Customer Reviews

Working Intersubjectively: Contextualism in Psychoanalytic Practice (Psychoanalytic Inquiry Book Series)

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Orange, Atwood, and Stolorow have put together a quite well-written and thoughtful meditation on intersubjectivity in psychoanalysis. They include a revolutionary chapter which philosophically reconceptualizes psychoanalysis as a form of "practice" or "ethical know-how" rather than a mechanical, programmatic "technique." There is also a very striking, detailed portrayal of the phenomenology of psychotic states, which the authors call "annihilation experiences" and interpret in terms of experiences of invalidation and usurpation by others. These authors situate their whole discussion within the theoretical framework of what they call "contextualism," a methodological sensibility which involves seeking the intelligibility of psychological phenomena by closely examining their interpersonal and historical contexts. The only drawback to this book is a rather turgid chapter on analytic neutrality, which, however, still has some interesting things to say. I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in contemporary psychoanalysis, or the connection between philosophy and psychology. It would be especially good for anyone who may have had trouble with these theorists' previous work, as it is much more clearly written than their earlier books.