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Good and Bad: Love and Intimacy From Plato to Melanie Klein

Good and Bad: Love and Intimacy From Plato to Melanie Klein Melanie Klein’s theories on love outline a complex system of relations—an oscillating dynamic of psychical and emotional tendencies following from both actual experience and fantasies produced by the mind. Her insights are often discussed and applied in psychoanalytical contexts, but the philosophical implications of her theory—especially in relation to Platonic thought—have rarely been discussed. In this article, I will attempt to address this gap by setting out some preliminary yet core considerations shared by both Plato and Klein. First, I will describe some structural parallels between Kleinian and Platonic thought, especially in dialectical terms. Second, I will outline Plato’s covert influence on Freud as passing through the teachings of philosopher Franz Brentano. And last, I will discuss intimacy as a struggle between the forces of good and bad, creativity and destruction, and love and hate—suggesting that Klein’s conception of love emerges as a moral exigency. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The American Journal of Psychoanalysis Springer Journals

Good and Bad: Love and Intimacy From Plato to Melanie Klein

Stromberg, David
The American Journal of Psychoanalysis , Volume 78 (2) – Apr 11, 2018
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References (57)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 by Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis
Subject
Psychology; Clinical Psychology; Psychotherapy; Psychoanalysis
ISSN
0002-9548
eISSN
1573-6741
DOI
10.1057/s11231-018-9136-7
pmid
29643372
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Melanie Klein’s theories on love outline a complex system of relations—an oscillating dynamic of psychical and emotional tendencies following from both actual experience and fantasies produced by the mind. Her insights are often discussed and applied in psychoanalytical contexts, but the philosophical implications of her theory—especially in relation to Platonic thought—have rarely been discussed. In this article, I will attempt to address this gap by setting out some preliminary yet core considerations shared by both Plato and Klein. First, I will describe some structural parallels between Kleinian and Platonic thought, especially in dialectical terms. Second, I will outline Plato’s covert influence on Freud as passing through the teachings of philosopher Franz Brentano. And last, I will discuss intimacy as a struggle between the forces of good and bad, creativity and destruction, and love and hate—suggesting that Klein’s conception of love emerges as a moral exigency.

Journal

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis – Springer Journals

Published: Apr 11, 2018

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