" _msttexthash="231554284" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">What did <b>Martin Heidegger</b> mean? What </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><b>Eckart </b></span><span style="text-align: right;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: DE;"><b>Wiesenhütter</b> says he said </span></span><span style="text-align: right;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: DE;">(above), three years after <b>Heidegger</b></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="text-align: right;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: DE;">s death, is ambiguous. </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">The words </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">solely</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’ (</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘<i>allein</i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’) and </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘simply</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’ </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">(</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘<i>einfach</i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’) in the last two sentences </span><span style="text-align: right;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: DE;">suggest two possible ways of understanding </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="text-align: right;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: DE;">schizophrenia</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="text-align: right;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: DE;">, the second more radical </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: right;">than the first.</span></p></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div _msthash="899678" _msttexthash="349268309" style="text-align: justify;">The first sentence says <b>Heidegger</b> doubted the ‘<i>solely</i> medical interpretation of schizophrenia as illness’, implying ‘schizophrenia’ might be <i>both</i> an ‘illness’ <i>and</i> ‘an “other” kind of thinking’.</div><div _msthash="899678" _msttexthash="349268309" style="text-align: justify;">But the second sentence says he wondered if it was ‘<i>simply</i> a question of an “other” kind of thinking’, implying <i>not an ‘illness’ at all</i>.</div></span><span><p _msthash="807872" _msttexthash="511803851" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">Even if <b>Heidegger </b>did have the temerity to<b> </b>suggest the second, more radical, possibility on that one occasion,<b> </b>he was usually careful to explain that what he endorsed was the <i>first</i> possibility. He <i>did</i> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">revere </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">as </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">an “other” kind of thinking’ </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">what were generally regarded as the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">maddest</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’ </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">writings of </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Hölderlin</b><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"><b>Nietzsche</b>, <b>Trakl</b>, <b>Celan</b>;</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> but he tended to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">emphasise that the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">medical interpretation</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> that they were </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ill’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘<i>c</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><i>orrect</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><i>’</i>. For example, he called <b>Paul Celan</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">sick</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">. He did, however, insist that the </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">madman</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> in <b>Georg Trakl</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’s poetry was not </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mentally ill</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span></p><p _msthash="807873" _msttexthash="158478996" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Of course, when </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><b>Heidegger </b>used the word </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘c</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">orrect</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">he usually meant <i>wrong</i>, in the light of his more profound understanding. But he still meant <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘c</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">orrect</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’</span>! How, though, did he <i>know</i> that the medical diagnosis was correct? He was not a doctor. But he deferred as a layman to the medical </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">expertise</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> of such psychiatrists as </span><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Ludwig Binswanger </b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">and, especially, his friend </span><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Medard Boss.</b></p></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="607581" _msttexthash="343793320" style="font-family: verdana;">With <b>Heidegger</b>’s help, <b>Boss</b> founded a form of psychotherapy, Daseinsanalysis, grounded in <b>Heidegger</b>’s philosophy. In <b>Boss</b>’s home from 1959 to 1969 <b>Heidegger</b> conducted the Zollikon seminars for psychiatrists and doctors. Both men opposed reductive natural-scientism. They insisted on a ‘holistic’ approach to illness. But they assumed, in relation to those who sought daseinsanalytic therapy, that it was ‘illness’ that they were ‘holistically’ approaching.</span></div><span><p _msthash="807874" _msttexthash="418481934" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">In the 1960s, the decade of the Zollikon seminars, the psychiatrists </span><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Thomas Szasz</b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> in the United States and </span><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">R. D. Laing</b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> and </span><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Aaron Esterson</b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> in the United Kingdom were also seriously questioning the foundations of psychiatry. <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> endorsed much of </span><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Boss</b><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">s</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> work while deploring <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">s </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">recklessness</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ (</span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Laing</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">lack of clarity</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">(</span><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">). <b>Szasz</b> criticised <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">s claim to be available 24 hours a day to a patient as a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">sham</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">The crucial difference was that </span><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">, </span><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Laing</b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> and </span><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Esterson</b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> questioned the </span><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">presumption of illness</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="807875" _msttexthash="124384156" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><b>Szasz</b>, in <i>The Myth of Mental Illness</i> (1961), <i>The Manufacture of Madness </i>(1970), and many other books and papers,<b> </b>compared the presumption of illness to the presumption of guilt in inquisitorial legal systems. He held, on both scientific and ethical grounds, that people should be presumed <i>healthy</i> until proven ill, just as they are presumed innocent until proven guilty in accusatorial legal systems. He argued that both the presumption of illness and the presumption of guilt invalidate people.</span></p><p _msthash="807876" _msttexthash="116231050" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">However, the presumption of illness </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">differs from the presumption of guilt in a fundamental way. The presumption of guilt at least attributes agency and responsibility; indeed, it insists on it. But the presumption of illness, and especially </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">mental illness</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">attributes <i>lack</i> of agency and responsibility: it literally invalidates by treating the person as an invalid.</span></p><p _msthash="807877" _msttexthash="368980365" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">A further twist, however, to the attribution of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">mental illness</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’, often made nowadays with the insistence that it should be regarded as </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">an illness like any other</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">, and that it should be given </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">parity of esteem</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">physical illness</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">, is precisely that this alleged </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘i</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">llness</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> is </span><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">not</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> treated as an </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘i</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">llness like any other</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Mental illness</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">, unlike physical illness, is taken as a legal justification both for <i>compulsory psychiatry</i> - coercing the innocent - and for the <i>insanity defence</i> - excusing the guilty.</span></p><p _msthash="807878" _msttexthash="490734348" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><b>Szasz</b> was as committed </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">as </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Heidegger</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> and </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Boss </b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">were </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">to holistic medicine. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">He was no dualist. His first papers and first book </span><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Pain and Pleasure</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> were on psychosomatic medicine, and he stood by them at the end of his life more than half a century later, seeing this as an important field wide open for research. But he pointed out that i</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">llness (disease) still has first to be established by a <i>natural-scientific </i>criterion such as <b>Virchow</b></span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">s, of cellular pathology or pathophysiology. A </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">holistic</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> approach to illness</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>’</i>, he insisted, </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">makes no sense if there is no illness to approach.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> Holistic (or any other kind of) medicine should not betray the ancient principle </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘F</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">irst do no harm</span><i style="font-family: verdana;">’</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> by making the </span><i style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">presumption</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> of illness.</span></p><p _msthash="807879" _msttexthash="682694415" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b>, in <i>Sanity, Madness and the Family </i>(</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">1964), and <b>Esterson</b>, in T<i>he Leaves of Spring</i> (1970), demonstrated in concrete detail how, in each of eleven families in which a daughter had been medically diagnosed as </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">schizophrenic</span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">, the <i>presumption </i>by the other family members that this young woman was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">‘ill</span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> served to mystify her and invalidate her experience. Some of the diagnosed women fluctuated between accepting and challenging the family</span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">s and the psychiatrists</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ (<i>not</i>, of course, <b>Laing</b></span></span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">s or <b>Esterson</b></span></span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">s) </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">definition of them as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">ill</span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">. Others simply accepted, in a defeated and demoralised way, that they were </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">ill</span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span _msthash="807880" _msttexthash="11005007" style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> emphasised in the preface to the second edition of their book that readers had ignored <i>their</i> question, namely (1970 [1964]: viii):</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"><i _msthash="1266994" _msttexthash="15849236">Are the <b>experience and behaviour that psychiatrists take as</b> [boldface added] signs and symptoms of schizophrenia more socially intelligible than has come to be supposed?</i></span></blockquote><p></p><p _msthash="807881" _msttexthash="23602020" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">They were questioning the <i>existence</i> of </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">schizophrenia</span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">. But for more than half a century they have been misread as if they had left out the seven words here in boldface.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="807882" _msttexthash="8484333" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">This is not an obscure detail. It is the heart of their argument. But it is so simple that almost all readers manage not to see it.