Acid Horizon cover image

The Capitalism of the Ego: James Hillman's Critique of the Ego Function in Psychoanalysis

Acid Horizon

00:00

The Herculean Attitude and Psychoanalysis

Hillman believed that when we embody this attitude in a therapeutic setting, we set ourselves up to fall victim to the same psychological illnesses familiar to those who wholly immerse themselves in the ego fantasy. For people predisposed to the Herculean attitude, therapy often becomes just another object of conquest, an obstacle to be surmounted. Hillman by no means reject science. However, he does believe that the hero archetype has also pervaded our quest for scientific knowledge. This heroic paradigm manifests itself prominently in medical disciplines, especially in the realm of pathology.

Transcript
Play full episode

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app