Citation

Poulton J. Int. J. Appl. Psychoanal. Stud. 2007; 4(1): 41-51.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/aps.122

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The moral rationalization of violence and prejudice has long been viewed by psychoanalysis as resulting from a subversion of superego functioning. Yet, the specific mechanisms by which such subversions occur have remained obscure. In this paper, the intrapsychic and intersubjective dynamics of rationalizations of violence are explored as they arise in the dyadic interactions of a married couple in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Those dynamics are then extrapolated to larger group processes (e.g. sects, races, nations, etc.), with the aim of developing a more complete understanding of the cycles of hatred and violence that can occur between them. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.