</span></p><p _msthash="807883" _msttexthash="335813543" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">Indeed, most ‘readers</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ acknowledge that they </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">skip the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">P</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">refaces and Introduction and do not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> even see <b>Laing </b>and<b> Esterson</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">s question, let alone see the point of the words here printed in boldface. Even within the chapters proper, with their readable transcriptions of family conversations and interactions, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">‘readers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">‘read</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">’ the first section of each chapter, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">Clinical Perspective</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">, as if this were the <i>authors</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>’</i> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">perspective. But the whole point of the book is to <i>contrast</i> the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">Clinical Perspective</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">’ section with </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">The Family Situation</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> section in each of the eleven chapters. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">The Family Situation</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">’ exemplifies the authors</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> own <i>s</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><i>ocial-phenomenological perspective</i>.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> explain, at the end of their Introduction:</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>We believe that the shift of point of view that these descriptions both embody and demand has a historical significance no less radical than the shift from a demonological to a clinical viewpoint three hundred years ago.</i></span></blockquote></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In other words, their shift is to a point of view that is neither demonological nor clinical, but social-phenomenological. <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> are not just questioning the existence of a particular supposed grave ‘illness’, ‘schizophrenia’: they are questioning whether these women are ‘ill’ at all.</span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In ten of the eleven cases (the exception is the <b>Blairs</b>) the question of whether the diagnosed woman is </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ill</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> at all is explicitly discussed and disputed, sometimes by the women themselves, <i>e.g. </i><b>Sarah Danzig</b>, <b>Ruth Gold,</b> <b>Mary Irwin</b>; whereas others, notably <b>Agnes Lawson</b>, seem to have despairingly and without question accepted the attribution that they are </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ill</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> are suggesting something far more radical than most people who talk or write about them have realised. Most people assume that they are suggesting that family interactions play some part in the supposed </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">aetiology</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> (the supposed cause) of the supposed dread disease </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">schizophrenia</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. But <b>Laing </b>and <b>Esterson</b> say in the Preface to the second edition:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">No one can deny us the right to disbelieve in the fact of schizophrenia</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></i></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That does not mean they are suggesting the women have been </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">misdiagnosed</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and are actually suffering from some other </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">illness</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> To repeat: <i>w</i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">hat they are disbelieving is that the women are </i><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ill</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><i style="font-family: verdana;"> at all.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And again, to repeat: Almost all </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘readers</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">assume, as certainly do non-readers, that <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> claimed families </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>cause</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(contribute to the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘aetiolog</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">y</span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">’ </span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;">of) </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">a (hypothetical) </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mental illness</span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’, </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘schizophrenia</span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’. That is to say, </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">readers</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> mistakenly </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;">assume it was this presumed </span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;">‘</span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;">illness’,</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">not the </span><i style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">presumption</i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> of such an</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"> </span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;">‘illness</span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;">’</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, that </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">these authors claimed </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">was socially intelligible.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="807884" _msttexthash="16703401" style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For example, <b>Emmy </b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>van Deurzen</b> and <b>Raymond Kenward </b>assert in their influential <i>Dictionary of Existential Psychotherapy and Counselling</i> (2005: 118): </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"></span></span></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="1266995" _msttexthash="7762391" style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Laing</b><i> […] believed schizophrenia was the result of the alienating power of the schizophrenogenic family.</i></span></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p></p><p _msthash="807885" _msttexthash="31921292" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is what almost all the few existential therapists and Daseinsanalysts who claim to have </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; font-weight: 400;">looked at</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> the book say <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b> were saying. They are supported in this belief by <b>van Deurzen</b> and <b>Kenward</b></span><i _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent;"><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">s statement (2005: 118):</span></p><p _msthash="807885" _msttexthash="31921292" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>[...] <b>Laing</b></i><i _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;"><span _istranslated="1">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;">s</span><i style="background-color: transparent;"> overall conceptualisation of his patients was deterministic.</i></span></blockquote><p></p><p _msthash="807885" _msttexthash="31921292" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">This has been disproved in detail by <b>Anthony Stadlen</b> in </span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">Laing in a Lexicon</span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent;"><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"><i>’ </i>(<i>Existential Analysis</i>, 18.2; 2007: 341-5). [See:</span></span></p><p _msthash="807885" _msttexthash="31921292" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: left;"><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent;"><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/laing-in-lexicon-was-r.html" style="color: #336699;">‘Laing’ in a Lexicon: Was R. D. Laing ‘deterministic’? (July 2007)</a>]</span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="807886" _mstmutation="1" _msttexthash="319484139"><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">In two series of Inner Circle Seminars on the eleven families, for the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the book, we have seen how difficult it is for existential therapists, perhaps because their careers depend on it, </span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">to examine their belief in </span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">mental health</span><i _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent;"><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">, </span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">mental illness</span><i _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent;"><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">’,</span></i><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> and </span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">schizophrenia</span><i _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent;"><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">. Daseinsanalysts have expressed similar puzzlement. But for the </span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">laywoman</span><i _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent;"><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> Dame </span><b _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">Hilary Mantel</b><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">, the great writer who introduced our second series of seminars, </span><span _istranslated="1" _mstmutation="1" style="font-family: verdana;">the phenomenological point was obvious. [See:</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><a _msthash="1084538" _msttexthash="20446101" href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/sanity-madness-and-family-hilarymantel.html" style="color: #336699;">Hilary Mantel. Introductions to the families in Laing and Esterson’s Sanity, Madness and the Family in Inner Circle Seminars conducted by Anthony Stadlen (2014-2019)</a></li><li style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 15px; text-indent: -15px;"><a _msthash="1084539" _msttexthash="110202625" href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/the-simple-words-people-speak-on-hilary.html" style="color: #336699;">‘The simple words the people speak’: An introduction to Hilary Mantel’s introduction to her and Anthony Stadlen’s (2014) 50th-anniversary Inner Circle Seminar on ‘Maya Abbott and the Abbotts’ in Laing and Esterson’s Sanity, Madness and the Family (1964) (January 2015)</a> ]</li></ul><p _msthash="807887" _msttexthash="63885367" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: black; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">Of course, as <b>Szasz</b> pointed out, it is possible that some persons now diagnosed as </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">schizophrenic</span><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> are indeed ill: they may have an undiscovered brain abnormality. If such an abnormality were discovered then it would constitute a </span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">bona fide</i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;"> disease with mental symptoms: the province of <i>neurologists</i>.</span></p><p _msthash="807888" _msttexthash="3099031" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 14.2pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But often, a</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.2pt;">s <b>Esterson</b> says in <i>Families, Breakdown and Psychiatry </i>(1976: 296),</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-indent: 0px;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></i></p><blockquote><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span _msthash="1266996" _msttexthash="14937260" style="font-family: verdana;">Such was the hypnotic effect of the prior assumption of illness, that one had constantly to remind oneself that there was no evidence to substantiate this assumption.</span></i></blockquote><p></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span _msthash="648466" _msttexthash="76258" face="verdana, sans-serif">And (302):</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote _msthash="1093521" _msttexthash="62817001" style="text-align: left;">[…] study the designated schizophrenic directly in his relevant social context in a phenomenologically and dialectically valid manner, and to a significant extent the apparent signs and symptoms of the presumed illness disappear like morning mist before the sun […]</blockquote></i></div><div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-indent: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"></span></i></span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; text-align: left; text-indent: 14.4pt;"></span></p></span></div><div><div><span><div _msthash="1188343" _msttexthash="2737189" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><b>Boss</b> s<span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-indent: 14.4pt;">ays (</span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left; text-indent: 14.4pt;">Grundriss der Medizin, </i><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-indent: 14.4pt;">1971: 506, translation by <b>A. Stadlen</b>)</span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-indent: 14.4pt;">:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><blockquote _msthash="2766894" _msttexthash="19264011" style="text-align: justify;">[…] with no single patient can one speak of his being schizophrenic per se. Rather, one must always ask: schizophrenic under the excessive demands of what pattern of human relationships?