Jessica Benjamin
Encyclopedia
Jessica Benjamin is an American psychoanalyst
and feminist
.
She is currently on the faculty of New York University
's Postdoctoral Psychology Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Her early studies included social structure
and feminism
, but more recently she is known for her effort to explain the classical aspects of psychoanalysis
using object relations
, ego psychology
, relational psychoanalysis
, and feminist thought. She has made significant contributions to the concept of intersubjectivity in psychoanalysis
.
In The Bonds of Love: Psychoanalysis, Feminism and the Problem of Domination (1988) Benjamin explores why we accept and perpetuate relationships of domination and submission. She theorizes that domination is a complex psychological process which ensnares both parties in bonds of complicity, and supports this by showing how it affects our family life, our social institutions, and especially our sexual relations, in spite of our conscious commitment to equality and freedom.
Benjamin's second book, Like Subjects, Love Objects: Essays on Recognition and Sexual Difference (1995) examines the psychoanalytic theory of intersubjectivity
. She builds on the foundation of Freud
's Oedipal theory
, critically revising it to include the female's struggle for independence. She argues that traditional Freudian theories inevitably reproduce patriarchal
gender relationships which are characterized by domination and submission, most notably reflected in the cultural polarity of male rationality and female vulnerability.
Shadow of the Other: Intersubjectivity and Gender in Psychoanalysis (1997), extends Benjamin's work on intersubjectivity
, love
and aggression
.
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
and feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
.
She is currently on the faculty of New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Postdoctoral Psychology Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Her early studies included social structure
Social structure
Social structure is a term used in the social sciences to refer to patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of the individuals. The usage of the term "social structure" has changed over time and may reflect the various levels of analysis...
and feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, but more recently she is known for her effort to explain the classical aspects of psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
using object relations
Object relations theory
Object relations theory is a psychodynamic theory within psychoanalytic psychology. The theory describes the process of developing a mind as one grows in relation to others in the environment....
, ego psychology
Id, ego, and super-ego
Id, ego and super-ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche; they are the three theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction mental life is described...
, relational psychoanalysis
Relational psychoanalysis
Relational psychoanalysis is a school of psychoanalysis in the United States that emphasizes the role of real and imagined relationships with others in mental disorder and psychotherapy...
, and feminist thought. She has made significant contributions to the concept of intersubjectivity in psychoanalysis
Intersubjective psychoanalysis
The term "intersubjectivity" introduced in psychoanalysis by George E. Atwood and Robert Stolorow .-The myth of isolated mind:The intersubjective psychoanalysis accused the traditional psychoanalysis of having described the psychic phenomena as "the myth of isolated mind".-Key figures:Heinz Kohut...
.
Books
Benjamin has published three books .In The Bonds of Love: Psychoanalysis, Feminism and the Problem of Domination (1988) Benjamin explores why we accept and perpetuate relationships of domination and submission. She theorizes that domination is a complex psychological process which ensnares both parties in bonds of complicity, and supports this by showing how it affects our family life, our social institutions, and especially our sexual relations, in spite of our conscious commitment to equality and freedom.
Benjamin's second book, Like Subjects, Love Objects: Essays on Recognition and Sexual Difference (1995) examines the psychoanalytic theory of intersubjectivity
Intersubjectivity
Intersubjectivity is a term used in philosophy, psychology, sociology and anthropology to describe a condition somewhere between subjectivity and objectivity, one in which a phenomenon is personally experienced but by more than one subject....
. She builds on the foundation of Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
's Oedipal theory
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...
, critically revising it to include the female's struggle for independence. She argues that traditional Freudian theories inevitably reproduce patriarchal
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
gender relationships which are characterized by domination and submission, most notably reflected in the cultural polarity of male rationality and female vulnerability.
Shadow of the Other: Intersubjectivity and Gender in Psychoanalysis (1997), extends Benjamin's work on intersubjectivity
Intersubjectivity
Intersubjectivity is a term used in philosophy, psychology, sociology and anthropology to describe a condition somewhere between subjectivity and objectivity, one in which a phenomenon is personally experienced but by more than one subject....
, love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
and aggression
Aggression
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...
.
Articles
- "The End of Internalization: Adorno's Social Psychology" TELOSTELOS (journal)Telos is an academic journal published in the United States. It was founded in May 1968 to provide the New Left with a coherent theoretical perspective. It sought to expand the Husserlian diagnosis of "the crisis of European sciences" to prefigure a particular program of social reconstruction...
32 (Summer 1977). - "Shame and Sexual Politics." New German CritiqueTELOS (journal)Telos is an academic journal published in the United States. It was founded in May 1968 to provide the New Left with a coherent theoretical perspective. It sought to expand the Husserlian diagnosis of "the crisis of European sciences" to prefigure a particular program of social reconstruction...
, No. 27, Women Writers and Critics (Autumn 1982), 151-159.