The Direction of Desire: John of the Cross, Jacques Lacan and the Contemporary Understanding of Spiritual Direction (1st ed. 2023) (The Palgrave Lacan Series)

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Synopsis
This book examines Lacanian psychoanalysis and Christian mystical theology demonstrating the former’s potential for reinvigorating spiritual direction. The author outlines how current methods of spiritual direction become saturated with self-help psycho-pop methodologies, and that desire has therefore been foreclosed in these practices. He suggests that the root of this is a focus on ‘positive affective experientialism’, which means spiritual direction must focus on emotional wholeness, healing and positivity. Finally, he argues that a new dialogue between John of the Cross (a mystic whose writings on spiritual direction formulate part of the core of the Catholic spiritual tradition) and Jacques Lacan can open the way for a spiritual direction beyond the confines of experientialism. The book concludes that we can only escape the experiential commodification of spiritual direction by critiquing the drive to experience in and of itself. This novel work will appeal in particular to students and scholars of psychoanalysis, religion, philosophy and critical theory.
Copyright:
2023

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:
9783031331077
Related ISBNs:
9783031331060
Publisher:
Springer International Publishing
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Health, Mind and Body, Religion and Spirituality, Psychology, Philosophy
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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