Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Who does he think he is: Remarks on the psychology of Jesus

Who does he think he is: Remarks on the psychology of Jesus The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 55, No. 1, 1995 WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS: REMARKS ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF JESUS Richard D. Chessick Ferenczi (1933) called our attention to the capacity of children to be- come selfobjects or caretakers to their parents in order to defend them- selves against the dangers coming from people without self-control. The unmet needs of the child can lead to a more extreme situation such as the "God complex" described by Jones (1913) in which narcissistic features predominate to the point where the individual identifies himself or herself with God. The character traits described by Jones that emanate from this narcissistic identification involve self-effacement, aloofness, a cloud of mystery, and a conviction of immortality. He stresses the "Oedipus situa- tion in which the hero-son is a suffering saviour. With this type the mother plays a part of quite special importance" (p. 263). According to Jones the struggle with an oppressive father is a part and parcel of this situation, with the role of the wicked father displaced on to authority figures; self-sacri- fice, humility, and extreme altruism are developed as part of a masochistic solution. Jones emphasizes the importance of the "castration http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The American Journal of Psychoanalysis Springer Journals

Who does he think he is: Remarks on the psychology of Jesus

Chessick, Richard D.
The American Journal of Psychoanalysis , Volume 55 (1): 11 – Mar 1, 1995
Download PDF
11 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/who-does-he-think-he-is-remarks-on-the-psychology-of-jesus-V03ZEio16E

References (20)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
1995 Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis
ISSN
0002-9548
eISSN
1573-6741
DOI
10.1007/BF02741950
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 55, No. 1, 1995 WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS: REMARKS ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF JESUS Richard D. Chessick Ferenczi (1933) called our attention to the capacity of children to be- come selfobjects or caretakers to their parents in order to defend them- selves against the dangers coming from people without self-control. The unmet needs of the child can lead to a more extreme situation such as the "God complex" described by Jones (1913) in which narcissistic features predominate to the point where the individual identifies himself or herself with God. The character traits described by Jones that emanate from this narcissistic identification involve self-effacement, aloofness, a cloud of mystery, and a conviction of immortality. He stresses the "Oedipus situa- tion in which the hero-son is a suffering saviour. With this type the mother plays a part of quite special importance" (p. 263). According to Jones the struggle with an oppressive father is a part and parcel of this situation, with the role of the wicked father displaced on to authority figures; self-sacri- fice, humility, and extreme altruism are developed as part of a masochistic solution. Jones emphasizes the importance of the "castration

Journal

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis – Springer Journals

Published: Mar 1, 1995

Keywords: Clinical Psychology; Psychotherapy; Psychoanalysis

There are no references for this article.