From psychic holes to psychic representations

Abstract

In this essay, I will explore the term “psychic hole,” and compare it to similar terms from the world of astrophysics and terms used in the psychoanalytic literature. I will then present my own conception of the “psychic hole” in cases of Holocaust survivors' offspring. I will explain how this “hole” is created, and describe a particular aspect of the “psychic hole” that is unique to Holocaust survivors' offspring, namely the enactments (termed “concretization” by Bergman) generated by the negated traumatic themes that reside in it. I will illustrate these enactments using clinical material taken from case studies of Holocaust survivors' offspring that I have previously published. The clinical vignettes reveal the transgenerational impact of the memory hole resulting from negation of survivor parents on the lives of their offspring, up to the third generation. They also show the painful journey from enactments to psychic representations, a journey which exposes the traumatic events that have been denied or repressed, and facilitates the work of mourning and the eventual achievement of a better integrated self. Finally, I will offer technical suggestions for analysts to help patients transform psychic holes into psychic representations.     

Effects of geometric distortions,Gaussian blur,and contrast negation on recognition of familiar faces

It is assumed that “configural processing” is important for recognizing people whom we know. Studies have shown better discrimination of relational changes between facial features when faces are presented upright than upside down and when presented as photographic negatives. However, studies have also demonstrated tolerance for complex changes to facial configuration of familiar faces when images are geometrically distorted. In two experiments, we explored effects of linear stretching, Gaussian blur, and contrast negation on recognition of familiar or unfamiliar faces (Experiment 1) and familiar or unfamiliar company brand logos (Experiment 2). Only contrast negation severely impaired recognition of familiar faces but not unfamiliar faces or company brand logos. Effects of contrast negation were additional to linear stretching, whereas linear stretching independently had no impact on recognition. These findings highlight an important deficit in the recognition of familiar faces caused by contrast negation.     

Jung's shadow: negation and narcissism of the Self

The cave walls of prehistoric man record two contrasting hand impressions: the one positive - a direct imprint; the other negative - a blank defined by a halo of colour. Jung's disturbed, displaced contact with his mother led to a struggle in establishing an integrated sense of 'I'; instead to create a sense of Self he brilliantly contrived to illuminate the darkness around that blank impress. The resulting lifework, enhanced by Jung's multifarious capacities as artist and philosopher as well as physician, is deeply impressive; yet Winnicott (1964) in his review of Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1963) nevertheless alludes to Jung's 'own need to search for a self with which to know' (p. 450). Passages from the autobiography are considered that appear to corroborate Winnicott's contention that Jung had a 'blank', potentially psychotic, core. Yet it is also argued that the psychoanalytic mainstream has undervalued the subtlety and creativity of Jung's own intuitive response to his shadow and that a sympathetic appreciation of this can still valuably inform our contemporary approaches to narcissistic disorders, especially dissociation.     

On a Neg‐Raising Fallacy in Determining Enthymematicity: If She Did not Believe or Want …

Many arguments that show p to be enthymematic (in an argument for q) rely on claims like “if one did not believe that p, one would not have a reason for believing that q.” Such arguments are susceptible to the neg‐raising fallacy. We tend to interpret claims like “X does not believe that p” as statements of disbelief (X's belief that not‐p) rather than as statements of withholding the belief that p. This article argues that there is a tendency to equivocate in arguments for the enthymematicity of arguments (e.g., Lewis Carroll's paradox, Hume's problem) as well as in arguments for the enthymematicity of action explanations (e.g., arguments for psychologism and for explanatory individualism). The article concludes with a warning, because the equivocation is often helpful in teaching and because neg‐raising verbs include philosophically vital verbs: desire, want, intend, think, suppose, imagine, expect, feel, seem, appear.     

Solger and Hegel: Negation and Privation

Abstract

This paper has two related goals. Firstly, after briefly clarifying the theoretical core of Solger’s thought, it will analyse his metaphysics from Hegel’s point of view, emphasizing that sacrifice is, for Solger, the fundamental structure of the relationship between the finite and the Infinite. Secondly, it will investigate the main reasons behind Hegel’s criticism of Solger, showing that they have different conceptions of privation and negation and concluding that Solger and Hegel have different aims. Hegel’s aim consists in recomposing the unity of finite and infinite, whereas Solger’s thought is structured on the rupture between these two.     

Intelligence and negation biases on the Conditional Inference Task: A dual-processes analysis

We examined a large set of conditional inference data compiled from several previous studies and asked three questions: How is normative performance related to intelligence? Does negative conclusion bias stem from Type 1 or Type 2 processing? Does implicit negation bias stem from Type 1 or Type 2 processing? Our analysis demonstrated that rejecting denial of the antecedent and affirmation of the consequent inferences was positively correlated with intelligence, while endorsing modus tollens inferences was not; that the occurrence of negative conclusion bias was related to the extent of Type 2 processing; and that the occurrence of implicit negation bias was not related to the extent of Type 2 processing. We conclude that negative conclusion bias is, at least in part, a product of Type 2 processing, while implicit negation bias is not.     

Lies,Damned Lies,and Genocide

This article analyzes the claim that “deliberate denial [of genocide] is a form of aggression that ought to be regarded as a contribution to genocidal violence in its own right.” Its objective is to demonstrate that the claim is substantially correct: there are instances of genocide negation that are genocidal acts. The article suggests that one such instance is contained in a letter sent to Professor Robert Jay Lifton by Turkey's ambassador to the United States. The article is divided into three parts. In the first part, it delineates and discusses the unexpected contents of the letter to Lifton. In the second, it primarily deals with three topics: lying, genocide, and Austinian performatives. In the third part, it takes the points made in the second part and applies them to the contents of the letter to Lifton, and demonstrates that the letter is an instance of genocide negation that is genocidal.     

Quantum Logic as a Fragment of Independence-Friendly Logic

The working assumption of this paper is that noncommuting variables are irreducibly interdependent. The logic of such dependence relations is the author's independence-friendly (IF) logic, extended by adding to it sentence-initial contradictory negation ¬ over and above the dual (strong) negation . Then in a Hilbert space turns out to express orthocomplementation. This can be extended to any logical space, which makes it possible to define the dimension of a logical space. The received Birkhoff and von Neumann quantum logic can be interpreted by taking their disjunction to be ¬(A & B). Their logic can thus be mapped into a Boolean structure to which an additional operator has been added.