The other other: when the exotic other subjugates the familiar other

In this paper, the theme of the other will be examined and it will be argued that it is important to differentiate between two distinct types of other--the 'exotic' other which is distant and very different from the subject, and the 'familiar' other which is closer to the subject. The dynamic relationship between these two others will be investigated, and emphasis will be given to the process through which the exotic other tends to subjugate the familiar other. This relationship will then be discussed in its various applied forms, in the contexts of clinical practice and socio-political dimensions. In particular, a new reading of Jung's approach to the 'primitive' will be developed, based on the subjugation of the 'familiar' other by the 'exotic' other. A similar line of investigation will be followed to examine the concept of psychological trauma. In addition, Freud's 'narcissism of minor differences' and Bion's distinction between 'narcissism' and 'socialism' will be considered in the light of this differentiation between these two others.     

The other side of Oedipus

The Oedipus complex has been understood as a series of conflicts between feelings of love and hate (sexuality and aggression) in the relationship between the child and his/her parents. This article presents a different view, defining oedipal struggles as conflicts between love and care, sexual desires and self- and object-preservative needs. The crucial conflict the child has to deal with is: to love the one and nevertheless to preserve the other (the rival). Further, the author distinguishes between monolithic conflicts, which are conflicts between different objects of one drive's strivings, and binary conflicts, which involve the objects of both basic drives. In three illustrative examples, she shows that monolithic conflicts can indicate a regressive movement, while binary conflicts tend to foster a progression in the analytic work.     

The exclusion of the other2

The author begins by noting that the subject of obsessions and obsessional neurosis seems to have fallen out of favour with the analytic community in spite of the important part it played in the formation of Freud's theories, and notwithstanding the significance of its mechanisms in the maturation of the ego. He then discusses some theoretical considerations regarding the development of the taboo on touching and, by extension, contact. Attention is drawn to the parallels with autistic functioning emphasised by other authors. Particular importance is attached to the distinction between internal and external reality that arises during the anal‐sadistic phase and that leads to polarisation and splitting in obsessional neurosis. Following a discussion of the transference' countertransference situation with obsessional patients and of their concretistic experience in the treatment situation, as also featured in the literature, an extensive case history exemplifies the author's contentions and shows how the patient concerned developed during the course of his analysis. After pointing out the importance of the avoidance of identifications as a mechanism of obsessional defence, the author concludes the paper with a brief comparison of obsessional and hysteriform functioning and a characterisation of the obsessional defence as the excessive recourse to perverted thought functions so as to ward off paranoid anxieties.     

The rights of humans and other animals

Human moral rights place justified limits on what people are free to do to one another. Animals also have moral rights, and arguments to support the use of animals in scientific research based on the benefits allegedly derived from animal model research are thus invalid. Animals do not belong in laboratories because placing them there, in the hope of benefits for others, violates their rights.     

The search for phonology in other species

Human language draws on a complex set of cognitive, motor and auditory skills. Some of these are found in other species but others are thought to be absent. There has been a burst of research in this area over the past five years, both in examining natural communication systems and also in the laboratory, exposing animals to human language. Most of the work has focused on analogies to syntax. Although many of the fundamental building blocks for basic phonological skills might be found outside humans, most aspects of core phonology have never been investigated.     

Desire: The unfolding of the other

The Confucian classic the Liji 禮記 defines ‘desire’ as ‘the arousal of nature’. In line with this classical definition, Dai Zhen 戴震 (1724–1777) sees desire as human nature in activation. However, while the Liji ascribes human deceits and debauchery to the susceptibility of human nature, Dai Zhen speaks highly of its responsiveness and receptivity. This article discusses Dai Zhen’s conception of desire and argues that Dai Zhen distinguishes himself from other Confucian moral thinkers by bringing to light the dimension of the Other in addressing the issue of desire. As the Confucian tradition has long been disturbed by an anxiety to keep desire in check, Dai Zhen draws our attention to how to cultivate the affective faculty inherent in human nature to develop our sensitivity to the needs and desires of others, especially those of the widow, the orphan, the solitary, the sick, and the weak.     

The other Man by Donald J. West

The American Group Psychotherapy Association began in 1942 as an elite, strictly Freudian organization. Its dramatic growth in the 1960s and 1970s was accompanied by much theoretical disagreement and professional “chauvinism.” During the past decade, however, the ideological controversy has yielded to pluralism* in theory and eclecticism in practice.