Sublimation: Inquiries into Theoretical Psychoanalysis

The eminent psychoanalyst Hans W. Loewald here offers a provocative new examination of sublimation. Dr. Loewald's inquiry leads him to reexamine and revise basic psychoanalytic theory relating to instincts, symbolism, motivation, ego development, and various emotional processes. "This is a new and highly thought provoking approach to an understanding of the phenomena of sublimation."-A. Scott Dowling, M. D., Case Western Reserve University "This book is not only a profound consideration of the nature of sublimation-a subject of excruciating importance for humans-it is a summarizing statement encompassing the whole work of a great psychoanalyst."-Vann Spruiell, M. D., Tulane University "One leaves the book feeling one has been fed by a thinker whose synthesis of clinical sensitivity and philosophical depth is unsurpassed in the psychoanalytic tradition."-Jonathan Lear, Times Literary Supplement "A book to be savored. . . . Loewald, a master of contemporary psychoanalysis, writes with extreme succinctness. . . . Having surveyed most of the available literature on the concept of sublimation, I find Loewald's discussion by far the most provocative. Given his project, the biological and psychological origins of culture, Loewald must confront numerous philosophic problems that beleaguer any attempt to merge psychology with biology. . . . That he confronts these problems and makes numerous illuminating comments on issues within psychoanalysis proper, in a very brief book, hints at the rigor with which Loewald has composed his overture. It is a piece that requires and merits many hearings."-Volney P. Gay, Contemporary Psychology "[The book] manages to encompass many of the fundamental elements of psychoanalytic theory and to provide us with a fresh perspective. This is a remarkable and unique achievement."-Arnold H. Modell, Psychoanalytic Quarterly