The Age of Guilt: The Super-Ego in the Online World

In the digital age, Mark Edmundson explores how Freud's concept of the super-ego can help us understand the harsh cultural climate of cancellation, scapegoating, and raving on Twitter. He suggests that we can manage the super-ego and transform it into an affirmative power by aiming it outward and judging and punishing others for supposed infractions.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 13 June 2023
Publisher: Yale University Press

The digital age has brought about a harsh cultural climate characterized by various phenomena such as cancellation, scapegoating, and raving on social media platforms like Twitter. How did the Internet, which was initially envisioned as a platform for open thought and exchange, transform into a forum for cruelty and judgment? Can an entire culture be mentally ill? How can we understand and address this pressing problem?

Mark Edmundson offers a valuable perspective on contemporary culture and discourse through the concept of the super-ego, the moralistic and often irrational inner judge. Poets like William Blake were acutely aware of this "dark pressure of self-condemnation," and philosophers like Nietzsche recognized its profound influence. One way to temporarily alleviate the self-judgment of the super-ego is to direct it outward, judging and punishing others for perceived infractions. However, this approach often leads to a cascade of bitterness and hatred, as the targets fight back. Edmundson traces the destructive passion of the super-ego across various domains, including politics, race, gender, class, and education, drawing on psychological studies, classroom experiences, and the works of Adam Phillips and Slavoj Žižek. He proposes strategies for managing the super-ego and even transforming it into an affirmative power.

In his book "The Age of Guilt," Edmundson renews the promise of Freudian theory by exploring our unique social moment with psychological insight, humanity, and erudition. He offers a timely and insightful analysis of the challenges and opportunities we face in this digital age, providing valuable insights for navigating the complexities of our contemporary world.

Weight: 350g
Dimension: 147 x 224 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300265811