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Mark Gerard Murphy

The Direction of Desire: John of the Cross, Jacques Lacan and the Contemporary Understanding of Spiritual Direction

The Direction of Desire: John of the Cross, Jacques Lacan and the Contemporary Understanding of Spiritual Direction

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  • More about The Direction of Desire: John of the Cross, Jacques Lacan and the Contemporary Understanding of Spiritual Direction

The book explores the potential of Lacanian psychoanalysis to reinvigorate spiritual direction, criticizing the focus on positive affective experientialism and suggesting a new dialogue between John of the Cross and Jacques Lacan. It appeals to students and scholars of psychoanalysis, religion, philosophy, and critical theory.

Format: Hardback
Length: 315 pages
Publication date: 26 September 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

The book explores the potential of Lacanian psychoanalysis to revitalize spiritual direction, highlighting the limitations of current methods that have become saturated with self-help psycho-pop approaches. The author argues that spiritual direction should prioritize emotional wholeness, healing, and positivity, challenging the focus on 'positive affective experientialism' prevalent in these practices. By engaging in a dialogue between John of the Cross, a mystic whose writings on spiritual direction form a significant part of the Catholic spiritual tradition, and Jacques Lacan, the author proposes a way to transcend the confines of experientialism and offer a more comprehensive spiritual direction. The book concludes that a critical examination of the drive to experience is necessary to escape the commodification of spiritual direction. This work will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of psychoanalysis, religion, philosophy, and critical theory.


Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031331060
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023

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