A Political Psychoanalysis for the Anthropocene Age

A Political Psychoanalysis for the Anthropocene Age presents an evaluation of the politics of climate change and considers how psychoanalysis can contribute to this discourse. Ryan LaMothe identifies core illusions of the Western psyche and how they shape behavior and relations.

Autorentext

Ryan LaMothe is professor of pastoral care and counseling at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. Past president of the Society for Pastoral Theology, he has authored numerous books and articles in the areas of political pastoral theology, psychoanalysis, and psychology of religion. Some of his recent monographs are Care of Persons, Care of Polis (Cascade, 2017), A Radical Political Theology for the Anthropocene (Cascade, 2021), The Coming of Jesus and the Anthropocene (Cascade, 2024), Pastoral Care in the Anthropocene Age (2022), and A Political Psychoanalysis for the Anthropocene Age (2024).

Klappentext

A Political Psychoanalysis for the Anthropocene Age presents an evaluation of the politics of climate change and considers how psychoanalysis can contribute to this discourse. Presented in two parts, the book first uses a psychoanalytic approach to interrogate political-economic realities and their impact on shaping Western political selves in the Anthropocene age. Ryan LaMothe identifies core illusions of the Western psyche and how they shape behavior and relations, as well as how they are implicated in various emotional responses to climate change like eco-mourning and eco-denial. Topics such as political dwelling, sovereignty, political violence and change, climate obstacles such as capitalism, nationalism, and imperialism, and the problem of hope are explored using psychoanalytic and philosophical perspectives. LaMothe then considers the role of psychoanalysis in the public-political realm, as well as how a psychoanalytic political perspective invites reforming the education and practice of psychoanalysis. A Political Psychoanalysis for the Anthropocene Age will be thought-provoking reading for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, as well as anyone interested in the politics of climate change.

Inhalt

Acknowledgements

Introduction

PART I

Chapter 1 Developing a Psychoanalytic Political Philosophy: The Emergence of Political Selves and Environmentally Destructive Illusions

Chapter 2 A Psychoanalytic Political Philosophy of Dwelling

Chapter 3 Psychoanalysis, Sovereignty, and Political Violence

Chapter 4 Psychoanalysis and Systemic Obstacles to Climate Action: Capitalism, Nationalism, and the New Imperialism ****

Chapter 5 Psychoanalysis, Political Change, and the Issue of Hope ****

PART II

Chapter 6 Socrates, Tiresias, and Freud: Reimagining Psychoanalysis and the Public Square

Chapter 7 Psychoanalytic Education and Therapy in the Anthropocene Age

References