Psychoanalytic theory in times of terror

Abstract

Recent events have underlined in the most tragic and dramatic way the need for depth psychology to turn its attention to the psychology of terror. The present paper attempts to distinguish between the psychological modes of horror and terror and explores the different theoretical approaches of Burke, Freud, Kristeva and Jung to this problem in order to cast light on the individual and collective functions that horror and terror play. While all these authors stress that terror and horror play a role in structuring the sense of identity and in strengthening community bonds, Freud and Kristeva believe that the experience of horror works to increase the exclusion of otherness through mechanisms of repression or foreclosure while Burke and Jung see in the encounter with the Negative Sublime or with the Shadow the possibility of widening the boundaries of ego consciousness and of integration of 'otherness'. The paper then uses the analysis of two horror movies and of a particular socio-cultural context to illustrate these different functions of horror and terror and to delineate possible solutions to the problems facing society.

Turkish Elementary School Students’ Perceptions of Local and Global Terrorism

“…When discussing the psychological mechanisms of terrorism, Connolly (2003) emphasized that people who take action in a terrorist act seem to take pleasure in doing it. This reflects notions of sadism that are discussed in analytic psychology.…”

War: Mentalization and Totalitarian State of Mind

“…The totalitarian state of mind and the need for complete control channel all creative energy into protecting the totalitarian state of mind (Czubinska, 2020). Connolly (2003), in this context, succinctly links the inability to tolerate differences with the experience of terror and tyranny. Benbassat (2020) notes that insufficient development of mentalization is closely related to the tendency to unethical, domineering behaviour, while the predictor of ethical and moral behaviour is well‐developed mentalization.…”

Contemporary Consciousness as Reflected in Images of the Vampire

“…The monster and human start to penetrate each other. In a story of "sublime terror, " the borderline between monsters and ourselves is ambiguous through sympathy or empathy (Connolly 2003). With this extension, the vampire has arrived as an entity that speaks to the origin and root theme of the modern human.…”