We can no longer operate on the assumption that the Western capitalist culture of self-contained individualism is superior to all other cultural forms and continue to encode those values in the practice of psychoanalysis.

Individual identity is thus truly a dialogue: how a person thinks of himself is the result of learning the language of the community so that he can be a part of the community. It also explains the basic buman need to belong: the idea of the isolated Rousseauesque man of mature, living all by himself and for himself, may be superficially attractive,

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In Levinas’ way of thinking, there is no truth outside of human discourse. Discourse— the face to face encounter where we present the world to each other— is the fundamental organizational principle which creates the field in which the concepts of knowledge and truth exist and have meaning. Without discourse, we as individuals would in fact have no... See more

Culture and Psychoanalysis  Human suffering often may stem from the way that the culture promotes the pursuit of impossible ideals and unlimited narcissistic gratification that serves an unacknowledged economic purpose benefiting some members of society at the cost of others... Advertising fans the flames of widespread and insatiable narcissis... See more