‘A DESIRE UNTO DEATH’: THE DECONSTRUCTIVE THANATOLOGY OF JEAN‐LUC MARION*

One of the most persistent questions in modern theology has been that of how we can adequately acknowledge the stranger. Drawing upon the work of post‐Heideggerian theorist of language and death, Jacques Derrida, and his own creative re‐reading of Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, the Catholic theologian and phenomenologist Jean‐Luc Marion has attempted to reconstruct what he regards as a genuinely Husserlian phenomenology. In so doing he has mapped out a phenomenology of love and a phenomenology of that divine gift as ‘being given as givenness’; that is, a condition of life itself. In fact, as I will argue, this rests on the boundary between theology and thanatology (the philosophy of our encounter with that most radical stranger, death) and in his recent reflections upon ‘saturated phenomena’ Marion has explored the interplay between traditional theological topics such as hope and death and contemporary arguments on meaning, symbol and ritual. Christian hope resides in an act of remembrance and Marion argues for the eucharist – in its recollection of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – as the site of human hope; only this crucial eucharistic move upwards and outwards can overcome the burden of Western metaphysics. It is a literary move which takes us some way towards elevating the language which we use in talking about and recognising the other beyond that of the narrow model offered to us by some commentators of Levinas and one which encourages us to look again at poetry, hymn and Scripture.     

Paradoxes,Double Binds,and Reflexive Loops: An Alternative Theoretical Perspective

This article presents a new theory of refiexivity in systems of social meaning and action. It is argued that Russell's Theory of Logical Types, which formed the basis of the early work of the Palo Alto group, rests upon an inappropriate and largely outdated epistemology. The theory offered here rejects the assumption that reflexivity and paradox are coterminous. It is further argued that reflexivity is a natural and necessary feature of human systems of meaning. New analytic tools are offered for discerning problematic from nonproblematic reflexive loops. The new tools take the form of a symbol system that can be used to represent the rules that organize reflexive relationships. The theory also contains a set of statements designed to delimit conditions under which problematic reflexive loops have ramifications for persons' mental health.     

The Employment Interview Workshop: A Focus on Communication Skills

The employment interview is essentially a communication situation in which skill in communication is the important determinant of success. In a workshop that focuses attention on those critical interview communication skills that often distinguish the successful applicant, the authors discuss what makes a competent communicator and describe possible workshop components and their integration into successful training workshops.     

The Conference: Encouraging Others to Change Their Behavior

Counselors should prepare for the one-to-one conference by predetermining a strategy and expected conference outcomes. The proper use of persuasive data, management of the conference climate, effective use of praise, and appropriate closing activities significantly affect the success of the conference. This article provides a model for implementing these concepts and a conference check sheet for drill and practice in their use.     

In the Field: The Evaluation of an Employee Assistance Program

This article presents the results of an evaluative study of an employee assistance program sponsored by the Russell Corporation, an apparel manufacturing firm. Its results suggest that the program is beneficial in terms of both productivity enhancement and humanitarianism.     

Velocity concatenation and velocity as rate of position dissimilation

If velocity is interpreted as rate of position dissimilation the model of dissimilarity previously developed (Junge, 1978) can be used to account for the relativistic concatenation rule for velocity (Einstein's rule).     

Positive and Negative Timelines: A Technique for Restorying

Families or individuals requesting therapeutic consultation often present in the context of an overwhelming history of stressful and negative life events. Frequently, the pressure of such events obliterates memories of strengths and successes. This is particularly true by the time people reach inpatient psychiatric settings. This article outlines a technique designed to help people bring these events into perspective and to develop positive life stories. The use of Positive and Negative Timelines helps to reinforce competency-based themes in people's lives. A clinical case is used to highlight the technique.     

Late Adolescent and Parent Perceptions of Attachment: An Exploratory Study of Personal and Social Well-Being

Research in the area of late adolescent attachment and adjustment has focused almost exclusively on adolescent reports of the quality of their relationships with parents. The purpose of this study was to extend the attachment literature through examining the correspondence between late adolescent children and their parents when assessing aspects of parental bonds with children. After completing a set of questionnaires, a sample of older undergraduate students (mean age = 21 years) identified parent figures who subsequently were sent a similar packet of questionnaires. Parents were asked to complete measures of parental bonds as they believed their child would complete the same measure. Regression analyses revealed that parent reports of attachment added nonsignificant portions of unique variance to the prediction of student self-esteem and social self-efficacy. Student perceptions of attachment accounted for significant unique variation in self-esteem but not in social self-efficacy.     

Attachment,caregiving, and relationship functioning in couples: Effects of self and partner

We examined the links among attachment, caregiving, and relationship functioning in both dating (Study 1) and married couples (Study 2), assessing both partners' perspectives. We found that (1) men and women generally evidenced caregiving characteristics similar to those of their parent% especially their same-sex parent; (2) individuals who reported giving more care to their partner evidenced less fearful-avoidant attachment (Studies 1 and 2) and less preoccupation with attachment (Study 2); and (3) individuals' own attachment models and their partner's attachment models and caregiving jointly predicted relationship functioning, but individuals' own attachment models remained strong predictors even after the partner's attachment and caregiving were taken into account. The results suggest that caregiving learned in childhood attachment relationships may be carried forward into adult romantic relationships, and they support the idea that attachment and caregiving are central components of romantic love.