Psychology and the Other

David Goodman · Mark Freeman

iyl 2015 · Oxford University Press

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The figure of the Other is an important though underutilized vehicle for exploring and reconceptualizing classic psychological and philosophical issues, from identity and purpose to human frailty and suffering. Moreover, it can be used to reorient inquiry toward aspects of the human condition that are often regarded as secondary or peripheral--for instance, our responsibility to others and to the environment. A broad spectrum of disciplines including psychology, philosophy, theology, and religious studies speak about the challenges we face in encountering the Other vis-à-vis our receptivity, openness, and capacity to entertain the stranger in our midst. Through constructive critical exchange, Psychology and the Other engages such perspectives on the Other from various subdisciplines within psychology and related disciplines. The volume uses the language of the Other as a vehicle for rethinking aspects of psychological processes, especially within the therapeutic context. As a group, the contributors demonstrate that the language of the Other may be more fitting than the egocentric language frequently employed in psychology. They also embrace the challenge to create new theories and practices that are more ethically attuned to the dynamic realities of psychological functioning. The book is organized into three sections. The first deals with foundational philosophical concerns and provides an introduction to the project of "thinking Otherwise." The second section brings these fundamental philosophical concerns to bear on the therapeutic situation, especially in the realm of relational psychoanalysis. The final section of the book addresses concrete psychological situations in which the Other figures prominently and where the power of thinking Otherwise is most visibly demonstrated.

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David Goodman is the Interim Associate Dean at Boston College's Woods College of Advancing Studies; the Director of the Psychology and the Other institute; and a Teaching Associate at Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Hospital. He has written articles and book chapters on continental philosophy, Jewish thought, social justice, and psychotherapy, and his recent book The Demanded Self: Levinasian Ethics and Identity in Psychology (Duquesne University Press, 2012) considers the intersection of psychology, philosophy, and theology as it pertains to narcissism, ethical phenomenology, and selfhood. He is also a licensed clinical psychologist and has a private practice in Cambridge, MA. Mark Freeman is Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Society in the Department of Psychology at the College of the Holy Cross. He is the author of Rewriting the Self: History, Memory, Narrative (Routledge, 1993); Finding the Muse: A Sociopsychological Inquiry into the Conditions of Artistic Creativity (Cambridge University Press, 1994); Hindsight: The Promise and Peril of Looking Backward (Oxford University Press, 2010); The Priority of the Other: Thinking and Living Beyond the Self (Oxford University Press, 2014); and numerous articles on issues ranging from memory and identity to the psychology of art and religion. Winner of the 2010 Theodore R. Sarbin Award in the Division of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology of the American Psychological Association, he is also editor for the Oxford University Press series Explorations in Narrative Psychology.