</blockquote></span></i></div></span><div _msthash="849745" _msttexthash="371510087" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is very close to what <b>Esterson</b> says. But <b>Boss’</b>s language is still characteristically ambiguous. It still begs the question of what ‘schizophrenic’ means. Is there, or is there not, an </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">illness</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 19.2px;">’,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">schizophrenia</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 19.2px;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">? <b>Boss,</b> one might say, from the point of view of <b>Szasz</b> and <b>Esterson</b>, is <i>nearly there</i>. But <b>Boss </b>has defined Daseinsanalysis, in the title of his book and elsewhere, as part </span><span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-indent: 14.4pt;">of </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: 14.4pt;">medicine</i><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-indent: 14.4pt;">. <span style="font-family: verdana;">He and <b>Heidegger</b> constantly refer to ‘patients’ as ‘ill’. [See:</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><a _msthash="849746" _msttexthash="4986995" href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/medicaldaseinsanalysis-anthonystadlen-i.html" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left; text-indent: -15px;">‘Medical Daseinsanalysis’ (January 2005)</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><a _msthash="849747" _msttexthash="767832" href="https://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/p/madhouse-of-being_25.html" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left; text-indent: -15px;">The Madhouse of Being (January 2007)</a></div><div _msthash="849748" _msttexthash="199758" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.4pt;">by</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.4pt;"> </i><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.4pt;">A. Stadlen</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-indent: 14.4pt;">.]</span></div><div _msthash="849749" _msttexthash="1002381055" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><b _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">Boss </b><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">thought Daseinsanalysts should be medical doctors. But </span><b _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">Freud</b><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> had argued </span><i _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">in the 1920s</i><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> that ‘doctors form a preponderating contingent of quacks in psychoanalysis’, which he insisted was </span><i _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">not</i><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> part of medicine but ‘</span><i _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">weltliche Seelsorge</i><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">’ (‘secular [worldly] soul-care’). </span> <b _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">Boss</b><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">, starting with a modest claim that, as a student, he had visited </span><b _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">Freud </b><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">for some sessions in</span><b _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> </b><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">1925, eventually claimed to have had psychoanalysis with him six times a week for six months, though </span><b _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">Boss</b><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">’s deputy and successor </span><b _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">Gion Condrau</b><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">, collaborating with <b>Stadlen</b> on the historiography of Daseinsanalysis,</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">proved from the records of <b>Boss</b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">s Swiss military service that he cannot have been in Vienna for at least half that time. If he </span><i _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">did</i><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> visit </span><b _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">Freud</b><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">, as seems probable, though not on the scale he eventually claimed, his account is significant; he reported, memorably, his astonishment that <b _istranslated="1">Freud</b> did not practise according to the alienated natural-scientistic theories of his </span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">metapsychology</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">, but in a deeply human way. However, <b _istranslated="1">Boss </b>may not quite have grasped that </span><b _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">Freud </b><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">did </span><i _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">not</i><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> regard their analytic or therapeutic meetings as </span><i _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">medical</i><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">. </span> <b _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">Heidegger </b><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">appears to have accepted </span><b _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">Boss</b><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">’s apparent assumption that psychotherapy was a medical treatment without question.</span></div><div _msthash="849750" _msttexthash="835600805" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"><b _istranslated="1">Condrau</b>, who was also a Christian-Democratic People</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">s Party m</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">ember of </span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">the Swiss National Parliament, </span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">succeeded in getting psychotherapy by non-medical psychologists legalised. But this did not in itself constitute psychotherapy as an autonymous profession, rather than a medical or quasi-medical practice, subsidiary or </span><span _istranslated="1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">ancillary</span><span _istranslated="1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> to medicine. In the United Kingdom, non-medical psychoanalysts and psychotherapists had always been legally accepted, and trained by the Freudian and Jungian societies, but until the 1970s they relied on </span><span _istranslated="1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">medical cover</span><span _istranslated="1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> by doctors, who were responsible for the </span><span _istranslated="1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">t</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">reatment</span><span _istranslated="1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> by the </span><span _istranslated="1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">lay</span><span _istranslated="1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> analyst or therapist, who also sheltered behind the </span> <span _istranslated="1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">covering</span><span _istranslated="1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;"> doctor</span><span _istranslated="1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span _istranslated="1" style="font-family: verdana;">s medical insurance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="849751" _msttexthash="25276134" style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Stadlen</b> challenged this i</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">n 1973</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(on behalf of the embryonic Guild of Psychotherapists, which was then followed by other psychotherapy organisations</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">). This may be the moment psychotherapists, medical and non-medical, in the United Kingdom began to assert themselves as an autonymous profession, with, among other things, independent insurance.</span></div><div _msthash="849752" _msttexthash="245721515" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, almost all psychotherapists today, half a century on, remain devotees of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mental health</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. They describe themselves as </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mental health professionals</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> They do not explicitly reject, or even intelligently address,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <i>involuntary psychiatry</i> and the <i>insanity defence</i>: what <b>Szasz</b> called the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Siamese twins</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’ </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">of the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">mental health movement</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’, a movement whose structure he showed, in <i>The Manufacture of Madness</i>, to be formally isomorphic to that of the Inquisition.</span></div></div><div _msthash="607582" _msttexthash="669939842" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">It is true that <b>Heidegger</b> and <b>Boss </b>rejected the reification of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘mind</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">consciousness</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">But they accepted involuntary psychiatry. <b>Heidegger</b> had recourse to it in the case of a family member. <b>Boss</b> practised it as a psychiatrist. For <b>Heidegger</b>, this was just one more way in which he affirmed that the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">medical</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> view was </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">correct</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’<span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">. </span>For <b>Boss</b>, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">who had before the second world war been the director of a psychiatric </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">sanatorium</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, Schloss Knonau, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">those colleagues or trainees who questioned his </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">hospitalisations</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘p</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">sychotics</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">were in his view ignorant and incompetent, and ought to stick to treating </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">neurotics</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’.</span></div><div _msthash="607583" _msttexthash="40827670" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Was <b>Heidegger</b> i</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">n effect </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">pleading the <i>insanity defence</i> by means of his </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">nervous breakdown</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> when, after the second world war, he was interrogated by the denazification authorities about his political activity in the 1930s?His <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">breakdown</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana;">’</span> appears to have been more a matter of difficulties with wife and mistress. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="607584" _msttexthash="804209809" style="font-family: verdana;">The difference between the view of <b>Szasz</b> and <b>Esterson</b> and that of <b>Heidegger</b> and <b>Boss</b> may be seen by comparing <b>Heidegger</b>’s musings about ‘schizophrenics’, when he stopped outside Professor <b>Hanns Ruffin</b>’s villa on his walks around Freiburg, with the reflections, decades earlier, of the young boy <b>Tamás Szász</b>, on <i>his</i> walks with his governess around Budapest. The boy was shown large buildings: hospitals, prisons, and ... ‘mental hospitals’. He understood the first two. But the third, he protested, when he learned their nature and function, were wrongly named: they too should be called not hospitals but prisons. He saw ‘mental illness’ as the rationalisation invented to justify the incarceration of innocent people in these prisons disguised as hospitals. He never changed his position on this. As he explained, he never had to give up a belief in ‘mental illness’ because he had never had such a belief.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span _msthash="607585" _msttexthash="12031890" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">It is this conjunction and disjunction, this </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">confrontation </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">and dialectic, of </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Heidegger</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> and </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Boss </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">with </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Szasz </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">and </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Esterson</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">, that we shall explore today. </span></div><div _msthash="607586" _msttexthash="88456121" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><b>Laing </b>is a special case, as he equivocated about <span style="color: black; text-align: justify;">‘mental illness’,</span> after at first appearing </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">in </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Sanity, Madness and the Family </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">to concur with </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Szasz</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">; and in at least one later interview he affirmed his belief in </span><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">‘mental illness’, in explicit disagreement with <b>Szasz</b>.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> But </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Esterson</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> and </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Szasz</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> remained largely in accord on this, though <b>Esterson</b> was critical of what he regarded as certain over-simplifications by <b>Szasz</b>, especially in relation to psychosis, of which <b>Szasz</b> had little experience, having deliberately avoided situations where </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">patients</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> would see him involuntarily.</span></div><div _msthash="607587" _msttexthash="797475848" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: right;">In our Covid-oriented time, when everyone is talking about so-called </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: right;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">mental health</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;">’, this seminar offers an urgently needed perspective, one which might actually help people come to terms with this unprecedented existential, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, spiritual, religious challenge <i>better</i> than the confused perspective of </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: right;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">mental health</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;">’. This does not mean that people offering </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;">‘talking therapy</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;">’ within the </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: right;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">mental health</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;">’ system </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;">are doing no good; some may do much good; but this seminar asks: might they not do <i>better</i>, and perhaps even <i>much</i> better, if their thinking and practice were not muddled and muddied by the mystifying discourse of </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: right;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">mental health</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;">’?