Posthumanism and not knowing in psychoanalytic thinking

And what you do not know is the only And what you do not know is the only thing you know; thing you know;

some thoughts on psychoanalytic some thoughts on psychoanalytic theorytheory• Connecting conversations• ‘Not knowing’ as core tenant in psychoanalysis• A language of thinking (including feelings) • Unconsciousness as political and personal• Outward facing as a result of inward processes• Dreams as the ‘Royal Road’• Example of dream as extending knowledge (from research)• Contemporary uses of Freud’s thinking on melancholia• Machines as transitional objects – Cyborgs - is there a link?• Symbolisation as a creative act. • Bernie Searle’s work ; responses from near and afar

Lindsey Nicholls

In order to arrive at what you do not know       You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.In order to possess what you do not possess       You must go by the way of dispossession.In order to arrive at what you are not       You must go through the way in which you are not.And what you do not know is the only And what you do not know is the only thing you knowthing you knowAnd what you own is what you do not ownAnd where you are is where you are not.

… allows participants to have the experience of being in the unknown, or being in doubts, being in doubts, mysteries and uncertaintiesmysteries and uncertainties. Social dreaming facilitates the mental disposition of ‘negative ‘negative capability’ (Keats, 1970)capability’ (Keats, 1970), which allows participants to work at the limits of their comprehension and, as a result, to be available for the apprehension of patterns in the dreaming that lead to new ideas and knowledge. (Lawrence, 2003, p 611)

In these readings a sense that the text has appeared to be wholly new, never before seen, is followed, almost immediately, by the sense that it was always there, that we the readers, knew it was always there, and have always known it was as it was, though we have for the first time recognised, become fully cognisant of, our knowledge. (Morrison, 1992, pg.xiii)

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is

invisible to the eye”

( ‘The Little Prince’, Saint-Exupery,1974, pg 70)

TITLE: Therapeutical Healing of the Unconscious

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‘And so for the first time I can remember a feeling of solid confidence in myself to face life itself, still confusing but not so frightening any longer. The feeling of being able to be and exist and give of myself without feeling the treat of an infinite void, of falling off a very high roof, but rather of having myself, and contact with the world all around, continues.’ (Brown, Peddar, 1991,

pg.201)

Title: Connections

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Conscious

Preconscious

Unconscious

Thoughts

Perceptions

memories

stored knowledge

desire

fearshame

creativity

reparation

anxietyconcern for others

love

guilt

Slips of tongue, dreams, the ‘unthought known’

The Freudian Slip

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“I wouldn’t dream of it”

‘The dreams were eloquent, but they were also beautiful. …Dreaming is not merely an act of communication;… it is also an aesthetic activity, a game of the imagination, a game that is a value in itself. Our dreams prove that to imagine ….is among mankind’s deepest needs. If dreams were not beautiful, they would be quickly forgotten.’

The Unbearable Lightness of Being’, Milan Kundera, 1984, pg.59

Observations

In-Depth interviews

Inquiry Groups

Reflexivity including use of

dreams

Research Study: Putting it into Words

2x Sites

MethodologyLondon Cape Town

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‘And I find it kind of funnyI find it kind of sad

The dreams in which I am dying

Are the best I have ever hadI find it hard to tell you

‘Cos I find it hard to takeWhen people are running in

circlesIt’s a very, very Mad World.’

Donald Winnicott (1896 – 1971)

Transitional Objects / Phenomenon

Kleinman suggest we look at symptom within the context of the person’s life. He describes it as the interpretation of symbol and text,

‘where the latter extends and clarifies the significance of the former; the former crystallizes the latent possibilities of the latter’. (Klienman, A. pg. 42).

"The mind picks up everything, files it, classifies it, and keeps it all. It has meaning, every event, …marked in consciousness by a signal which is often microscopic: a scented sprig,…. And less even than that; a rustling, an echo. And still less, even: a nothing that is nevertheless something".                         

 Maria Cardinal 1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tfEzzcqoZI

Watch Bernie Searle’s video art piece ‘Midnight’

Draw or write what comes into your mind in relation to the work, try not to censor your thoughts or associations.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu pleads to Israelis, liberate yourselves by liberating Palestine. MEM Samira Shackle , Thursday, 21 August 2014

References:

Brown, D., Peddar, J. (1991) Introduction to Psychotherapy 2nd Ed, Routledge, Cardinal, M., (1975) The Words to say it, Women’s Press.Clarke, S. and Hoggett, P. (2009) Researching beneath the surface. London, Karnac.Craib, I., (2001) Psychoanalysis a Critical Introduction, Polity Press, UKCraib, I., The Importance of Disappointment, Routledge, UKHollway, W. and Jefferson, T. (2013) Doing qualitative research differently. 2nd Edition. London: SageKleinman, A. (1988) The Illness Narratives, Basic Books USA.Morrison, T. (1993) Playing in the Dark, Picador Books, London.Nicholls, L.E. (2007) ‘A Psychoanalytic Discourse in Occupational Therapy’ in Creek. J and Lawson-Porter, A., Contemporary Issues in Occupational Therapy; reasoning and reflection, Wiley, ChichesterWinnicott, D. W. (2001) Playing and Reality Brunner-Routledge East Sussex