Session 8 - Metaphors and Meaning

Session #8: Metaphors and Meaning : 

Session #8: Metaphors and Meaning Browning & Cooper, Religious Thought pp. 33-56, 106-143, 245-268

The Primary Role of Metaphor in Language : 

The Primary Role of Metaphor in Language Alternative Definitions: Johnson’s: “Essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.” Barbour’s: “A metaphor proposes analogies between the normal context of a word and a new context into which it is introduced.” Ricouer’s: “Metaphors have the surprising quality of transferring the familiar to the unfamiliar.” Examples “My cup runneth over.” “I’m drowning in my tears.” “I’m being thrown to the wolves.” “Life is a journey.” “I feel I’m a shield.” “I’m in a rut.” “Life is a jail sentence.”

Discovering the Layers of Meaning : 

Discovering the Layers of Meaning Metaphors can be simple manners of speech to enliven the image of conversation; but they can also be a deeply felt sense of life and meaning. The clinician’s role is to listen for the metaphors of the client in order to gain significant clues to the lived reality of the client, both in the superficial, day-to-day sense, and in the deeper way in which the self of the client relates to the world.

The Ethical Bias of Psychotherapeutic Psychologies: Freud : 

The Ethical Bias of Psychotherapeutic Psychologies: Freud The root metaphor of Freudian Psychotherapy Freud has a very strong organizing principle undergirding his basic psychology – instinctuality Philip Rieff views this type of man as brooding and introspective, and interested in his own pleasures

Freud and Human Nature : 

Freud and Human Nature Freud espouses a biological, instinctually driven person with two primary needs: the reduction of tension and constancy Freud essentially gives us a naturalistic understanding of the person He then compartmentalizes the self into id, ego, and superego See Also: An Overview of Psychoanalytic Theory in Doc Sharing

Freud and Human Nature : 

Freud and Human Nature Because of Freud's reductionistic thinking, religious experience has no "real" object, nor the ability to actually describe any sense in which the self transcends itself or understands itself from beyond itself. Freud 's strong emphasis on instinctuality and the self as part of nature, indicates a determinism about the self which is in contrast to the humanistic psychologists' view of the self's capacity to grow and change, even radically if necessary.

Freud’s Normative Ethical Framework : 

Freud’s Normative Ethical Framework As an obligation theory As a virtue theory Key Characteristics

Contrasting Freud with Christian Thought : 

Contrasting Freud with Christian Thought Freud and Christian thought have a very different view of human freedom and anxiety The role of faith is clearly opposite as well Freud presents an interesting twist on the love ethic as well Key Characteristics

Freud’s Meta-ethical Framework : 

Freud’s Meta-ethical Framework The problems inherent in this meta-ethical framework Reasons it does not fit well into either one of the other two meta-ethical frameworks Identifying Freud’s Meta-ethical viewpoint

Clinical Outcomes of Freudian Psychology : 

Clinical Outcomes of Freudian Psychology Tension reduction as the primary goal of the self and the constant dialectic of the life instinct (eros) and death instinct (thanatos) The passive nature of the self in Freudian thought might predict the following clinical outcomes A Freudian framework has several distinct advantages and positive clinical payoffs A Freudian framework has several distinct disadvantages and negative clinical payoffs

The Value of Freudian Psychology to the Contemporary World : 

The Value of Freudian Psychology to the Contemporary World With interior space as the modern frontier, Freudian thought gives us categories for ordering our understanding It forms a common foundation and vocabulary from which other forms of psychotherapy can develop their thinking It motivates us toward a deep understanding of the human personality It creates a rich appreciation of the forces at work in the shaping of the person

Preview of Upcoming Several Sessions : 

Preview of Upcoming Several Sessions Examining the Ethical Bias of Psychotherapeutic Psychologies Humanistic Psychology – Session 9 – Team Discussion of Rogers Eriksonian Psychology – Session 10 – Lecture Review of Rogers – Team Discussion of Erikson Cognitive Psychology – Session 11 – Lecture Review of Erikson – Team Discussion of Beck, Ellis, and Bowen Cognitive Psychology – Session 12 – Lecture Review of Beck, Ellis, and Bowen