André Green
Encyclopedia
André Green is a French psychoanalyst of global renown.
'Among contemporary practitioners, Andre Green...epitomizes an international spirit of independence'.
and from 1979 to 1980 a professor at University College London
.
André Green is the author of numerous papers and books on the theory and practice of psychoanalysis and the psychoanalytic criticism of culture and literature, some of which have also appeared in English translations.
's seminar, while keeping his affiliation to the Societe Psychanalytique de Paris' - a bold decision which for some time enabled him to maintain 'a somewhat fluid balance between different groups and personalities. This was a sure sign of his independent mind'. As the decade progressed however, he moved further from Lacan, and the 'final break away from Lacan came...in 1970, whe[n] he criticised Lacan's theory of the signifier' for its neglect of the affect
.
'Instead of the usually defensive attitude towards Lacanism, there emerged for the first time from the ranks of the SPP an elaborate piece of theory directly confronting Lacan's ideas'. In particular, 'Green comments: "Lacan is saying that the unconscious is structured like a language...when you read Freud, it is obvious that this proposition doesn't work for a minute. Freud very clearly opposes the unconscious (which he says is constituted by thing-presentations and nothing else) to the pre-conscious. What is related to language can only belong to the pre-conscious"'.
Over the decades since, 'the complex itinerary of Andre Green's prolific work' has continued to demonstrate the intellectually independent way in which 'Green is a Freudian analyst who has managed to integrate in a lucid synthesis the influence of authors as diverse as Lacan, Bion, and, especially, Winnicott'.
), of maternal caring (from the mother, following Winnicott), and of the prohibition of incest (from the father, following Freud). What the psychoanalytic apparatus gives rise to, then, is the symbolisation of the unconscious structure of the Oedipus Complex
'.
Dreams are, 'for Andre Green, negative states trying to accede to symbolization', so that, as 'summed up by Adam Phillips
: "Dreams and affects, and states of emptiness or absence have been the essential perplexities of Green's work because they are the areas of experience...in which the nature of representation itself is put at risk"'.
About André Green:
'Among contemporary practitioners, Andre Green...epitomizes an international spirit of independence'.
Life and career
André Green studied medicine (specialising in psychiatry) at Paris Medical School and worked at several hospitals. Then, in 1965, after having finished his training as a psychoanalyst, he became a member of the Psychoanalytic Society of Paris, of which he was the president from 1986 to 1989. From 1975 to 1977 he was a vice president of the International Psychoanalytical AssociationInternational Psychoanalytical Association
The International Psychoanalytical Association is an association including 12,000 psychoanalysts as members and works with 70 constituent organizations. It was founded in 1910 by Sigmund Freud, on an idea proposed by Sándor Ferenczi...
and from 1979 to 1980 a professor at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
André Green is the author of numerous papers and books on the theory and practice of psychoanalysis and the psychoanalytic criticism of culture and literature, some of which have also appeared in English translations.
Intellectual development: the encounter with Lacan
In the early Sixties, 'Green decided to attend LacanLacan
Lacan is surname of:* Jacques Lacan , French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist** The Seminars of Jacques Lacan** From Bakunin to Lacan: Anti-Authoritarianism and the Dislocation of Power, a book on political philosophy by Saul Newman** Lacan at the Scene* Judith Miller, née Lacan...
's seminar, while keeping his affiliation to the Societe Psychanalytique de Paris' - a bold decision which for some time enabled him to maintain 'a somewhat fluid balance between different groups and personalities. This was a sure sign of his independent mind'. As the decade progressed however, he moved further from Lacan, and the 'final break away from Lacan came...in 1970, whe[n] he criticised Lacan's theory of the signifier' for its neglect of the affect
Affect (philosophy)
Affect is a concept used in the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza and elaborated by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari...
.
'Instead of the usually defensive attitude towards Lacanism, there emerged for the first time from the ranks of the SPP an elaborate piece of theory directly confronting Lacan's ideas'. In particular, 'Green comments: "Lacan is saying that the unconscious is structured like a language...when you read Freud, it is obvious that this proposition doesn't work for a minute. Freud very clearly opposes the unconscious (which he says is constituted by thing-presentations and nothing else) to the pre-conscious. What is related to language can only belong to the pre-conscious"'.
Over the decades since, 'the complex itinerary of Andre Green's prolific work' has continued to demonstrate the intellectually independent way in which 'Green is a Freudian analyst who has managed to integrate in a lucid synthesis the influence of authors as diverse as Lacan, Bion, and, especially, Winnicott'.
On the analytic setting
For Green, the analytic setting is in itself a recreation of psychic reality. 'The symbolism of the setting comprises a triangular paradigm, uniting the three polarities of the dream (narcissismNarcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
), of maternal caring (from the mother, following Winnicott), and of the prohibition of incest (from the father, following Freud). What the psychoanalytic apparatus gives rise to, then, is the symbolisation of the unconscious structure of the Oedipus Complex
Oedipus complex
In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrate upon a boy’s desire to sexually possess his mother, and kill his father...
'.
On the work of the negative
A significant part of Green's contribution to contemporary psychoanalysis has centred around his exploration of 'the different modalities of the work of the negative'. He has highlighted the way 'accepting the negation of what was there is necessary for relationships to new things to become possible' - the way that 'to accept the reality of lack...opens the door, through a process of working-through, to new experience, new ideals and new object-relationships'.Dreams are, 'for Andre Green, negative states trying to accede to symbolization', so that, as 'summed up by Adam Phillips
Adam Phillips
Adam Phillips may refer to:*Adam Phillips *Adam Phillips *Adam Phillips...
: "Dreams and affects, and states of emptiness or absence have been the essential perplexities of Green's work because they are the areas of experience...in which the nature of representation itself is put at risk"'.
Selected writings by André Green
- The Work of the Negative by Andre Green, Andrew Weller (Translator), Publisher: Free Association Books, 1999, ISBN 1853434701
- On Private Madness, Publisher: International Universities Press, 1997, ISBN 0823638537
- The Chains of Eros, Publisher: Karnac Books, 2002, ISBN 1855759608
- Psychoanalysis: A Paradigm For Clinical Thinking Publisher: Free Association BooksFree Association BooksFree Association Books is an innovative project started in 1980s London. It arose as the brainchild of Bob Young and colleagues, who, disillusioned by the decline of the liberatory movement, began a search using psychoanalysis to understand the problems of liberation...
, 2005, ISBN 1853437735 - Life narcissism, death narcissism London: Free Association BooksFree Association BooksFree Association Books is an innovative project started in 1980s London. It arose as the brainchild of Bob Young and colleagues, who, disillusioned by the decline of the liberatory movement, began a search using psychoanalysis to understand the problems of liberation...
2001, ISBN 1853435309 - Key ideas for a contemporary psychoanalysis. Misrecognition and recognition of the unconscious. London: Routledge, 2005. ISBN 1583918838
- A Dual Conception of Narcissism: Positive and Negative Organizations, (2002). Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 71:631-649
About André Green:
- The dead mother. The Work of André Green, ed. by Gregorio Kohon, London: Routledge 1999. (including an interview with A.G.)
- Who's Who in France 2005-2006, Levallois-Parret: Éditions Jacques Lafitte 2005, p. 976-977.