AGGRESSION AND LOVE

The alleged suicide by drowning of two thousand pigs possessed by evil spirits, reported by the evangelist Mark, as well as many other Scriptural accounts of demonic possession, is instructive regarding man's aggressive instincts, particularly about the way our forebears interpreted its nature and origins.

We are born with an aggressive instinct, basically to be able to defend ourselves, but it also makes us, or drives us, to attack others, to use Freud's original term, "Trieb," which has a more subtle meaning than the word instinct. History is in fact a record of man's unending wars. Many of those wars were, and are, actually pointless.


Aggression manifests itself in many ways other than in warfare, and it is often causes neurotic feelings of guilt, as well as causing morbid depression. In certain religious denominations the exorcism of evil spirits is still practiced, based on the notion that our behavior is influenced by invisible beings. According to Jung the words "lead us not into temptation" would be sacrilegious were they not spoken by Christ himself. The phrase "lead us" does however suggest that, instead of being ruled by our instincts, we are ruled by external spirits who are mostly invisible.

It is common cause that Eros, our sexual instinct, is often allayed with aggression, although it should more property belong to our need to love. Freudians know, of course, that he believed that those unfortunate souls who are unable to love, are bound to fall ill. His SE XIV: 85 pointedly reads, "but in the last resort we must begin to love in order not to fall ill."

Even love is sometime seen as something that is external to our own self. Many church pulpits are inscribed "God is Love," which seems to suggest that without a divine presence we cannot really love. It is in the nature of our psyche, however, to project our thoughts, and more particularly our feelings, onto others, visible or invisible.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Obsessional anger

Image
  OBSESSIONAL ANGER Some people have a tendency to be so angry that it keeps them awake at night. It frightens other people and may ruin relationships, and even land one in jail if the anger leads to violence. Many assault cases and murders are fuelled by it. Can something be done about this? Yes, psychoanalysis can be very effective in relieving you of your obsession. More effective even than group anger management sessions. But it takes work. It is of course true that we are born with an agressive instinct or drive – sometimes referred to as a part of our shadow-side, or of our death instinct – but knowing that will not really ease your toxic anger. Obsesional people are like powder kegs waiting to explode. It may also, but not necessarily always, lead to depression when your anger is suppressed and directed inward. Let me repeat, can something be done about this? Most definitely it can. To guide you in the right direction I'll quote from an essay by Freud: "A ca...
Read more
 ABSENCE OF GRIEVING AFTER EXPERIENCING A LOSS Who doesn't know people who seem strained and brittle? It might be that earlier on in their lives they suffered the loss of a loved one, but never allowed themselves to properly grieve. In "Loss, Sadness and Depression," John Bowlby wrote: "A sceptic might ask how it is that we know a person is in a state of disordered mourning [i.e. he/she has a mental disorder] and not simply that they are unaffected by a loss and therefore have no cause to grieve? The answer is that there are tell-tale signs, more evident in some than in others. A sensitive observer notes that they are tense and often short-tempered. Consolation is neither sought nor welcomed. But they may have physical symptoms: headaches, palpitations, aches and pains. Insomnia is common, dreams unpleasant." ---------------------------------- John Bowlby, "Loss, Sadness and Depression," p.153, Volume 3 of "Attachment and Loss," Pen...
Read more
 TRANSFERENCE AND  PROJECTION Transference is the process by which a client/patient displaces onto the analyst/therapist the feelings and ideas which derive from previous persons in his or her life (or objects, as those persons are referred to in psychoanalytic jargon) and by which the client relates to the analyst as though analyst were that former person. Such transference feelings are normally resolved towards the end of a successful analysis. Projection differs from transference in that it refers to the way a person projects parts of his or her own character onto someone else, i.e. a dishonest person may tend to believe that others are equally dishonest.
Read more