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;"> Does not this pseudo-medical approach besmirch even the most sophisticated daseinsanalytic or existential therapy? The seminar will be an opportunity to examine the evidence without which answers to these questions can only be dogmatic or speculative.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;"><span _msthash="607588" _msttexthash="63965434" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">This is an apparently difficult field, though, or rather because, the basic ideas are simple; perhaps too simple for most people to understand, It is not clear how many seminars will be required. For this reason we shall devote not just a single seminar but a whole subseries to it. There can be no definitive final seminar in the subseries. In any event, your contribution to the discussion will be warmly welcomed.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; text-align: left;"><span _msthash="607588" _msttexthash="63965434" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><p _msthash="1083251" _msttexthash="118140308" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #222222; text-align: start;">Professor <b>Miles Groth </b>will participate in the afternoon of this first seminar in this subseries. He </span></span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">is a Daseinsanalyst who has practised since 1975; </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #202122; text-align: left;">Professor Emeritus in Psychology at Wagner College, Staten Island, New York City; translator of <b>Heidegger</b>; author of books and papers on <b>Heidegger </b>and <b>Boss</b>, including </span></span><i style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Medard Boss and the Promise of Therapy</i><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> (2020); collaborator</span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">with </span><b style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Todd DuBose </b><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">in </span><i style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">The Soul of Existential Therapy </i><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">(2020) and </span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">a Society for Existential Analysis symposium in November 2020.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p _msthash="1083252" _msttexthash="11057475" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Professor </span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">Keith Hoeller</span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">and </span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Dr </span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">Albert Pacheco </span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">will join <b>Anthony Stadlen</b> in conducting another seminar in this subseries (date to be announced).</span></p></span><div _msthash="849753" _msttexthash="296016825" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pr</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">ofe</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">ssor </span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><b>Keith Hoeller</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">, translator of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"><b>Heidegger</b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">’s </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Elucidations of Hölderlin’s Poetry </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">(2001), will again join us from </span><st1:place style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;" w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Seattle</st1:city>, </st1:place><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">where he was Professor of Philosophy for many years. He has edited the </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Review of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">from 1978, as well as books of </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">key papers on</span><b> </b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Binswanger</b>,<b> Merleau-Ponty</b>, <b>Heidegger</b>, <b>Boss</b>,<b> Sartre</b>,<b> Szasz</b>, <b>Foucault</b>,<b> May</b>. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">He is one of the very few authorities on both <b>Heidegger</b> and </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">. He</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">edited </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Thomas Szasz: Moral Philosopher of Psychiatry</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"> (1997). He contributed a chapter on </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Szasz</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"> to </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Existential Therapy</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"> (ed. </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Barnett, L.</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"> and </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Madison, G.</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">, 2012). He received the </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Thomas S. Szasz</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"> Award for Outstanding Services to the Cause of Civil Liberties (professional category) from the Center for Independent Thought, New York City.</span></div><span><div><p></p><span><p _msthash="1826747" _msttexthash="86068372" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Professor <b>Hoeller</b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;"> co-conducted (by Zoom from Seattle, heroically through the night) </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Inner Circle Seminars No. 258 (<i>The Myth of </i></span><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span></i><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">Thomas Szasz</span></i><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana;">’</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana;">) on 14 June 2020 and No. 259 (<i>Heidegger and Levinas on the ‘Holy’</i>) on 2 August 2020.</span></p><p _msthash="1826748" _msttexthash="278570344" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #333333;">Dr </span><b>Albert Pacheco</b> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #222222; text-align: start;">is Director of Behavioral Health Services for South Central Family Health Services in Los Angeles, CA. He has over 20 years of clinical experience. His doctoral dissertation, based on the work of <b>Medard Boss</b>, was reviewed and approved by <b>Boss </b>himself, and he has discussed with both <b>Boss</b> and <b>Szasz</b> their positions on </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">‘</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">mental illness</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">. He has published articles on <b>Boss </b>and existential psychology and is an editorial board member of the</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">Review of Existential Psychology and Psychiatry</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">,</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> which published </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">(!)</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">his important paper <i>The Myth of Existential Psychiatry</i>. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: start;">He is completing a book, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana; text-align: start;"><i>An Introduction to the Existential Psychology of Medard Boss.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i style="text-align: left;"><b><span _msthash="1826749" _msttexthash="1170559" style="color: #990000;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">These will be online seminars, using </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span>Zoom</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: verdana;">.</span></span></b></i></p></span></div></span></div></div>
<div _msthash="405418" _msttexthash="13966160" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana";">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana";"> Psychotherapy trainees
£132, others £165</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>some bursaries; payable
in advance by bank transfer or PayPal; no refunds or transfers unless seminar
cancelled</span></div>
<div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; tab-stops: 194.4pt 221.75pt;">
<span _msthash="405561" _mstmutation="1" _msttexthash="10215686"><i _mstmutation="1" style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Apply to: </span></i><span _mstmutation="1" style="font-family: "verdana";">Anthony
Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra
Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span _msthash="405704" _mstmutation="1" _msttexthash="1913561"><i _mstmutation="1"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Tel:</span></i><span _mstmutation="1" style="font-family: "verdana";"> +44 (0)
7809 433250<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>E-mail:</i> </span><span _mstmutation="1" lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span _msthash="405847" _mstmutation="1" _msttexthash="4089800"><i _mstmutation="1" style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">For
further information on seminars, visit: </span></i><span _mstmutation="1" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span _msthash="406133" _mstmutation="1" _msttexthash="111080723"><span _mstmutation="1" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">The Inner Circle Seminars were
founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological
search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas
Szasz as ‘</span><span _mstmutation="1" lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana";">Institute for Advanced Studies in the
Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span><span _mstmutation="1" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">hey are independent of
all institutes, schools and universities.</span></span></div>
Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-63202111192781954022021-01-01T04:01:00.414+00:002022-08-23T13:52:04.992+01:00Freedom, Love, Psychotherapy. For the 25th anniversary of the first Inner Circle Seminar. Anthony Stadlen conducts Inner Circle Seminar 266 (18 April 2021)<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Freedom, Love, Psychotherapy</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">for the 25th anniversary of the Inner Circle Seminars</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">and for four other anniversaries:</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Luther 500, Freud 125, Binswanger 100, Eichmann 60</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Anthony Stadlen</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">conducts</span></b><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;">by Zoom</span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 266</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sunday 18 April 2021</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p></p><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PjrsOYfNTuI/V_rrE3W4W7I/AAAAAAAAElM/par-GddnumYetEwUyrJZQ-1gsEpz7r3zQCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/Freud1891.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1413" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PjrsOYfNTuI/V_rrE3W4W7I/AAAAAAAAElM/par-GddnumYetEwUyrJZQ-1gsEpz7r3zQCPcBGAYYCw/w221-h320/Freud1891.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Sigmund Freud</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQL5xdgICm4/Sz1Stl07dhI/AAAAAAAAEU4/Ht_iHH8_XhEApwrUJ8KXF77b_3w5bp3CQCPcBGAYYCw/s1108/Dora%2Band%2BOtto%2BBauer%2B2.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="992" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQL5xdgICm4/Sz1Stl07dhI/AAAAAAAAEU4/Ht_iHH8_XhEApwrUJ8KXF77b_3w5bp3CQCPcBGAYYCw/w286-h320/Dora%2Band%2BOtto%2BBauer%2B2.JPG" width="286" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">‘<span>Dora</span><span>’</span><span> </span>and her brother</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"></p><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tar0s6oLlWM/WOoM2Icb_GI/AAAAAAAAEt0/QAOMx5PbZAozEcGgj2hkaWmFJd67qzS3gCPcBGAYYCw/s645/martin%2Bluther.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tar0s6oLlWM/WOoM2Icb_GI/AAAAAAAAEt0/QAOMx5PbZAozEcGgj2hkaWmFJd67qzS3gCPcBGAYYCw/w298-h320/martin%2Bluther.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Martin Luther</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="418" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JmQD55ZOzVQ/S4_FDsOmT8I/AAAAAAAAEVQ/4atEUuxv01UBgJ6S7HQqK9CNLRl3kK_owCPcBGAYYCw/w264-h320/Ellen%2BWest%2B1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="'Ellen West'" width="264" /></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">‘Ellen West</span>’</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iSbqLFpN4CY/S0EFlbBvPmI/AAAAAAAAEUA/gWZ9WTn6tBQf_OO-49SH-M1W3GIF80ISgCPcBGAYYCw/s1019/Binswanger%2B3.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1019" data-original-width="730" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iSbqLFpN4CY/S0EFlbBvPmI/AAAAAAAAEUA/gWZ9WTn6tBQf_OO-49SH-M1W3GIF80ISgCPcBGAYYCw/w229-h320/Binswanger%2B3.JPG" width="229" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Ludwig Binswanger</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H3TwSJPnPWE/YHczV2U6C5I/AAAAAAAALDg/acLkEQrtPHsM4Or2mElJU7vs4qf-djdgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s331/Eichmann%2Bat%2Btrial.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H3TwSJPnPWE/YHczV2U6C5I/AAAAAAAALDg/acLkEQrtPHsM4Or2mElJU7vs4qf-djdgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Eichmann%2Bat%2Btrial.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Adolf Eichmann</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Luther 500th anniversary</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">‘Here I stand. I can do no other’</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">18 April 1521</span></b></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Five hundred years ago today</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, on </span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">18 April 1521</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, <b>Martin Luther,</b> an excommunicated Augustinian monk,
Professor of Theology at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Wittenberg</st1:placename></st1:place>, was asked
at the Diet of Worms to recant his published books. At risk of being burned as
a heretic, he carefully considered his various books in turn, from the pile
before him. He acknowledged that some were perhaps rather vehemently written.
