The age of guilt : the super-ego in the online world / Mark Edmundson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Edmundson, Mark, 1952- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Digital media.

Online hate speech.

Superego.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (190 pages)

Place of Publication:

New Haven, Connecticut : Yale University Press, [2023]

Summary:

How Freud’s concept of the super-ego can help us to understand the harsh cultural climate of the digital age Cancellation, scapegoating, raving on Twitter. How did the Internet, which began as a place for open thought and exchange, become a forum for cruelty and judgment? Can a whole culture become mentally ill? How do we understand and respond to this problem? Mark Edmundson views contemporary culture and discourse through Freud’s concept of the super-ego, the moralistic and frequently irrational inner judge. The poet William Blake was attuned to this “dark pressure of self-condemnation,” and Nietzsche knew its power as well. One way to mitigate (temporarily) the self-judgment of the super-ego is to aim it outward instead, judging and even punishing others for supposed infractions. Naturally these targets fight back, resulting in a cascade of bitterness and even hatred. Edmundson traces the destructive passion of the super-ego on politics, race, gender, class, education, and more, drawing on psychological studies, classroom experience, and the work of Adam Phillips and Slavoj Žižek. Edmundson proposes ways to manage the super-ego and even to transform it into an affirmative power. In The Age of Guilt, Edmundson renews the promise of Freudian theory as he explores our unique social moment with psychological insight, humanity, and erudition.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Contents

Preface: The Unwelcome Guest

ONE: DIAGNOSES

What Is the Super-Ego?

Did Freud Discover the Super-Ego?

The Super-Ego's Public History 1: Nietzsche

The Super-Ego's Public History 2: Arendt

The Personal History of the Super-Ego

The Future of the Super-Ego

Super-Ego Dreams

The Post-Modern Super-Ego

Death and the Super-Ego

TWO: SUPER-EGO CULTURE

Politics and the Super-Ego 1: Hypnotized!

Politics and the Super-Ego 2: Social Justice

Politics and the Super-Ego 3: The Blessed and the Damned

Are the Kids Alright?

Identity!

Super-Ego Drugs: Adderall and Amphetamines

Internet!

The Super-Ego and the Sense of Time

Beauty and the Super-Ego

Patriarchy and the Super-Ego

The Super-Ego and Race

THREE: FIGHTING BACK

Crack a Joke

Get Lucky

Get Drunk

Take a Pill

Get Religion

Get a Shrink 1

Get a Shrink 2

FOUR: BEYOND THE SUPER-EGO

Embrace the Ideals

Bibliographic Essay

Acknowledgments.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Edmundson, Mark The Age of Guilt

ISBN:

9780300271386

OCLC:

1371756275