PDF Anger Madness and the Daimonic The Psychological Genesis of Violence Evil and Creativity Suny Series in the Philosophy of Psychology Stephen A Diamond Rollo May Books
Download As PDF : Anger Madness and the Daimonic The Psychological Genesis of Violence Evil and Creativity Suny Series in the Philosophy of Psychology Stephen A Diamond Rollo May Books
Explores the links between anger, rage, violence, evil, and creativity and describes a dynamic therapeutic approach that can help channel anger and violent impulses into constructive and creative activity.
Though the causes of violence in our society are complex, the troublesome human emotions of anger and rage play a central role in the genesis of violent behavior and psychopathology in general. In this provocative book, clinical and forensic psychologist Stephen A. Diamond determines where rage and anger originate and explores whether these powerful passions are―as most people resume―purely negative, pathological, and evil or can be meaningfully redeemed and redirected into constructive activity. Using clinical and biographical case studies, as well as striking visual images, he traces anger, rage, and violence through their most destructive expressions to their creative and transcendent functions in art, psychotherapy, and spirituality.
PDF Anger Madness and the Daimonic The Psychological Genesis of Violence Evil and Creativity Suny Series in the Philosophy of Psychology Stephen A Diamond Rollo May Books
"I am a new student of psychology and this book was amazing and what it has to say about violence in our culture. It's observations on how off the mark we are as a society to stop the violence is also priceless!"
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Anger Madness and the Daimonic The Psychological Genesis of Violence Evil and Creativity Suny Series in the Philosophy of Psychology Stephen A Diamond Rollo May Books Reviews :
Anger Madness and the Daimonic The Psychological Genesis of Violence Evil and Creativity Suny Series in the Philosophy of Psychology Stephen A Diamond Rollo May Books Reviews
- This is a solid and intriguing book on existentialist psychology, alternatively known as humanistic psychology. The author takes over the notion of repression from Freud , and agrees with him insofar as repression is the cause of psychic distress ; where he disagrees profoundly is what is the nature of this repression.
The author argues that what is repressed is not simply sexuality, but a more complete and profoundly subterranean force, which he terms the 'daimonic'.
The daimonic (not to be confused with demonic) is the psychobiological source of human vitality and energy, and we repress it to our own detriment. A crucial component of the daimonic are the very human impulses of anger and rage. The author makes a convincing case that the majority of the violence we see in our day and age (he starts off his book with a long meditation on the wave of violence that consumed America in the last decades of the 20th century) is due to repressed violence and anger, that became poisoned and exploded in an unpredictable manner.
Anger and rage are fundamentally a part of human nature, and it is our existential attitude towards them that causes us to embrace/cultivate or repress them. This is the core message of the book, and it is a well-made point. This thesis is well-argued, using material from mythology, dreams, Jungian shadow-work, and existential philosophy.
The book suffers from the usual tendency of psychology books, however, in that it spends a bit too much time attacking other schools of thought. The CBT and purely-biological strands of psychiatric practice, in particular, come in for some well-aimed criticism. Additionally, there were a bit too many examples and counter-examples, and ill-placed case studies that detracted from the flow of the text. But I suppose a purely theoretical book on psychology is to mistake it for philosophy.
I also got a bit tired of seeing Rollo May's name crop up every 3 to 4 pages. But to be fair to the author, most of the quotes were well-sourced and quite profound and undoubtedly helped stoke my interest in reading the man in his own words. - I am a clinical psychologist, and in my list of favorite books, I write this
Diamond writes "The volatile emotions of anger and rage have been broadly `demonized,' vilified, maligned, and rejected as purely pathological, negative impulses with no real redeeming qualities. As a result, most `respectable' Americans habitually suppress, repress, or deny their anger-inadvertently rendering it doubly dangerous." He also clarifies, while developing the ideas of Rollo May, how we therapists collude with our clients and culture, thus depriving ourselves of the value and resources of this normal dimension of our being. He integrates psychoanalytic, Jungian, and existential theory under a new rubric of Existential Depth Psychology. As May states, our job is often "not to still the daimons but to wake them."
This is an important, engaging, and well-written work that I wish all my colleagues would read. - A master work. This should be in everyones tool box. Diamond shows the breakdown in Culture and Society and how Repression destroys society and the individual as well. It's Incredibly well written. An investigation into the human condition that appears so clear in explanation that one actually feels there is hope for a new awareness that can aide us in these dark times.
He explains the violence that seems so senseless and points to the direct cause where we have a viable option that can change ourselves and in so doing affect change around us.
This book can make a difference for those that take it seriously.
This is the best book I ever read on the need to understand ourselves and points the direction to healthy change if we accept it's premise. - I am a new student of psychology and this book was amazing and what it has to say about violence in our culture. It's observations on how off the mark we are as a society to stop the violence is also priceless!
- Fantastic perspective