But, he said, nobody had shown him that he had misquoted any detail from the
Bible. Therefore, he concluded:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> ‘</span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">I can not and will not recant
anything.</i><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">He is also said to have added (though this is not proven):</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">‘<i>Here I stand. I can do no other. So help me God</i>.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Freud 125</span></b><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">th anniversary</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> ‘...a source of the <st1:place w:st="on">Nile</st1:place>...’</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">21 April 1896</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sigmund Freud</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, in <i>The Psychopathology of Everyday Life</i> (1901), without
naming <b>Luther</b>, cited this renowned reported declaration of <b>Luther</b>’s
as evidence, not of his free will, his moral self-determination, but, rather,
of ‘complete psychic determinism’. After all, argued <b>Freud</b>, was not <b>Luther</b>
himself saying he could not act otherwise? <b>Freud</b> appears <i>prima facie</i>
to be blankly ignoring the obvious truth that <b>Luther</b>’s declaration
derives its moral stature from its implied assumption that, were he to let
conscience make a coward of him, he could indeed ‘do other’.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana;">Or is <b>Freud</b>, without quite realising it, confusedly
invoking a more profound <i>freedom</i> than that of the conscious </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">‘<span style="background: white;">ego</span>’?
He is apparently affirming mechanistic <span style="background: white;">‘</span>scientific<span style="background: white;">’</span> determinism applied to human events, and thus
making nonsense of his own project of helping people discover their freedom
through psychoanalysis. But is it possible that he is invoking, even though in
an alienated and alienating way, with his concept of ‘<i>psychic</i>’ ‘determinism’,
a <span style="background: white;">‘</span>determinism<span style="background: white;">’</span> which is in truth a <i>freedom</i> of <span style="background: white;">the psyche, the soul, beyond mere egoic subjectivity, and </span>closer
to, or consonant with, the philosopher <b>Schelling</b><span style="background: white;">’</span>s understanding of freedom, in which, as <b>Heidegger </b>put
it, freedom is not a property of the human being but the human being is a
property of freedom? Is authentic, demystified psychoanalysis or
Daseinsanalysis a quest to discover this profound freedom?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In <i>Of the Freedom of the Christian Human</i><i> </i>(1520), the
book then most recently published in the pile which <b>Luther</b> refused to
retract at the Diet of Worms, he argued that true freedom is inextricably
linked with faith in God and <i>love of one’s neighbour</i>; thinkers in other
religious traditions have said similar things.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Thomas Szasz</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, in his book <i>The Myth of Psychotherapy: Mental Healing as Religion, Rhetoric and Repression </i>(1978), hails <b>Luther</b>
as a fellow thinker who advocated the ‘cure of souls’ as a form of
psychotherapy entailing personal repentance; this was <b>Szasz</b>’s model for
what psychotherapy could and should be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Szasz </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">does
not mention, however, what he had briefly alluded to in <i>The Manufacture of
Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement </i>(1970), that <b>Luther</b>, disappointed that the Jews of his time
did not find his critique of the <st1:place w:st="on">Vatican</st1:place>
sufficient reason to convert to his version of Christianity, responded by
inciting ferocious persecution of the Jews, a precursor to Nazism. Central to
his indignation was that the Jews were the supposed killers of God and, as <b>Jesus</b>
(himself a Jew) allegedly said (<i>John</i> 8.44), the children of the devil;
and that <i>they preferred vengeance to love</i>, or at least and at best
wanted love spiced with vengeance. This last remained a Christian view of
Judaism, for example in <b>Kierkegaard</b>’s first <i>Upbuilding Discourse</i> of
16 October 1843 which <b>Geoffrey Pattison</b> brilliantly elucidated in Inner
Circle Seminar No. 263, even though <b>Kierkegaard</b> is clear in <i>Works of
Love </i>that ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ was a Jewish principle before
it became a Christian one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">To this day, many Christians, Jews, agnostics and atheists are
aware that <b>Jesus</b> asserted that ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ is one
of the two greatest principles (<i>Matthew</i> 22.39, <i>Mark</i> 12.31, <i>Luke</i>
10.27). Far fewer realise that he, a Jew, was stating it as one of the two
greatest existing <i>Jewish </i>principles. And fewer still realise that the very
verse in which this principle is stated in the Torah, long before <b>Jesus </b>lived,
states (<i>Leviticus</i> 19.18 [italics added]): ‘<i>Do not take revenge</i> or
bear a grudge, but love your neighbour as yourself.’ It is followed, a few verses later </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">(</span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">Leviticus</i><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> 19.34)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, by the injunction to love the </span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">stranger</i><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> as yourself. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In </span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">The Future of an Illusion</i><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> (1927), </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Freud</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> asserted
that God is an infantile phantasy-projection, and religion a ‘universal
obsessional neurosis of mankind’. In </span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">Civilization and its Discontents </i><span style="font-family: Verdana;">(1929)
</span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Freud </b><i style="font-family: Verdana;">ridiculed </i><span style="font-family: Verdana;">the idea of loving his neighbour. His love, he
insisted, was something precious, not to be wasted on his neighbour unless his
neighbour happened to be sufficiently like </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Freud </b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">for </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Freud </b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">to
love </span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">himself</i><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> in the neighbour. Love, in other words, was, for the
founder of psychoanalysis, also a projection: projected narcissism.
Civilization, he said, entailed the emotional crippling of human beings by the injunction
(from the ‘collective super-ego’, as he saw it) to love one’s neighbour as
oneself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">How did <b>Freud</b> reach this position? In the </span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">first Inner Circle Seminar</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, </span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">twenty-five years ago</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> on </span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">21
April 1996,</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> we
focussed on the occasion </span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">exactly
one hundred years earlier</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, on </span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">21
April 1896</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, when <b>Freud</b>
first presented his avant-garde method of therapy and research, and its name, ‘psychoanalysis’,
to his colleagues at the Society for Psychiatry and Neurology in Vienna.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The title of his presentation was ‘The Aetiology of Hysteria’. He
claimed to have made a ‘momentous discovery’, ‘a <i>caput Nili</i> [source of
the Nile] in neuropathology’, namely, the ‘specific aetiology’ of the supposed ‘mental
illness’ ‘hysteria’, analogous, he claimed, to <b>Robert Koch</b>’s discovery
of the <b>Koch </b>bacillus as the specific aetiology of the disease
tuberculosis the previous decade.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">What <i>was</i>, according to <b>Freud</b>, the ‘specific
aetiology’ of ‘hysteria’? It was sexual abuse in childhood, ‘before the age of
second dentition’. This he claimed to have discovered in all eighteen cases he
had investigated. It was an all-or-nothing theory, as specific aetiology is a
factor in whose absence the illness cannot occur. One counter-example would,
not partially but <i>wholly</i>, refute the theory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Less than eighteen months later, <b>Freud</b> began to admit to
his friend <b>Wilhelm Fliess </b>that he did not have the evidence of childhood
sexual abuse required by his theory <i>in every case</i>. He did not publicly
acknowledge this for nearly a decade, and even then confused the matter by
purporting to explain his error, but in fact ‘confessing’ an ‘error’ which was
not the one he had actually made.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the original theory he stated that only under the ‘strongest
compulsion’ of his new method, psychoanalysis, could his patients be induced to
‘reproduce’ the ‘scenes’ of sexual abuse that he admitted he was suggesting to
them. And he reported that the patients insisted that these scenes, even if
‘reproduced’ with emotion, did not have the feeling of being memories. This, <b>Freud</b>
pronounced, was the most decisive proof that they <i>were</i> in fact memories!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">However, when he began to doubt the universality of his supposed
specific aetiology, he had the problem of explaining to his colleagues how he had
made such an error. His solution was to blame the patient. He now claimed that
his original theory had been that the patients had come to him volunteering
stories of sexual abuse, which he, by implication the enlightened and
compassionate therapist, had at first believed, but had now discovered in some
cases to be fantasies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">What the seduction theory and his retraction had in common was
that he was right and the patient was wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">His method he explicitly compared to that of the <i>inquisitors</i> in
the early-modern ‘witch’ trials.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Freud</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> loved
to give detailed evidence, in the manner of a German <i>Novelle</i>, when he
had it. But for neither the seduction theory nor its retraction did he give
evidence. The closest he came was the lengthy ‘<b>Dora</b>’ case study of 1905.
