Transitional Subjects

The essays in Transitional Subjects explain recent changes in Freudian psychoanalytic theory by investigating the shift toward a contemporary object-relational perspective. The political connections drawn from each paper are powerful, situating critical theory within capitalism and the various political aporias of everyday life. -- Jamieson Webster, author of <i>Conversion Disorder: Listening to the Body in Psychoanalysis</i> This engaging, deftly argued collection of essays at the intersection of Frankfurt School critical theory and object-relations psychoanalysis explores the ethical and political stakes of how we choose to understand human subjectivity. The book reanimates Frankfurt School critical theory by eliciting the help of object-relations theory, which is arguably an underexplored resource in academic discussions. Scholars across the critical humanities interested in affect, phantasy, the unconscious, and the death drive will benefit enormously from reading this phenomenally intelligent, innovative, and inspiring book. -- Mari Ruti, author of <i>Penis Envy and Other Bad Feelings: The Emotional Costs of Everyday Life</i> A serious and sustained encounter between critical theory and object-relations psychoanalysis is long overdue. Each of the essays collected in Transitional Subjects contributes something vital to both of these fields. As a whole, this volume develops the psychoanalytic project in critical theory and pushes it in exciting new directions. -- Robyn Marasco, author of <i>The Highway of Despair: Critical Theory After Hegel</i> Ever since its beginnings, the critical theory of the Frankfurt School has been engaged in a productive dialogue with psychoanalysis. But it was long assumed that only the individualistic, drive-centered theory of Freud could the reveal the psychic mechanisms underlying a repressive social order. The rich resources of post-Freudian developments in psychoanalysis were either neglected or outright rejected. This wide-ranging and thought-provoking collection of essays moves beyond that dead end, and brings critical theorys engagement with psychoanalysis up to date. Opening with a stimulating debate between Joel Whitebook and Axel Honneth, it shows that any theory placing damaged social and personal relationships at its center, as a critical theory of neoliberal capitalism should, cannot afford to ignore the insights of the psychoanalytic object-relations tradition. -- Peter Dews, University of Essex An incisive set of essays comprising new perspectives on the perennial interest of critical theorists in psychoanalysis . . . Ideal for students and scholars of critical theory and also for the study of humanistic psychology generally. * Choice * Ambitious, timely and thought-provoking. * Journal of Social and Political Philosophy *

Amy Allen is Liberal Arts Professor of Philosophy and Womens, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and head of the Department of Philosophy at the Pennsylvania State University. Her books include, most recently, The End of Progress: Decolonizing the Normative Foundations of Critical Theory (Columbia, 2016). Brian OConnor is professor of philosophy at University College Dublin. His books include Adorno (2013) and Idleness: A Philosophical Essay (2018).

Introduction, by Amy Allen and Brian OConnor Part I: Conceptual Foundations 1. Fusion or Omnipotence? A Dialogue, by Axel Honneth and Joel Whitebook 2. Hate, Aggression, and Recognition: Winnicott, Klein, and Honneth, by C. Fred Alford 3. Narcissism and Critique: On Kohuts Self Psychology, by Alessandro Ferrara Part II: Historical Encounters 4. Progress and the Death Drive, by Amy Allen 5. Transitional Objects, God, and Modeling the Commodity Form, by Owen Hulatt 6. A True-Enough Self : Winnicott, Object Relations Theory, and the Bases of Identity, by James Martel Part III: Political Implications 7. Intersubjectivity on the Couch: Recognition and Destruction in the Work of Jessica Benjamin, by Johanna Meehan 8. Politics and the Fear of Breakdown, by Nolle McAfee 9. Who Is the Perpetrator? The Missing Affect in Tortures Violation of Human Dignity, by Sara Beardsworth Index