Theory in practice

We are privileged to publish the last talk Fordham prepared before he died, which Fordham himself observed was ‘rather discursive’. As he comments, ‘theories are so ingrained in my work that I do not need to remember them’. ‘Theory in practice’ was part of a series of talks on theory by different speakers, given to the Society of Analytical Psychology monthly scientific meeting. It is not a polished nor a comprehensive essay, rather it is the musings of an 89-year-old analyst intended for a group who knew his work and achievements. He was too ill to deliver it himself.

In this informal communication the part theory plays in analytic practice is examined and examples of the different uses to which theory is put within analytic sessions are considered. The usefulness and value of theories are discussed with reference to Jung's theories and attitudes to them and to the theory of the primary self.     

Frustration: Theory and practice

Frustration is often dismissed as a transient by-product of thwarted aspirations, a disruptive and uncivilized mark of Cain. Amsel’s work, however, shows the creative and enabling role that frustration can play in the behavior of organisms. The book epitomized here first clarifies the basic phenomenon and its causes, and then extends it by mapping its development, along with that of other behavioral markers, against the development of brain structures. One may take exception to the particulars: Are the chosen variables the best ones to measure? Is frustration an autonomous motive or is it the liberation of the arousal normally focused on the instrumental response? Is the best reading always given to the large and heterogeneous literature? But the whole of Amsel’s work transcends these particulars and exemplifies, as do few other curriculum vitae, the ideal of systematic scientific inquiry that is praised more often than practiced.     

Moderation,morals, and meat

Meat‐eating as a human practice has been under ethical attack from philosophers such as Peter Singer and Tom Regan on both utilitarian and deontological grounds. An organicist ethic, on the other hand, recognizes that all life other than the primary producers, the plants, must feed on life. This essay affirms, with many environmental ethicists, the moralconsiderability of biota other than the human, but denies that this enlargement of the moral community beyond Homo sapiens necessarily precludes our eating of meat. First, absolute deontological arguments against meat‐eating are disputed, then utilitarian‐hedonistic arguments are shown not to be sufficient to require ethical vegetarianism. Both sorts of arguments have strengths, however, that set us on guard against current abuses in the meat‐raising and slaughtering industries. If the principle of ‘due respect’ for beings with different degrees of intrinsic value is honored, then moderate meat‐eating under reformed social practices can be seen as licit. Two final problems then require investigation: the problem of dietary justice for poor humans and the problem of ‘speciesism’. Dealing with the latter requires discussion of cannibalism and the ethics of humans being eaten by still higher ‘aliens’.     

Psychotherapy assessment: Theory and practice

The history and developments in psychotherapy assessment are reviewed. Suggestions for an extended assessment of several sessions derived from the clinical experience of a District Psychotherapy service are put forward with clinical illustrations. The advantages in terms of flexibility, and the ability to embrace the range of factors involved as well as the influence this has in generating a sense of containment in the patients, are discussed. The implications of this approach on technique, and its differentiation from ongoing psychotherapy, are highlighted. It is suggested that assessment should be seen as an entity in its own right, with its own clinical technique.     

Theory,practice, reality

‘Disclosing New Worlds’ represents an extraordinarily fruitful response to the radically changed social and intellectual conditions of the late twentieth century. Its focus on skillful practice yields a social theory thicker than most. Yet in remaining aloof of material reality it retains an ambiguity that contemporary culture prevailingly resolves into a style of life largely devoid of skill and excellence. Consideration of material reality, however, discloses hopeful if inconspicuous practices as well, practices that are at the center of the good life and constitute the wellspring of solidarity. University teaching can be a vigorous introduction to that sort of life.     

试论宗教与道德的一般关系

本文论述了宗教与道德的一般关系。文章分三个部分。在第一部分中 ,文章从存在的维度、与求生活动的距离、发挥作用的范围和方式 ,以及表现形式等四个方面 ,对宗教与道德的不同方面作了分疏 ,同时指出它们在两个方面的相通性 :有一二元对峙的价值坐标 ;有维持、巩固社会秩序的相似功能。第二部分对宗教与世俗道德的关系作了论述。这种关系是交互的 :一方面 ,宗教能“圣化”道德 ,能把自己的某些信条直接转化为世俗道德 ;另一方面 ,宗教也能从世俗道德吸取某些道德资源 ,使之成为自己教义和道德的组成部分 ,而世俗道德也能迫使宗教作出某种相应的改变。第三部分讨论了宗教道德及其基本特征。文章在肯定宗教道德存在的同时 ,指出宗教道德具有神圣的宗教背景、倾向于众生平等的博爱、和更带禁欲色彩三个基本特征。