But this further obfuscated matters because he introduced it as intended to ‘substantiate’
his assertions of 1895 and 1896, which included the seduction theory, when in
fact it embodied a shift towards the hypothesis of infantile sexuality and a
new conception of ‘love’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Dora</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> was
sexually molested at thirteen by her father’s friend <b>Herr K.</b> with her father’s implicit
collusion in return for sexual favours from <b>Herr K.</b>’s wife. <b>Freud</b> diagnosed
<b>Dora</b> as an ‘hysteric’ because she objected both to this perverted notion of ‘love’
and to the insistence of her father and the <b>K.</b>s that she was fantasising <b>Herr K.</b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">s molesting of her and </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">her father</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">s affair with</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> <b>Frau K.</b> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b>Freud</b> accepts that <b>Dora</b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">s allegations are accurate, but he sees her as sick for making them. A healthy girl, he insists, should take this in her stride.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b>Freud</b> attributes to <b>Dora</b> a </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">remorseless craving for revenge</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’. This Jewish man applies to this Jewish girl </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">the traditional ‘Christian’ idea
of the Jew, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">who has a perverted notion of love but prefers revenge.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Freud</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> adduces, among other </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">evidence</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">of <b>Dora</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">remorseless craving for revenge</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">’, that she: (1) pulled herself free from </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Herr K.</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’s sexual molesting when she was thirteen; (2) slapped his face when he propositioned her again when she was fifteen; and (3) elicited, when she was eighteen, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">admissions from <b>Herr K.</b> that he had sexually molested her and from </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Frau K. </b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">that she had an affair with <b>Dora</b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">s father.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">At the same time he attributes to <b>Dora</b> sexual desire for her father, for both <b>Herr</b> and <b>Frau K.</b>, and for <b>Freud</b> himself.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b>Dora</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">case, a mere paper, albeit a lengthy one, in a journal, contains twenty-four references to </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i>Rache</i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> (</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i>revenge</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">) and its cognates: more than any other work of </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Freud</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’s. Even <i>The Interpretation of Dreams</i> (1900), by far </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Freud</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’s</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> longest book, contains only twenty-three. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The psychoanalyst <b>Ernest Jones</b>, in his authorised biography
of <b>Freud</b>, praised the ‘<b>Dora</b>’ case study as ‘a model for students
of psychoanalysis’. He called <b>Dora </b>‘a disagreeable creature <i>who
preferred revenge to love</i>’ (italics added)<i>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Binswanger 100</span></b></span><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">th anniversary</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">‘Allowing Annihilation of Life Unworthy of
Life’</span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">5 April 1921</span></b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In general, psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, from the late
nineteenth century to the twenty-first century, developed strange,
natural-scientifically reduced notions of both freedom and love.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The Swiss psychiatrist <b>Ludwig Binswanger </b>as a young man
accompanied <b>Carl Gustav Jung</b> on a first visit to <b>Freud</b> in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vienna</st1:place></st1:city> in 1907. <b>Freud </b>and
<b>Binswanger</b> remained lifelong friends, although <b>Binswanger</b> severely
criticised <b>Freud</b>’s theoretical position, <i><span style="background: white;">‘</span></i>with love<i><span style="background: white;">’</span></i>, as
he put it in a letter to <b>Freud</b>. In a speech in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Vienna</st1:city></st1:place> for <b>Freud</b>’s eightieth birthday
in 1936 <b>Binswanger</b> argued:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: 14.2pt; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana;">... the natural-scientific idea of
‘homo natura’ must destroy the human being as a being living in manifold
directions of meaning and only to be understood from them … until … precisely<b>
</b>everything which makes a human being into a human being and not a brutish
creature is annihilated …<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: 14.2pt; text-align: left;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Thus Freud stands before us as the
paradigmatic man of the twentieth century.</span></i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Binswanger
</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">saw <i><span style="background: white;">‘homo natura’</span></i><span style="background: white;">,
the natural-scientism of <b>Freud</b>’s concept of the human being, as <i>destroying</i>
the understanding of human <i>freedom</i> and <i>love</i>. <b>Binswanger</b> wrote
a large book (1942) about the phenomenology of love. In it h</span>e attempted
to develop <b>Martin Heidegger</b>’s and <b>Martin Buber</b>’s thinking, but <b>Heidegger</b>
said that <b>Binswanger</b> had misunderstood him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In 1944-5, <b>Binswanger</b> published ‘The Case of Ellen West’, a
very long and complex case study, as a ‘paradigm’ of ‘schizophrenia’. He later
republished it, with four other long case studies, in his book <i>Schizophrenie
</i>(1957). It is translated in <i>Existence: A New Dimension in Psychiatry and
Psychology </i>edited by <b>Rollo May</b>, <b>Ernest Angel</b>, and <b>Henri F.
Ellenberger </b>(1958: 237-364).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">He makes plain that he also intends ‘The Case of Ellen West’ as a
paradigm of ‘</span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">love</i><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’: </span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">her</i><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> alleged inability to love, and </span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">his</i><span style="font-family: Verdana;">
‘love’ which he claims is what makes possible his ‘scientific’ method of
understanding her.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">He writes that ‘love alone, and the imagination originating from
it’ can rise above a ‘single point of view’ in order, by means of ‘historical
science’, ‘to test and compare “personal” judgements […] and to place them in a
scientific perspective’.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">This he sets out to do, twenty-three years after </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Ellen West</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’s
death</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">At thirty-three, on </span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">5 April 1921</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, </span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">a
hundred years ago</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, she
had poisoned herself with the help of her husband. This event was facilitated
by <b>Binswanger</b> himself. The full nature of the participation of her husband and <b>Binswanger</b>
has only become clear from recent research. It is not acknowledged in the case
study itself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">She was a ‘patient’ in </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Binswanger</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’s ‘sanatorium’, </span><st1:city style="font-family: Verdana;" w:st="on">Bellevue</st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, at Kreuzlingen in </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: Verdana;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Switzerland</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. He convened a case
conference there with two other eminent psychiatrists: his colleague </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Eugen
Bleuler</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> and an unnamed ‘foreign’ psychiatrist.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Binswanger </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">and
<b>Bleuler</b> agreed she was a case of ‘schizophrenia’, the new ‘illness’ that
<b>Bleuler </b>had proposed in 1908. The third psychiatrist disagreed with this
diagnosis; he ‘would label it a psychopathic constitution progressively
unfolding’. But, wrote <b>Binswanger</b>, ‘…all three of us agree that ... no
definitely reliable therapy is possible.’ And: ‘Both gentlemen agree completely
with my prognosis.’</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">All three agreed that <b>Binswanger</b> should put it to her
husband that he and his wife must decide whether <b>Binswanger</b> should lock
her up with no hope of a ‘cure’ or discharge her as a hopeless case. All three
agreed that her suicide was inevitable. It would be caused by, and be a
‘symptom’ of, the ‘illness’ she was supposedly suffering from.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Whatever this ‘illness’ was, </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Binswanger </b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">explained, in his
case study, that it made </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Ellen West </b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">incapable of ‘love’.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">But he also wrote, without indicating any sense of contradiction,
that her suicide was ‘authentic’. This implies it was a freely chosen act.
