1st Edition
Confusion of Tongues A Return to Sandor Ferenczi
Sandor Ferenczi, Sigmund Freud's brilliant pupil as well as an innovative psychoanalyst, was silenced by various generations of his contemporaries until, in the past decades, his work began to be rediscovered. Certain aspects of his trauma theory, in fact, had never been thoroughly addressed, particularly, the connection he made between trauma and language. Miguel Gutierrez-Pelaez offers a new reading of Ferenczi by proposing a dialogue between the Hungarian psychoanalyst's work, philosophy, and contemporary psychoanalysis. Among the subjects covered, the book delves into the vulnerability of children and Ferenczi's never-ending search for a cure, the complex issue of war trauma and, more specifically, his anticipatory work in understanding the effects on the human psyche of the horrific experiences in concentration camps during World War II. These issues are raised against the backdrop of captivating figures like Jacques Lacan, Emmanuel Levinas, Giorgio Agamben, Derrida, Nietzsche, and Primo Levi, among others.
Table of Contents
Prologue (by Héctor López)
Acknowledgements
1 Unveiling Ferenczi
2 In the Terrain of Trauma
3 Re-reading Project
4 OLD RUPTURES, NEW CONNECTIONS
5 The History of "Confusion of Tongues between the Adult and the Child"
6 ON TRANSLATION AND THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES
7 BABEL AND THE TOWER OF BABEL
8 WALTER BENJAMIN’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE "CONFUSION OF TONGUES"
9 THE DEATH OF GOD AND THE "LANGUAGE OF THE BIRDS"
10 THE OTHER "OTHER" IN LÉVINAS
11 Lacan. On the Verges of Psychoanalytic Experience
12 AWAKENING TO TRAUMA
13 THE RETURN TO FERENCZI
14 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
REFS
Biography
Professor Miguel Gutierrez-Pelaez, PhD, is Director of the Psychology Program of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences of the Universidad del Rosario, where he is also editor of the journal Avances en Psicologia Latinoamericana and is member of the Center for Psychosocial Studies (CEPSO). He is member of the Interdisciplinary study group of Peace and Conflict (JANUS) at the Universidad del Rosario. Dr Gutierrez-Pelaez is a psychologist from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PUJ) and obtained his MA in Psyschoanalysis and PhD in Psychology from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). He is a member of the World Association of Psychoanalysis (AMP) and the New Lacanian School (NEL). In addition, he is Secretary for Colombia of the World Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation (WAPR). He has taught in different universities in Colombia and Argentina and worked as a clinician in different mental health institutions in both countries. He has worked with Colombian soldiers and police officers who fought in war zones, as well as with other persons with psychological difficulties derived from the armed conflict. He is the author of various publications in indexed journals on issues related to trauma, art and mental illness, and psychosocial interventions in armed conflict scenarios.
