Friday 13 June 2008

The epistemophilic impulse

the-epistemophilic-impulse

"The early connection between the epistemophilic impulse [cf. epistemology] and sadism is very important for the whole mental development. This instinct, roused by the striving of the Oedipus tendencies, at first mainly concerns itself with the mother's womb, which is assumed to be the scene of all sexual processes and developments. The child is till dominated by the anal-sadistic libido-position which impels him to wish to appropriate the contents of the womb. He thus begins to be curious about what it contains, what it is like, etc. So the epistemophilic instinct and the desire to take possession come quite early to be most intimately connected with one another and at the same time with the sense of guilt aroused by the incipient Oedipus conflict."

Melanie Klein (1928) 'Early Stages of the Oedipus Complex'. In J. Mitchell (ed) The Selected Melanie Klein. Harmondsworth:Penguin, 1986; p.72

15 comments:

ElizT said...

Sigh...
[Word verification says pysqhitt]

switch said...

That's just plain silly.

I agree with elizt's word verification

Pysqhitt!

Note: My W.V. says something about LSD and Muzg.

Steve said...

I can imagine that for mothers it might be difficult to accept that at some point, or perhaps at various points, your children had deeply violent, destructive impulses towards you. And yet, when dished up to us as fiction (I'm thinking particularly of Frey's Million Little Pieces and Shriver's Kevin) we embrace it.

Anonymous said...

hahahahaha! if my children don't want to kill me i feel like i'm not doing my job. speaking of frey, i really liked "bright shiny morning" did you read it?

Unknown said...

I require evidence.

ElizT said...

Yes. Mutual. But. Yawn.

Steve said...

How exciting to have stirred you all to such distaste (or boredom: same thing as distaste) for an idea.

Anonymous said...

i did an illo friday comic - tried comic format in honor of mr. prozac. take a peek if you are bored...

Anonymous said...

and speaking of bored, not bored at all by this one. you are projecting i think (yeah, i'm waaay more amateur at this shrink thing than the rest of you)

Steve said...

Like yer comic Ms Frute.

You may be right about my projection.

Although, I really think I'm coming round to Klein. She's nuttier than a bag of nuts with 'NUTS' written on the outside, sold by a clown dressed to resemble Salvador Dali, but that's what I like about psychoanalytic literature. The more irrational the claim, the more likely it to be true, and yet not. Both the truth and un-truth residing in the same surreal shell.

Anonymous said...

kind of like celebrity tabloids. not that i read those.

and um, my apricot (was a peach...)

Anonymous said...

I have been lurking around here for a few days. I have to say, I love your comics, they are the best!

Steve said...

The best of what? What am I being compared to? If the best of internet comics, spare your praises handmaiden.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, but internet comics are the only kind I look at.
Of course there are probably millions of them out there & I haven't seen them all.
Of the few I have seen,(15 or 20) yours are the best, so far.

I'm very sincere, you know.

Steve said...

I'm sure you are, handmaiden.

It's interesting, isn't it, that sincerity is never doubted when someone is paying us a compliment.

But if they tell us off, it's probably cos they're unhinged.