Moreover, in her suicide, he claimed, she glimpsed </span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">for the first time</i><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> the
‘dual mode’ of ‘being-in-the-world-beyond-the-world’ in ‘love’:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.2pt; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Only in the face of nonbeing does Ellen West actually stand in
being, does she triumph over the finiteness of being, including her own. But
this is possible only where the existence knows or senses itself as <b>Gestalt </b>of
this being, as a passing expression of the eternal <b>Gestalt</b>-metamorphosis.
This knowing or sensing is the knowing or sensing of <b>love</b>.</span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> [My emphasis]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The third psychiatrist at the case conference was in fact </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Alfred Hoche</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, coauthor with the lawyer <b>Karl Binding</b> of the book </span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">Allowing the Annihilation
of Life Unworthy of Life </i><span style="font-family: Verdana;">(1920). </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">(See Inner Circle Seminar No. 176.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Binswanger</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">
and </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Bleuler </b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">had shared a copy of this book, published the previous year, and corresponded about it. </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Ellen
West</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> and her husband had also read it, knew who</span><b style="font-family: Verdana;"> Hoche</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> was, and
welcomed his visit. This book was later used by the National Socialists as a
textbook justifying the extermination of the ‘ballast existences’ of the
‘mentally handicapped’ and ‘mentally ill’.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Hoche</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> mentions
in his autobiography, published in 1935, this very case conference. It was, he
says, ‘the strangest consultation in which I have ever taken part’. He does not
name <b>Binswanger,</b> <b>Bleuler,</b> or the ‘young woman, highly gifted,
sensitive, full of intellectual interests of every kind’. <b>Hoche</b> writes
that the task of the triumvirate was to decide whether this was ‘still a life
worthy of life’. And: ‘To this question we had to answer: No.’</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In 1944-5, when </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Binswanger</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> wrote and published ‘The Case of
Ellen West’, the extermination of ‘ballast existences’ had been for some years
a reality. He does not mention this. He remained friendly with </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Hoche</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> and
mentions in his obituary of </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Hoche </b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">that he has read </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Hoche</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’s book
on so-called ‘euthanasia’ but will not discuss it. Nor does he allude in ‘The
Case of Ellen West’ to </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Hoche</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’s account of what even for him was </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">‘the
strangest consultation’.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Binswanger</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">
explicitly attributes to <b>Ellen West </b>an inability to love. She is
condemned by her ‘world project’ to a loveless life. This is not a ‘fundamental
project’ such as <b>Jean-Paul Sartre </b>supposes the child <i>freely </i>chooses
as a way of making sense of how he or she has been treated by others; it
appears to be predetermined. <b>Binswanger</b> disparages <b>Ellen</b>’s
devoted social work and provision of children’s libraries as a search for fame,
although the testimony after her death of people she had helped is unequivocally
appreciative of her kindness.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Binswanger</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’s </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">family was originally Jewish but converted to Christianity. </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Ellen
West</b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’s</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> family was Jewish but </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">atheist. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b>Binswanger </b>laments that <b>Ellen</b> did not </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">choose Christianity, ‘the religion of love’. as he calls
it. Only in her </span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">suicide</i><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, assisted by her husband and effectively
authorised by </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Binswanger </b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">and his psychiatric colleagues as the annihilation of a life unworthy of life, does he concede
that she glimpses the </span><i style="font-family: Verdana;">possibility</i><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> of love.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Eichmann 60</span></b></span><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">th anniversary</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">‘I lived by Kant’s
categorical imperative’</span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">11 April 1961</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b>Sixty years ago</b>, on <b>11 April 1961</b>, the trial of <b>Adolf Eichmann</b> opened in Jerusalem. During the trial he claimed to have always tried to live his life according to <b>Immanuel Kant</b></span>’s<b> </b>‘categorical imperative’ from which <b>Kant</b> held that ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ could be deduced.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Inner Circle Seminars</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> 25th
Anniversary</span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">21 April 1996</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">What has the above to do with the practice of psychotherapy today? This is a special case of the question: what do the <b>Inner Circle Seminars</b> have to do with the practice of psychotherapy today?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The answer is that, as Santayana wrote, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. This is a fundamental principle of authentic psychotherapy, as well as of the history of psychotherapy. There is thus a reciprocal relationship between study of the history of psychotherapy and the practice of psychotherapy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the twenty-five years of the Inner Circle Seminars we have explored the history
of <b>Freud</b>’s seduction theory and its retraction, in effect the birth and then the
second birth of psychoanalysis; we have followed <b>Freud </b>at a century’s
distance almost to the day for five years, through his letters to his friend <b>Wilhelm
Fliess</b>, and tried to rethink in existential and phenomenological terms the
questions with which he wrestled; we have examined many paradigmatic case
studies, including, for example, <b>Freud</b>’s ‘<b>Dora</b>’ and <b>Binswanger</b>’s
‘<b>Ellen West</b>’; we have investigated the underlying philosophies of
various psychotherapeutic practices; we have studied the histories of
remarkable men and women who have been locked up by psychiatrists who regarded
them as crazy; we have studied many of <b>Thomas Szasz</b>’s books including
all ten of his twenty-first century books, and he himself conducted three of our seminars, including one for his ninetieth birthday attended by ninety people; we had a cycle of eleven seminars
following up historically the eleven families in <b>Laing</b> and <b>Esterson</b>’s
<i>Sanity, Madness and the Family </i>after forty years, and another cycle
after fifty years; we have followed <b>Heidegger</b>’s Zollikon seminars on the
foundations of psychotherapy at fifty years’ distance, and are now doing it at
sixty years’ distance; we have studied the work of many existential pioneers; we have had seminars on the medicalising of death and </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">of birth, the latter attended and enjoyed by, among others, seventeen breastfeeding mothers and their babies; </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">we have hired Dr <b>Samuel Johnson</b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’s wonderful house for a day and pondered his musings on </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">madness</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">;</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">we are now in the flow of a subseries of seminars on, and relating to, the three extraordinary works published on 16 October 1843 by <b>Kierkegaard</b>; </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">we have tried to relate psychotherapy to religion, philosophy, mythology,
anthropology, historiography, biography, literature; and much more besides. To
this end we have invited as speakers world authorities in their fields of study.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Has this search, in seminars, for truth in psychotherapy and its
foundations, helped us become better psychotherapists? That was our
intention and hope.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">But we have discussed in the seminars how the conceptualising of <i>theory</i>
in psychotherapy training institutions and universities is alienated: so-called
‘theory’ is taught in the mornings and then ‘applied’ in ‘practical’ classes in
the afternoons. This a corrupt vision of theory. Authentic theory in the
ancient Greek sense elucidated by <b>Heidegger </b>is contemplation of practice
<i>as we are practising</i>, while aware in some way of the divine and that the divine <i>is contemplating us</i>. Then, according to <b>Aristotle</b>,
the practitioner is truly a <i>theoretikos</i>. Practice comes first. Hence the
Biblical phrase: ‘We shall do and we shall hear.’ In that order.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">What does this say about the relation between our seminars and our
practice of psychotherapy?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Perhaps only through losing ourselves in the
seminars, letting ourselves learn and letting ourselves let go of what we have learnt, shall we hear what is
said, and what is not said, in them, and somehow allow it to move us in the practice of psychotherapy, without letting it congeal into a body of </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">knowledge</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’ </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">to be </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">applied</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Perhaps all true psychotherapy is conducted in the <i>middle voice</i>. But that is a future seminar.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Today, you are welcome to raise any question in relation to the practice of psychotherapy, whether or not it refers to the above anniversary notes. As always your contribution to the dialogue, even if it is
silence, will be deeply welcomed.</span></p></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">T</span></span></b></i><i style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">his will be an online seminar, using </span><span style="font-family: verdana; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span>Zoom</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></span></b></i></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p></p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana";">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana";"> Psychotherapy trainees £132, others £165</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>some bursaries; payable in advance by bank transfer or PayPal; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled</span></div><div class="NormalPar" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; tab-stops: 194.4pt 221.75pt; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Apply to: </span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Tel:</span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> +44 (0) 7809 433250</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><i>E-mail:</i> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><u>stadlenanthony@gmail.com</u></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">For further information on seminars, visit: </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "verdana";">Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">hey are independent of all institutes, schools and universities.</span></div>Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975002653149413835.post-18035071637329552682020-01-01T12:01:00.017+00:002022-08-23T13:59:31.751+01:00Seeing Ourselves. 2. Reclaiming Humanity from God and Science. Raymond Tallis conducts Inner Circle Seminar 262 (6 December 2020)<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Seeing Ourselves</b></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 28.5333px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 28.5333px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">2. Reclaiming Humanity from God and Science</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
