Suffering and Psychology

Synopsis

Suffering and Psychology challenges modern psychology's concentration almost exclusively on eradicating pain, suffering, and their causes. Modern psychology and psychotherapy are motivated in part by a humane and compassionate desire to relieve many kinds of human suffering. However, they have concentrated almost exclusively on eradicating pain, suffering, and their causes. In doing so psychology perpetuates modern ideologies of individual human freedom and expanding instrumental control that foster worthy ideals but are distinctly limited and by themselves quite self-defeating and damaging in the long run. This book explores theoretical commitments and cultural ideals that deter the field of psychology from facing and dealing credibly with inescapable human limitations and frailties, and with unavoidable suffering, pain, loss, heartbreak, and despair. Drawing on both secular and spiritual points of view, this book seeks to recover ideals of character and compassion and to illuminate the possibility of what Jonathan Sacks terms "transforming suffering" rather than seeking mainly to eliminate, anesthetize, or defy these dark and difficult aspects of the human condition. Suffering and Psychology will be of interest to academic and professional psychologists and philosophers.

Copyright:

2018

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781351400466

Related ISBNs:

9781138302259, 9780203731840, 9781032502649

Publisher:

Taylor and Francis

Date of Addition:

03/28/23

Copyrighted By:

Frank C. Richardson. The right of Frank C. Richardson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Psychology, Philosophy

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.