Good Feelings: Psychoanalytic Reflections on Positive Emotions and Attitudes

This tightly edited volume opens a new vista in psychoanalysis by focusing upon positive and life-enhancing emotions and attitudes. The realms it covers include love, friendship, enthusiasm, courage, tact, resilience, and forgiveness, among others. Seminal papers on these topics have existed but remain scattered throughout the psychoanalytic literature. This book brings them together in a harmonious gestalt. It is more than an anthology, however. Each paper is followed by a freshly written commentary that critically evaluates the paper and brings it in consonance with up-to-date, contemporary psychoanalytic knowledge. Issues of development, adaptation, psychopathology, and analytic technique, as these pertain to the positive dimension of affective experience, are elucidated.

The book also deals with the broader and overarching issue of the 'goodness' that accompanies, causes, and is enhanced by the positive emotions in consideration here. Thus the ever-elusive and puzzling issue of psychoanalytic morality finds a place in the discourse, with all its rich and complex theoretical and technical implications. The fact that the contributors to this volume come from all around the globe (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, and the United States) and represent a variety of psychoanalytic cultures adds flux and spice to the optimistic message of the text. Together the voices of these gifted psychoanalysts create an intelligent symphony of wisdom listening to which is not only instructive to the mind but a joy to the senses as well.

Contributors: Salman Akhtar, George Christie, Michael Eigen, Bien Filet, Hector Juan Fiorini, Peter Fonagy, Cesar Garza-Guerrero, Ralph Greenson, Otto Kernberg, Ilany Kogan, Nicholas Kouretas, Rainer Krause, Alessandra Lemma, Sergio Lewkowicz, Mary Kay O'Neil, Henri Parens, Warren Poland, Leo Rangell, Irwin Rosen, Lisa Rosof, Rita Schulman, Beth Seelig, Sverre Varvin, Philip Weissman.