<b style="font-size: x-large;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></b><span><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Raymond Tallis</span></b></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span>conducts</span></b></span></span><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;">by Zoom</span></span></b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Inner Circle Seminar No. 262</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">introduced by Anthony Stadlen</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sunday 6 December 2020</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis</span> </span></span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Raymond Tallis</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> is one of our best-loved invited speakers. Today he conducts his seventh </span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Inner Circle Seminar </span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">(</span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">his first was on 2 December 2012). It is the second seminar of a pair with the joint title <i>Seeing Ourselves</i>. The first</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">, on 2 June 2019, had the subtitle <i>Rescuing the Self from Science</i>, and the second of the pair, today, has the subtitle </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><i>Reclaiming Humanity from God and Science</i>. He explicitly regards it as a summation of the symphony of seven seminars which culminates today. (He reassures us, though, that there are still more seminars to come.)</span><br />
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<span class="m_3696575910632117737yiv9854659110gmail-apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana";"><b>Tallis </b>has shown in six profound Inner Circle Seminars that he is one of the world’s leading demystifiers of what he calls the ‘neuroscience delusion’ (‘neuromania’) and the ‘intellectual plague of biologism’ (‘animalism’). His ruthless, good-humoured exposure of reductive natural-scientism continues the tradition of <b>Heidegger</b> and <b>Szasz</b>, for example, but is utterly his own. Psychotherapists are free to choose to go on pretending to be ‘validated’ by ‘neuroscience’; but their work, such as it is, sometimes radically transforming and helpful, sometimes best passed over in silence, speaks for or against itself as the case may be, and no pseudo-scientific ‘validation’ (or </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">‘invalidation’)</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">can disguise this.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Raymond Tallis </b><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">is one of the select few who affirms and advocates human language to depict and describe the human world and human relationships.</span><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">In his book <i>Logos </i></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Professor </span><b style="font-family: Verdana;">Tallis</b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> exposes the absurdity of the argument that evolutionary biology or neuroscience show that our thinking is merely a function of our bodies-as-objects-for-science and therefore can have no truth-value of its own unless it is in some way itself derived from evolutionary biology or neuroscience, which are taken to be</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> ‘</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">objectively true<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">’</span>. But those sciences are themselves human creations, and therefore, by this argument, <i>not</i> ‘objectively true<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">’</span>. Professor <b>Tallis </b>remarks that those who use this argument are worthy successors of the Cretan of old who said all Cretans were liars.</span><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">In today</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">s seminar he continues to focus on the so-called problem of </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">‘</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";">the self</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana";"> . </span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Raymond Tallis</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> writes about today</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">’</span><span style="font-family: "verdana";">s seminar:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i>The seminar will bring together and
build on themes from my previous seminars. Their central thesis was that humans
are neither supernatural beings hand-made by God nor mere pieces of nature. The
human subject is transcendent in ways that will be discussed. I will argue that
the most important task for humanism is to reclaim this transcendence from
religious discourse.</i></span></span></blockquote>
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<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will challenge the notion that a
secular vision is necessarily that of a disenchanted universe. The common view
that science has proved the world to be meaningless is undermined by the fact
that the human subject and science itself cannot be accommodated in the
scientific world picture.</i></blockquote>
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<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The question then arises as what we
shall do with a positive vision of humanity? I will address the fear that, in the absence of belief in God, humans will
lack a moral compass. The response will examine the empirical evidence
regarding godless societies; will discuss whether religion will make us better
or worse behaved; and will look at secular sources of morality.</i></blockquote>
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<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The seminar will then examine ways in
which we might flourish in the face of the knowledge that we die and that our
aims and ambitions are necessarily transient, even if they are fulfilled. A
life without religion lacks sacred spaces, a certain profound sense of
belonging, the convergence of meaning
and purpose in one’s life comparable to that enjoyed by believers whose life is
devoted to praising, serving, and
worshipping God, and the consolation of a hereafter and the restoration of the
losses and injustices of earthly life.</i></blockquote>
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<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will touch on the perils, pitfalls and
disappointments of life devoted to the good of others. I will look at other
secular sources of salvation: gratitude; love; art; and philosophy. An
overarching theme will be that of an enduring project that binds our days each
to each and exorcises the banality of mere ‘and’. I will then discuss the idea
of humanism as a religion. Finally, I will discuss the potential for a dialogue
between believers and non-believers at the very least discussing what each may
learn from the other about the dangers of a descent from beneficent visions to
collective thuggery.</i></blockquote>
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<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The seminar will raise more questions
than it provides answers.</i></blockquote><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The heart of these seminars is dialogue, and it will of course be possible to argue in depth with Professor <b>Tallis</b> if you disagree with any of his points or positions.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">For an account of how </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Raymond Tallis </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";">writes his extraordinary books, see his article ‘My writing day: In my favourite pub, the staff turn down the speaker in my writing corner’, in </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">The Guardian Review</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana";"> of 29 April 2017:</span></div></div>
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<u><span style="background: white; color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><span style="color: blue;"><strong><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-day-raymond-tallis&source=gmail&ust=1494845012979000&usg=AFQjCNFjQdPFjG32EYwtDTucgPQfNFHUvQ" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-day-raymond-tallis" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/<wbr></wbr>books/2017/apr/29/my-writing-<wbr></wbr>day-raymond-tallis</a></strong></span></span></u><br />
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Raymond Tallis<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" lang="EN-US">was a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Professor of Geriatric Medicine and consultant physician in Health Care of the Elderly. He has published two hundred research articles in the neurology of old age and neurological rehabilitation, as well as<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>a novel, short stories, three volumes of poetry, and thirty books on philosophy of mind, philosophical anthropology, literary theory, the nature of art, and cultural criticism. He has received many awards and honorary degrees. In 2009, the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Economist<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>listed him as one of the world’s twenty leading polymaths.</span><br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Nicholas Fearn wrote in </span><i>The Independent</i><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">:</span><br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"></span><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #281e1e;"><i>When Kirsty Young was asked to name her favourite guest on Desert Island Discs, the rock star Paul Weller was beaten into second place, for her own luxury item would be the writer <b>Raymond Tallis</b>.</i></span></span></blockquote><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"></span><br />
<b><br /></b><b>Raymond Tallis</b><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">,</span><b> </b><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" lang="EN-US">whose seventh Inner Circle Seminar this will be, kindly confirms that our seminar structure, in which dialogue is of the essence, enables him to communicate and reflect on his ideas. He wrote, after his first Inner Circle Seminar, <b><i>The Intellectual Plague of Biologism</i></b>, on 2 December 2012:</span><br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"></span><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="background: white;"><i>The seminar was for me an incredible experience. I have never previously had the opportunity to discuss the topics we covered in such depth with a group of people who came at it from such different angles but in a way that I found illuminating. I learned a lot. It was a tremendous privilege.</i></span></span></span></blockquote><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="color: #990000;"><b><i>This </i></b></span><i style="color: #990000;"><b>will be an online seminar, using Zoom.</b></i></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">Cost:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";"> Psychotherapy trainees £132, others £165</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana";">,<b> </b>some bursaries; payable in advance; no refunds or transfers unless seminar cancelled<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Apply to: </span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Anthony Stadlen, ‘Oakleigh’, 2A <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Alexandra Avenue</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">N22 7XE</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";">Tel:</span></i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"> +44 (0) 20 8888 6857 <i>or: </i>+44 (0) 7809 433250 </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><i>E-mail:</i> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "verdana";"><a href="mailto:stadlen@aol.com"><span lang="DE">stadlenanthony@gmail.com</span></a></span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "verdana";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN-US">For further information on seminars, visit: </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/">http://anthonystadlen.blogspot.com/</a></span></span><br />
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Inner Circle Seminars were founded by Anthony Stadlen in 1996 as an ethical, existential, phenomenological search for truth in psychotherapy. They have been kindly described by Thomas Szasz as ‘Institute for Advanced Studies in the Moral Foundations of Human Decency and Helpfulness’. But they are independent of all institutes, schools, and universities.</span></span></div>
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Anthony Stadlenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10748673258255174330noreply@blogger.com0