The Inner World - A Psychoanalytic Study of Childhood and Society in India

The Inner World - A Psychoanalytic Study of Childhood and Society in India

Product ID: 14090

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Author: Sudhir Kakar
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2012
Language: English
Pages: 272
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9780198077157

Description

Feelings, impulses, wishes and fantasies-the dynamic content of the inner world-occupy the deepest recesses of the psyche. It is through introspection and empathy, essential to psychotherapy, that the outside observer can grasp the meaning of he inner world of an individual.

This thought-provoking book examines the network of social roles, traditional values, customs and kinship rules with which the threads of Indian psychological development are interwoven. In doing so, it reveals important aspects of Indian society, myth, rituals, fables, and arts. It looks at Hindu infancy and childhood in order to show how these are shaped within a specific cultural context.

The Inner World has enjoyed a steady readership and has remained in print since its first publication, becoming a classic in the field. Critics from all over the world have hailed it as the best application of psychoanalysis to Indian culture.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

Aims and Approach
Culture and Personality
Personal World

THE HINDU WORLD IMAGE

The Theme of Fusion-Moksha
Life Task and Life Cycle-Dharma
Ideas of time and Destiny

MOTEHRS AND INFANTS

Psycho-social Matrix of Infancy: Feminine
Identity in India
The Good Mother
The Bad Mother
Infancy and Ego: Origins of Identity in a Patriarchal Culture

FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Psycho-social Matrix of Childhood: The Extended Family
The Second Birth
Ontogeny of Homo Hierarchicus

TRACINGS: THE INNER WORLD IN CULURE AND HISTORY

Cult and Myths of Krishna
Shiva and Narcissus
The Revolutionary Yogi: Childhood of Swami Vivekananda

CONCLUSION: CHILDHOOD AND SOCIAL CHANGE

APPENDIX
The Child in Indian Tradition

Notes and References

Bibliography

Index