New Books in Critical Theory

Sudhir Kakar, "The Indian Jungle: Psychoanalysis and Non-Western Civilizations" (Karnac, 2024)

Aug 17, 2024

Ashis Roy, a psychoanalyst and author focusing on Hindu-Muslim relationships, teams up with Dhwani Shah, a psychiatrist and clinical associate faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. They delve into Sudhir Kakar's influential work, discussing the integration of Indian cultural perspectives into psychoanalytic theory. Key topics include the significance of cultural identity for immigrants, the balance between individuality and community ties, and the interplay of spirituality and psychoanalysis in Hindu thought, offering rich insights into non-Western psychological practices.

55:35

Episode guests

Ashis Roy

Dhwani Shah

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The podcast emphasizes reimagining psychoanalysis through an Indian cultural lens, integrating indigenous insights to enhance therapeutic interactions.

It highlights the complex relationship between cultural identity and psychoanalysis, especially for immigrants navigating between Indian and Western contexts.

Deep dives

The Evolution of Psychoanalysis in Indian Context

The discussion emphasizes the need to reimagine psychoanalysis through an Indian lens, moving beyond the Western framework that dominates the field. Sudhir Kakkar, a prominent psychoanalyst, suggests that psychoanalysis could thrive within the unique cultural and historical context of India, integrating indigenous practices and insights. He champions the idea that psychoanalysis, rather than being a strictly Western construct, could be shaped by Indian traditions and spirituality, allowing for richer therapeutic interactions. Kakkar’s assertion invites professionals to acknowledge and investigate the intersections of culture and psyche, contributing to a more holistic understanding of mental health.

Intro

2min

Psychoanalysis Through an Indian Lens

19min

Navigating Cultural Landscapes in Psychoanalysis

4min

Individuality and Communal Life

12min

Exploring Indian Identity Through Cultural Heritage and Western Influences

3min

Spirituality and Psychoanalysis in Hindu Thought

13min

In this podcast, Ashis Roy (Psychoanalyst (IPA) and author of the recently published book Intimacy in Alienation: A Psychoanalytic Study of Hindu-Muslim Relationships (Yoda Press, 2024) is in conversation with Dhwani Shah, MD. Shah is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst currently practicing in Princeton, NJ. He is a clinical associate faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a Supervising Analyst and instructor at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.

Together they engage with Late Sudhir Kakar´s last book the Indian Jungle: Psychoanalysis and Non-Western Civilizations (Karnac, 2024). Shah reflects on Kakar´s contributions to psychoanalysis and on some of the pillars in Kakar´s writing.

About the Indian Jungle

For more than a century, the cultural imagination of psychoanalysis has been assumed and largely continues to be assumed as Western. Although the terroirs of psychoanalysis in South America, France, Italy, England, the United States, and so on have important differences, they all share a strong family resemblance which distinguishes them clearly from the cultural imaginations of Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and other non-Western terroirs.

Fundamental ideas about human relationships, family, marriage, and gender often remain unexamined and pervade the analytic space as if they are universally valid. Thus, ideas that are historically and culturally only true of and limited to modern Western, specifically European and North American middle-class experience, have been incorporated unquestioningly into psychoanalytic thought.

In the intellectual climate of our times, with the rise of relativism in the human sciences and politically with the advent of decolonization, the cultural and historical transcendence of psychoanalytic thought can no longer be taken for granted. Insights from clinical work embedded in the cultural imaginations of non-Western civilizations could help psychoanalysis rethink some of its theories of the human psyche, extending these to cover a fuller range of human experience. These cultural imaginations are an invaluable resource for the move away from a universal psychoanalysis to a more global one that remains aware of but is not limited by its origins in the modern West. This book of essays aims to be a step in that journey, of altering the self-perception of psychoanalysis from ‘one size fits all’ into a more nuanced enterprise that reflects and is enriched by cultural particularities.

The perfect book for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, cultural psychologists, anthropologists, students of South Asian, cultural, and post-colonial studies, and anyone interested in the current and possible future shape of psychoanalytic thought.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory