Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Projection

Nazi Poster, loose translation: "The Jew, War's Instigator, War's Extender"

"If people observe their own unconscious tendencies in other people, this is called a "projection." Political agitation in all countries is full of such projections, just as much as the backyard gossip of little groups and individuals. Projections of all kinds obscure our view of our fellow men, spoiling its objectivity, and thus spoiling all possibility of genuine human relationships."
-Carl Jung, Man And His Symbols

“The richer–that is, the more varied and complete–the individual’s emotional life, the less is he driven to projection, and the more will he incline to identification. His outlet and satisfaction comes in identifying himself with the emotions of the other. On the other hand, the narrower and more restricted the individual’s emotional life, the more intense will be his fewer emotions, the less will he be inclined to, and capable of, identification–the lack of which he has to compensate for by projection. Projection thus proves to be a compensatory mechanism that adjusts for an inner lack. Identification, on the other hand, is an expression of abundance, of the desire for union, for alliance, for sharing. “
– Otto Rank, “Love, Guilt and the Denial of Feelings,” 1927, American Lectures, 160

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the log in your own eye?”-Jesus, Matthew 7:3

4 comments:

isdisasystem said...

Y'ever read Theweleit's Male Fantasies (vol. 1+2) U. of minn press ? Yowzer !

John said...

I haven't read it but it looks like a worthwhile effort. I found a quote from him about the Freikorps members fear of the vengeance of women, hence their elaborate psychological armoring. Klaus seems to have given us a deep study of projection. I'll have to put him on my follow up list.

John said...

I just found Klaus Theweleit's book Male Fantasies Vol. 2 in google books: http://tiny.cc/qnrAq I immediately found a nice quote: "Women's eyes must be closed if they are to be associated with "brightness, warmth, love." If they are open, they are dark. The open eye of a woman seems to evoke the devouring abyss; between its lashes, the teeth of the vagina dentata glisten."

isdisasystem said...

That's nothing. Get yourself a copy of that book. I promise it will blow your mind completely. But, you know, it's kind of scary....an amazing work.