Anthony Stevens – författare

Though he was a prolific writer and an original thinker of vast erudition, Jung lacked a gift for clear exposition and his ideas are less widely appreciated than they deserve. In this concise introduction, Anthony Stevens explains clearly the basic concepts of Jungian psychology: the collective unconscious, complex, archetype, shadow, persona, anima, animus, and the individuation of the Self. He examines Jung's views on such disparate subjects as myth, religion, alchemy, `sychronicity', and the psychology of gender differences, and he devotes separate chapters to the stages of life, Jung's theory of psychological types, the interpretation of dreams, the practice of Jungian analysis, and to the unjust allegation that Jung was a Nazi sympathizer. Finally, he argues that Jung's visionary powers and profound spirituality have helped many to find an alternative set of values to the arid materialism prevailing in Western society.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Commonly dismissed as mystical by scientists, archetypes were described by Jung as biological entities, which have evolved through natural selection, and which, if they exist at all, must be amenable to empirical study. Anthony Stevens has discovered the key to opening up this long-ignored scientific approach to the archetype.

Challenging a medical model which has supplied few effective answers to long-standing conundrums, Evolutionary Psychiatry proposes a new conceptual framework for psychiatry based on Darwinian theory.Anthony Stevens and John Price argue that psychiatric symptoms are manifestations of ancient adaptive strategies which are no longer necessarily appropriate but which can best be understood and treated in an evolutionary and developmental context. They propose theories to account for the widespread existence of affective disorders, borderline states and schizophrenia, as well as offering solutions for puzzles such as sadomasochism and the function of dreams.This comprehensive introduction to the new science of Darwinian Psychiatry is readily accessible to both the specialist and non-specialist reader. It describes in detail the disorders and conditions commonly encountered in psychiatric practice and show how evolutionary theory can account for their biological origins and functional nature.

Challenging a medical model which has supplied few effective answers to long-standing conundrums, Evolutionary Psychiatry proposes a new conceptual framework for psychiatry based on Darwinian theory.Anthony Stevens and John Price argue that psychiatric symptoms are manifestations of ancient adaptive strategies which are no longer necessarily appropriate but which can best be understood and treated in an evolutionary and developmental context. They propose theories to account for the widespread existence of affective disorders, borderline states and schizophrenia, as well as offering solutions for puzzles such as sadomasochism and the function of dreams.This comprehensive introduction to the new science of Darwinian Psychiatry is readily accessible to both the specialist and non-specialist reader. It describes in detail the disorders and conditions commonly encountered in psychiatric practice and show how evolutionary theory can account for their biological origins and functional nature.

Every night we enter a mythic realm, a dark, primordial world of fear and desire. What this world offers, Anthony Stevens suggests, may well be the key to understanding our waking mysteries--ourselves, our society, and our history. A prominent psychiatrist and practicing Jungian analyst, Stevens views dreaming from both psychological and neurological perspectives to show how dreams owe their origins as much to our evolutionary history as a species as to our personal history as individuals.A work rich in symbolic and scientific insight, Private Myths traverses the course of dream interpretation from distant hunter-gatherer times to the present. This analysis is as authoritative as it is wide-ranging, including discussions of the biology of dreaming and the discovery of REM sleep, elaboration of the latest neuroscientific techniques in sleep research, and an assessment of the century-long legacy of analytic practice to dream interpretation. In a close look at the actual processes of dream formation, Stevens relates "dream work" to other creative capacities such as language, poetry, storytelling, memory, play, symptom-formation, magic, and ritual. He draws on his many years of experience to analyze key historical dreams, such as Freud's dream of Irma's injection and Hitler's dream of being buried alive, and enriches this discussion with analyses of his own and his patients' dreams.Remarkable in its breadth, Private Myths makes the principles of dream interpretation accessible to scientists, the findings of dream science accessible to analysts, and the discoveries of both available to anyone intrigued by the mysteries of dreams and dreaming.

In 'The Roots of War and Terror', Anthony Stevens provides profound insights into the nature and origins of armed conflict. Combining the concepts of the archetype and the collective unconscious (Jungian) with crucial evidence from the behavioural and biological sciences, Stevens exposes war as an ancient propensity rooted in human psychology - particularly in the psychology and anatomy of the human male.Stevens explains what attracts men to the profession of arms and describes the age-old techniques, still used in military training camps, which are necessary to activate the warrior archetype in the masculine psyche. The author sheds light on how leaders persuade populations to go to war and lays bare the unconscious fantasies that could draw us all to final Armageddon.In later chapters in his book, Stevens discusses ways of inhibiting the archetypes of war (through educational policy and admission of women into the citadels of masculine power) of diverting them into less destructive channels.'The Roots of War and Terror' is an indispensable work for anyone wishing to understand the psychological basis of war or hoping to discover ways in which the unimaginable catastrophe of nuclear war could be avoided.'Denial and dissociation, repression and projection enable us to remain cheerfully unconscious. Disguised as defenders of our egos and protectors of our peace of mind, those discreet flunkies are really secret agents in the service of the archetypes of war. Unknown and unrecognised by our fellow citizens, they are the stooges of Armageddon.'

Commonly dismissed as mystical by scientists, archetypes were described by Jung as biological entities, which have evolved through natural selection, and which, if they exist at all, must be amenable to empirical study. Anthony Stevens has discovered the key to opening up this long-ignored scientific approach to the archetype.

