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This book was written to show that light is a primal element of
life. All life originates and develops under the influence of the
light of the sun, that "super terrestrial natural force" (Goethe).
Sunlight influences the vital processes not onlyofthe plant (e. g.
, heliotropism, photosynthesis) and the animal (e. g. , color
change, maturation of the gonads) but of man as well. The human
organism too reacts "heliotropically," as the 24 hour rhythm of the
sleep-waking cycle demonstrates. of Artists have always perceived
clearly the intensive stimulatory effect sunlight on their
activity. One is reminded here ofCesare Lombroso, who wrote to his
daughter "that thoughts come in the greatest profusion when (my)
room is flooded with the sun's rays. " Richard Wagner exclaimed:
"Ifonly the sun would come out, I would have the score finished in
no time. " Bernard Shaw had a little cottage where he worked that
could be turned according to the position of the sun. The composer
Humperdinck wrote: "The sun is indispensable for my work; that is
why it is important for me to have my study face east or south. "
As these few examples indicate, it is above all those active in the
arts who intuitively grasp the positive influence of sunlight on
the psycho-physical effi ciency of their organism. In an age,
however, when fluorescent lighting turns night into day, we are in
danger of forgetting that man is a creature of nature as well as of
culture.
THE INSANITY OF NORMALITY: TOWARD UNDERSTANDING HUMAN
DESTRUCTIVENESS by ARNO GRUEN According to Sigmund Freud, man is
born with an innate tendency to destruction and violence; in THE
INSANITY OF NORMALITY, the psychoanalyst Arno Gruen challenges that
assumption, arguing instead that at the root of evil lies
self-hatred, a rage originating in a self-betrayal that begins in
childhood, when autonomy is surrendered in exchange for the "love"
of those who wield power over us. To share in that subjugating
power, we create a false self, an image of ourselves that springs
from a powerful and deep-seated sense of fear. Gruen traces this
pattern of adaptation and smoldering rebellion through a number of
case studies, sociological phenomena - from Nazism to Reaganomics -
and literary works. The insanity this attitude produces,
unfortunately, goes widely unrecognized precisely because it has
become the "realism" that modern society inculcates into its
members. Gruen warns, however, that escape from this pattern lies
not simply in rebellion, for the rebel remains emotionally tied to
the object of his rebellion, but in the development of a personal
autonomy. His elegant and far-reaching conclusion is that while
autonomy is not easily attained, its absence proves catastrophic to
both individual and society. "With compassion and conviction Dr.
Gruen carefully exposes the undiagnosed and undisclosed insanity
unwittingly accepted as normality... This is a text for leaders and
followers, for conformists and rebels alike, for members of the
healing professions who seek to repair the destructive fallout from
our pursuit of normality and for all who strive for a more
compassionate and saner social order."-Montague Ullman, M.D. DR.
ARNO GRUEN was born in Germany and emigrated to the United States
as a child in 1936. After completing his graduate studies in
psychology at New York University, he trained in psychoanalysis
under Theodor Reik. Dr. Gruen has held many teaching posts in this
country, including seventeen years as professor of psychology at
Rutgers University. Since 1979 he has lived and practiced in
Switzerland. His groundbreaking first book, THE BETRAYAL OF THE
SELF, was published by in 1988. THE INSANITY OF NORMALITY was first
published in Germany by Ksel Verlag under the title Der Wahnsinn
der Normalitt-Realismus als Krankheit: eine grundlegende Theorie
zur menschlichen Destruktivitt. The book was first published in
English in 1992.
"A provactive critique of traditional therapy's view of childhood .
. . This is explosive stuff. I can't imagine anyone coming away
from this book without several newfound discoveries about herself
and her relation to her parents."--Nancy Evans, "Glamour"Originally
published in 1984, "Thou Shalt Not Be Aware" explodes Freud's
notions of "infantile sexuality" and helps to bring to the world's
attention the brutal reality of child abuse, changing forever our
thoughts of "traditional" methods of child-rearing. Dr. Miller
exposes the harsh truths behind children's "fantasies" by examining
case histories, works of literature, dreams, and the lives of such
people as Franz Kafka, Virginia Woolf, Gustave Flaubert, and Samuel
Beckett. Now with a new preface by Lloyd de Mause and a new
introduction by the author, "Thou Shalt Not Be Aware" continues to
bring an essential understanding to the confrontation and treatment
of the devastating effects of child abuse.""Thou Shalt Not Be
Aware" is that rarest of gems, a highly creative and exciting work
which throws a multifaceted light upon the development of human
nature in the Western World."--Ashley Montagu"Alice Miller is not
out to 'hang the bastards, ' but rather to help create a world of
self-conscious and self-loving individuals who don't need, want or
know how to abuse others."--Sheila Koren, "San Francisco Chronicle
""It is timely. It is powerful. It is painful . . . absorbing,
enlightening and provoking."--Louise Lione," Charlotte
Observer"Alice Miller, Ph.D., practiced and taught psychoanalysis
for over twenty years before devoting herself to writing in 1979.
She is the author of the bestselling "Prisoners of Childhood"
(reissued inpaperback as "The Drama of the Gifted Child") and "For
Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of
Violence," as well as numerous other books.
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