Man has great difficulty accepting who he is. In Psychoanalytic Reflections on Love and Sexuality, author Gerd H. Fenchel traces how we have defined ourselves historically and in the present culture through the lenses of religion, poetry, art, and clinical psychoanalysis.
Because it looks at love and sexuality from a psychoanalytic point of view, this book can almost be thought of as Freud updated....The author discusses....topics, including intimacy, the development of love, and the differing development of males and females. Throughout he amplifies the original Freudian notion by pointing out differences that have taken place since Freud's death. He considers, too, changing cultural influences on love, for example, feminist thought. Fenchel ends with an overview on love, sexuality, and commitment, concluding that love can only be successful if one learns the ways of love and understands the "meaning" love has for humanity. SUMMING UP: RECOMMENDED. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.
— V. L. Bullough, University of Southern California; Choice Table of contents: Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Introduction and Prelude
Chapter 3 Love
Chapter 4 Freud on Love
Chapter 5 Sexuality
Chapter 6 Intimacy
Chapter 7 Development of Love
Chapter 8 Considerations on both Male and Female Development
Chapter 9 Cultural Influences on the Development of Love
Chapter 10 Commitment
Chapter 11 Love in Psychoanalysis
Chapter 12 Conclusion About the author: Gerd H. Fenchel is a psychologist and psychoanalyst. He is founder and Dean and Director of the Washington Square Institute for Psychotherapy and Mental Health, a psychoanalytic training and treatment center in New York. |
