Keywords
family therapy; civilization; couple conflict; war; international relations
Abstract
Myth or history, the origin of civilization was ascribed in the Hebrew scriptures to the first couple, Adam and Eve, and to the intergenerational saga of their descendants. Civilization has been a concern of psychoanalysts since the time of Freud and Jung, the fathers of depth psychology. In their mature years, they applied their theories and observations of human nature to the tumultuous events of the First and Second World Wars.
Taking their cues, the author utilizes key concepts and insights from family therapy on couple conflict as a lens for analyzing international relations, with the goal for finding their parallels on the dynamics of strife and turmoil in our time and with the premise that the world could be seen as the human family writ large. The article explores how principles for couple analysis — respecting differences, boundaries, history, recognizing stress and transitions and congruent communication — can be transposed to international relations.
Recommended Citation
Lee, Bonnie K.
(2023)
"Family Therapy and Civilization and Its Discontents,"
Comparative Civilizations Review: Vol. 88:
No.
88, Article 12.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/ccr/vol88/iss88/12
Included in
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