Format:
Online-Ressource (313 p.)
,
tables
,
21 cm
Content:
"The nineteenth century has been referred to as especially marked by the great strides man was able to take as the result of scientific development in the control of his environment, and the present century is still hopefully regarded as the century which may shift the emphasis to man's control of himself. If such a shift in viewpoint, or better yet such addition to our viewpoints, which would be in line with Dr. S. D. Schmalhausen's suggestion that we should learn to formulate our increasing knowledge in terms of "both and" rather than "either or," should happily take place it would be because of an increasing tolerance of mind which is brought about by just such examinations of the present-day significance of the fundamental concepts which we have inherited from the past as Schmalhausen attempts, and this examination is just what is going forward in this age and is the special significance of this particular book. This is coming to be possible largely as the result of "the psychiatrizing of academic psychology" and the growth of a "humanized psychology" and the "recognition of the essential psychologic nature of social concepts," which Schmalhausen specifically emphasizes, and as a result of this emphasis he formulates the outstanding contribution which Sigmund Freud has made to our understanding of human motives in the following words: The "expos ̌of the staggering human cost of sexual frustration I look upon as the ultimately important contribution of Freud." From this broad and tolerant background Schmalhausen discusses the question of sex in its various ramifications as it affects human behavior in its social manifestations, emphasizing the importance of the contribution of psychiatry and of the mental hygiene movement. The book is trenchantly and interestingly written from a background of tolerance and wide information and is filled with ideas that are suggestive and provocative and as such should invite wide reading and serious consideration. No one can contemplate the changes which have occurred within the past few years without a feeling of great sympathy toward every effort that is made to unravel the factors that are responsible, unless, perchance, he be such a hide-bound conservative as to have lost all capacity for the consideration, understanding and assimilation of ideas that differ from those which were originally instilled in his mental constitution. A detailed discussion of the ideas set forth in this volume would of necessity be as voluminous if not more so than the book itself and each reader will naturally gather those things which are to him peculiarly attractive. It is, however, from such discussions multiplied many times and each in turn exciting the interest and the contemplation of many readers that new ideas are born from which ultimately the truth, in the pragmatic sense of that which works, finally issues"--Introduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)
Note:
"Discusses the question of sex in its various ramifications as it affects human behavior in its social manifestations.". - Electronic reproduction; Washington, D.C; American Psychological Association; 2005; Available via the World Wide Web; Access limited by licensing agreement; s2005 dcunns
Language:
English
Bookmarklink
