Trigant Burrow and the social world

Abstract

This paper reviews significant aspects of the work of Trigant Burrow (1875–1950), an early psychoanalyst who, while less well known than many of his contemporaries, was, as a number of commentators have argued, well ahead of his time. This article discusses four areas of his theory: the preconscious, the nest instinct, and the love subject; primary unity, primary intersubjectivity, and the “I” persona; social images, social neurosis, and the social unconscious; and, finally, group, community, and society. The article argues that the study of Burrow's work is important, firstly, in recognizing the historical antecedents of what may be viewed as a social turn in both psychoanalysis and psychotherapy; and, secondly, in helping psychoanalytic thinking to be more open to diversity with regard to marginalized theory and people.

Radical enactivism: A guide for the perplexed.

“…The article begins with a brief summary of the work of another forgotten thinker in psychology who, contra Descartes, foresaw an integrated bodymind, that is, Trigant Burrow (for an edited volume of and introduction to his work, see Pertegato & Pertegato, 2013; and for a recent appraisal of his work, see Drury & Tudor, 2022). We think that with an understanding of Burrow's work "a place is prepared" (Wittgenstein, 1969, Sec.…”

Unintentional racial microaggressions and the social unconscious

“…I considered these findings through the lens of the social unconscious, a concept with its origins in group analysis that examines the interrelations between intrapsychic and social realities and how these manifest in the group (Geyer, 2017). The phenomenon of a social unconscious was first proposed by Burrow (1924), used by Fromm (1962), though without reference to Burrow (see Drury & Tudor, 2022, in this issue), and developed further by Foulkes (1964), and became an important concept in group therapy. It is a concept which has gained more attention in recent years (Geyer, 2017).…”