Zhang, Yanxiu;
(2024)
A Psychoanalytic Theoretical Study on 'the Familiar'.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
Preview |
Text
A Psychoanalytic Theoretical Study on the Familiar.pdf - Accepted Version Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Freud’s formulation of the repetition compulsion and the uncanny both can point to a strong tendency in human nature to seek out that which is familiar. Freud did not however further conceptualise this tendency. In discovering the potential psychoanalytic meaning and significance of this tendency towards the familiar across Freud’s three models of the mind, by integrating other schools’ relevant theories, and by interpreting the role of familiarity in clinical cases, this thesis seeks to identify different aspects of the concept of the familiar. According to the new conceptualisation outlined here, the strong tendency towards familiarity is driven by a dynamic and responsive framework in mind, which I have called ‘the Familiar’. This framework protects the subject from the fright caused by experiences of unfamiliarity, for example by recasting these in light of what is known by the subject, re-connecting him to a familiar psychical terrain. The conceptualisation of the familiar effectively connects pathological repetitions to general repetitions, as well as to other clinical theories, and constitutes a new orientation which may have clinical applications. This could enrich a psychoanalytic understanding of trauma and psychopathology, which until now has mainly focused on the role of unfamiliarity and the alien. A discussion of the uncanny in the COVID-19 pandemic further illustrates the utility of the conceptualisation of the familiar. In this context, the uncanny is seen to follow from the overwhelming intrusion of unfamiliarity and then by the reappearance of terrifying familiarity, in which the fragile nature of what we are familiar is shown.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | A Psychoanalytic Theoretical Study on 'the Familiar' |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10199914 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
