Dialogue, Confirmation, and the “Good”

Abstract

Perhaps more than most psychological concepts, the concept of recognition is central to the most fundamental question: What does it mean to be human? Recognition underscores one of our basic ideas about being human; namely, that our selfhoods emerge from, are maintained within, and contribute to the shaping of our community of other human beings. However, I think the concept of recognition can also serve to illuminate a more hidden aspect of what it means to be human, what philosopher Charles Taylor calls a desire "to be rightly placed in relation to the good." Our relationships to ourselves and others are transformed when we are recognized as orienting towards a "good." I use phenomenological description and case examples to illustrate my thesis.

The Dignity in Multiplicity: Human Value as a Foundational Concept in Relational Thought

“…Given that dignity concerns the worth of the person, it is understandable that many selfpsychologists devote attention to the topic (Jacobs, 2008;Ornstein, 1993). As Orange (2013) observes, "Self psychology, with its awareness of the many forms of shame and degradation, has placed the restoration of human dignity in the center of the therapeutic project" (p. 110).…”

Embracing the Limits of Psychoanalysis

“…My encounter with Lynne Jacobs’ Gestalt world of dialogue, especially around the ideas of otherness, presence, unconditional meeting, and genuine dialogue, deepened the human dimension to my work and further closed the gap between my conceptual and clinical growth (Jacobs, 1998, 2006). The spirit of a Gestalt approach also served as a bridge to the spiritual dimension of my growth, an approach that gave deeper meaning to the attitudes of unconditional acceptance, surrender (to the complexity of the process), and letting go.…”

Hope, dread, and dignity when “now for next” has collapsed.

“…The third foundation, the project of restoring dignity, is what gives the process of the work on the first two themes their gravity, depth, and richness (Kunz, 2007; Orange, 2011). I believe that gaining skill with one’s emotional process and gaining the resilience to use one’s voice in a community that does not hold one well is what restores a person’s sense of dignity (Jacobs, 1996, 2008, 2017a).…”

“…Finally, a sense of agency is woven through the repair or restoration all of these foundational reasons for entering therapy (Weisel-Barth, 2009). A sense of agency is crucial for persons to have a sense of their own dignity (Jacobs, 2008;Wollheim, 1986).…”