Anthony Stevens has devoted a lifetime to modernizing our understanding of the archetypes within us, relating them to conceptual developments in a variety of scientific disciplines, such as the patterns of behaviour of behavioural ecology, the species-specific behavioural systems of Bowlby’s attachment theory, the deep structures of Chomskian linguistics, and the modules of evolutionary psychology, to name but a few. This selection of papers and chapters from the course of Stevens’ career, all lucidly written and argued, highlight episodes in the progress of his quest to place archetypal theory on a sound scientific foundation. As a whole, Living Archetypes examines how archetypes are activated in the life history of all of us, how archetypal imperatives may be fulfilled or thwarted by our living circumstances, how they manifest in our dreams, symbols, fantasies and symptoms, and how appreciating their dynamics can generate insights of enormous therapeutic power.Living Archetypes: The Selected Works of Anthony Stevens provides an invaluable resource for Jungian psychotherapists, psychologists, academics and students committed to extending the evolutionary approach to psychology and psychiatry and understanding the dynamic significance of archetypes.

Evolutionary Psychiatry was first published in 1996, the second edition followed in 2000. This ground breaking book challenged the medical model which supplied few effective answers to long-standing conundrums. A comprehensive introduction to the science of Darwinian Psychiatry, the second edition included important fresh material on a number of disorders, along with a chapter on research. Anthony Stevens and John Price argue that psychiatric symptoms are manifestations of ancient adaptive strategies which are no longer necessarily appropriate but which can best be understood and treated in an evolutionary and developmental context. Particularly important are the theories Stevens and Price propose to account for the worldwide existence of mood disorders and schizophrenia, as well as offering solutions for such puzzles as paedophilia, sado-masochism and the function of dreams. Readily accessible to both the specialist and non-specialist reader, Evolutionary Psychiatry describes in detail the disorders and conditions commonly encountered in psychiatric practice and shows how evolutionary theory can account for their biological origins and functional nature. This Classic Edition of the book includes a new preface by Anthony Stevens and a foreword by Paul Gilbert.

Evolutionary Psychiatry was first published in 1996, the second edition followed in 2000. This ground breaking book challenged the medical model which supplied few effective answers to long-standing conundrums. A comprehensive introduction to the science of Darwinian Psychiatry, the second edition included important fresh material on a number of disorders, along with a chapter on research. Anthony Stevens and John Price argue that psychiatric symptoms are manifestations of ancient adaptive strategies which are no longer necessarily appropriate but which can best be understood and treated in an evolutionary and developmental context. Particularly important are the theories Stevens and Price propose to account for the worldwide existence of mood disorders and schizophrenia, as well as offering solutions for such puzzles as paedophilia, sado-masochism and the function of dreams. Readily accessible to both the specialist and non-specialist reader, Evolutionary Psychiatry describes in detail the disorders and conditions commonly encountered in psychiatric practice and shows how evolutionary theory can account for their biological origins and functional nature. This Classic Edition of the book includes a new preface by Anthony Stevens and a foreword by Paul Gilbert.

Archetype: A Natural History of the Self, first published in 1982, was a ground-breaking book; the first to explore the connections between Jung's archetypes and evolutionary disciplines such as ethology and sociobiology, and an excellent introduction to the archetypes in theory and practical application as well.C.G. Jung's 'archetypes of the collective unconscious' have traditionally remained the property of analytical psychology, and have commonly been dismissed as 'mystical' by scientists. But Jung himself described them as biological entities, which, if they exist at all, must be amenable to empirical study. In the work of Bowlby and Lorenz, and in studies of the bilateral brain, Anthony Stevens has discovered the key to opening up this long-ignored scientific approach to the archetypes, originally envisaged by Jung. At last, in a creative leap made possible by the cross-fertilisation of several specialist disciplines, psychiatry can be integrated with psychology, with ethology and biology. The result is an immensely enriched science of human behaviour.In Archetype Revisited, Stevens considers the enormous cultural, social and intellectual changes that have taken place since the publication of the original edition, and includes:- An updated chapter on The Archetypal Masculine and Feminine, reflecting recent research findings and developments in feminist thinking;- Commentary on the intrusion of neo-Darwinian thinking into psychology and psychiatry;- Analysis of what has happened to the archetype in terms of our understanding of it and our responses to it.This Classic Edition of the book includes a new introduction by the author.

Archetype: A Natural History of the Self, first published in 1982, was a ground-breaking book; the first to explore the connections between Jung's archetypes and evolutionary disciplines such as ethology and sociobiology, and an excellent introduction to the archetypes in theory and practical application as well.C.G. Jung's 'archetypes of the collective unconscious' have traditionally remained the property of analytical psychology, and have commonly been dismissed as 'mystical' by scientists. But Jung himself described them as biological entities, which, if they exist at all, must be amenable to empirical study. In the work of Bowlby and Lorenz, and in studies of the bilateral brain, Anthony Stevens has discovered the key to opening up this long-ignored scientific approach to the archetypes, originally envisaged by Jung. At last, in a creative leap made possible by the cross-fertilisation of several specialist disciplines, psychiatry can be integrated with psychology, with ethology and biology. The result is an immensely enriched science of human behaviour.In Archetype Revisited, Stevens considers the enormous cultural, social and intellectual changes that have taken place since the publication of the original edition, and includes:- An updated chapter on The Archetypal Masculine and Feminine, reflecting recent research findings and developments in feminist thinking;- Commentary on the intrusion of neo-Darwinian thinking into psychology and psychiatry;- Analysis of what has happened to the archetype in terms of our understanding of it and our responses to it.This Classic Edition of the book includes a new introduction by the author.