Anger, Madness, And The Daimonic by Stephen A Diamond, Rollo May (Foreword by)

From the Publisher

In this book, clinical psychologist Stephen A. Diamond determines where anger and rage originate and explores whether these powerful passions are - as most people believe - purely negative, pathological, and evil or can be meaningfully redeemed and rechanneled into constructive activity. What is the psychobiological significance of such feelings? And what is the psychological link between anger, rage, violence, evil, and creativity? Drawing on the discoveries of depth psychologists such as Freud, Jung, Adler, Rank, Reich, and Rollo May, as well as the work of other contemporary psychotherapeutic pioneers, Diamond examines these timely yet eternal questions.

Psychoanalytic Books

[R]ecommended.... [Dr. Diamond] . . . draws on the discoveries of Freud, Jung, Adler, Rank, Reich, and Rollo May, as well as cultural and religious myths, to discuss with impressive scholarship and insight the origins and psychodynamics of destructive people.

Contemporary Psychology

In this remarkable book, Stephen Diamond follows the work of his mentor, Rollo May (1969), in focusing on the ancient Greek idea of the 'daimonic' which he distinguishes from the 'demonic'....Diamond stresses the dual nature of the daimonic and the failure of modern society to distinguish it from the wholly evil demonic as a factor in two, for Diamond, linked problems: first, the rampant outbursts of violence...,and second, the failures of contemporary cost-effective psychotherapies to address those forces in the human being that evoke antisocial behavior and at the same time have the capacity to free up the same individual's deepest creative energy.

Journal of Analytical Psychology

Powerful....[F]ascinating....[Diamond] conducts a critical audit of the contemporary American zeitgeist, cataloguing examples of the epidemic of 'senseless' violence and of antagonism between the sexes. He asks what produces serial killers, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Bobbitt castration case, the O.J. Simpson murder trial, and explores more generally the male response to the rise of feminist anger....[E]njoyable, extremely readable and accessible....[A] sincere, thought-provoking contribution to an important subject.

Ernest Becker Foundation Newsletter

[A] comprehensive, [very valuable] work detailing the powers for good and evil of which humans are capable....[Diamond] presents disturbing and insightful biographies of Kipling, Melville..., van Gogh, Wright, Beethoven, and Bergman, each wrestling with their personal daimons through the creative process....His cataloguing of the history of the phenomenology of the unconscious--from medieval beliefs that the voices people heard were demons or angels, to Freud's Id, to Jung's Shadow--is both brilliant and an indispensable resource for every student of human personality.

What People Are Saying

Morton T. Kelsey
I hasten to endorse this remarkable book. The author covers every aspect of both evil and its curious connection with the creative daimonic. This study is balanced, objective and exhaustive. In a world that cannot forget Hitler and our modern atrocities, it is very timely. I recommend it without qualification-from one who has written on and studied this subject for fifty years. -- (Morton T. Kelsey, University of Notre Dame)

John A. Sanford
A fine book, well written, succinct, psychologically sound, and socially relevant. -- (John A. Sanford, author of Evil: The Shadow Side of Reality)

June Singer
An impressive, prodigious work; so comprehensive, so rich, and very creative. This excellent book is unique in making sense of the 'senseless violence' that permeates American society today.

Rollo May
An excellent book....I have always felt that Dr. Diamond's emphasis on the 'daimonic' was extremely timely and important in our day....[V]ery readable.

Jeremiah Abrams
Evocative, very thorough and succinct, Stephen Diamond's superb book will remain the seminal work on this shadowy subject for a long time to come. -- (Jeremiah Abrams, author of Meeting the Shadow and The Shadow in America)

Product Details

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Table of Contents