Elements of Self-Destruction

203 Pages·2013·0.476 MB·English

by  Brent Potter

ELEMENTS OF SELF-DESTRUCTION

ELEMENTS OF
SELF-DESTRUCTION
Brent Potter
The style used throughout this book is in accordance
with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (Fifth Edition, 2001) and Pacifica Graduate Institute’s
Handbook (2004–2005)
First published in 2013 by
Karnac Books Ltd
118 Finchley Road
London NW3 5HT
Copyright © 2013 Brent Potter
The right of Brent Potter to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted
in accordance with §§ 77 and 78 of the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A C.I.P. for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN-13: 978-1-78049-059-5
Typeset by V Publishing Solutions Pvt Ltd., Chennai, India
Printed in Great Britain
www.karnacbooks.com
Aunque sepa los caminos
yo nunca llegaré a Córdoba
—Frederico Garcia Lorca

CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix
FOREWORD xi
ABSTRACT xv
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction to the phenomenon of self-destructiveness 1
CHAPTER TWO
Pursuing that which withdraws from us 29
CHAPTER THREE
The emerging consciousness of self-destructiveness
in history and psychology 41
CHAPTER FOUR
Bion: the ghosts of abandoned meaning and formless
destructiveness 83
vii
viii CONTENTS
CHAPTER FIVE
Heidegger: the eclipse of the sacred and the darkening
of the world 101
CHAPTER SIX
Contemporary manifestations of self-destructiveness 117
CHAPTER SEVEN
Conclusion and discussion 139
CHAPTER EIGHT
Limitations and suggestions for future research 165
REFERENCES 169
INDEX 179
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is a re-visioning of my dissertation and I want to thank
the members of my dissertation committee: Michael Eigen, Robert
Romanyshyn, and Lisa Sloan. I am grateful for Michael’s genius insight
into psychoanalysis, concretely situated in human experience, spanning
the breadth and depths of the psyche, from formless destructiveness to
the spiritual. I value his continued support, advice, and conversation.
I am grateful to Robert, for the passion he brings and his pioneering
work linking analytic psychology, archetypal psychology, and phenom-
enology. I am indebted to him for his generosity of time for the disserta-
tion and ongoing support. I am grateful to Lisa for her angelic timing
and practical steering of the project. Their work and my continued dia-
logue with these distinguished people are blessings.
The word ‘gratitude’ hardly expresses my indebtedness to Ronald
Shaffer, who introduced me to the field of phenomenology and then
promptly gave me guidance and free reign over exploring the field for
two years as an undergraduate. I am also indebted to Michael Sipiora
for his brilliant instruction and anchoring of my thought in Heidegge-
rian phenomenology.
In addition to these remarkable people, I also want to express my
heartfelt gratitude, respect, and admiration towards the teachers,
ix