About Human Goodness - by Glebs Troscenkovs (Hardcover)

About the Book

Through twelve essays, this book synthesizes the psychoanalytic literature on human goodness: happiness, motivation, kindness, forgiveness, etc.

Book Synopsis

Human goodness and the associated psychic phenomena are essential trajectories of mental health and well-being, towards which an ethical psychoanalytic work should ultimately strive. This book attempts to bring together the relatively limited and scattered psychoanalytic literature on these phenomena; to synthesize, analyze, and narrate the main ideas of that literature; and to discuss these ideas with personal reflections on each topic. It presents twelve essays, each on a book that related to an aspect of goodness: Kindness, Gentleness, Commitment, Passion, Love, Forgiveness, Happiness, Dignity, Playfulness, Spontaneity, Curiosity, and Faith, with an outro on Gratitude. This book will be of interest to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists, professionals and students in mental health, and, more broadly, to readers in psychology, sociology, philosophy, and other humanitarian sciences.

Review Quotes

"This is a rich and unusual book, which invites the reader to introspect as well as think along with the author. Its format is unique, yet it is not just a book about books. The author engages the complicated and profound subjects-love, faith, gratitude, etc.-of the books he has chosen, in and beyond the consulting room, with his own philosophical eye and clinical ear. He has included writing from many different perspectives and regions. Relevant to experienced clinicians, I also highly recommend it as a teaching text for psychoanalytic candidates, students in the mental health field, and philosophers." --Jennifer Davids, adult, child and adolescent psychoanalyst; fellow, British Psychoanalytical Society and International Psychoanalytic Association

"I warmly recommend About Human Goodness to both professionals and non-professionals seeking to deepen their understanding of salutogenesis (the development of healthy individuals), as opposed to focusing solely on pathogenesis (the development of illnesses). While it includes some professional terminology, the language is not overly technical, making the book accessible even to novice readers.

This book has the potential to inspire every reader to reflect on the virtues that help us feel better and contribute to making the world a better place. The language and presentation perfectly reflect the book's core themes, radiating the author's gentle, loving, and respectful attitude toward both readers and the cited authors. The passion and playfulness of Dr. Glebs Troscenkovs bring the text to life, making it an engaging and inspiring read. Dr. Troscenkovs could very well become a prominent voice in psychoanalytic literature." --Ernests Pulins-Cinis, MD, psychotherapist based in Riga, Latvia; medical director of Riga Stradins University Clinic of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy; board member, Latvian Doctors Association of Psychotherapists

"Although Donald Winnicott considered joy to be primary, within psychoanalysis, goodness is typically approached through a Freudian conception of libidinal resentment in which guilt about being good gives rise to an everyday unhappiness that signifies maturity. This timely volume reveals that the good is not simply a tragic component of moral seriousness, but that it is also a source of vitality that aids the cultivation of joy. Within these pages, Glebs Troscenkovs considers that an integration of romantic authenticity and stoic conscientiousness is necessary for a balanced maturity. Taking up works by psychoanalytic authors as diverse as Andre Green and Herbert Schlesinger, Troscenkovs critically explores goodness through examination of subjects ranging from love and passion to dignity and forgiveness. Troscenkovs's wonder about how one continues to risk kindness in an increasingly self-centered and competitive world awakens awe. I recommend this gem of a book to anyone concerned with situating feeling compassion and care-the stuff of goodness-within the field of contemporary psychoanalysis." --Louis Rothschild, PhD, clinical psychologist based in Maryland, USA; author of Rapprochement Between Fathers and Sons: Breakdowns, Reunions, Potentialities

About the Author

Glebs Troscenkovs, MD, is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and psychoanalyst-in-training from Riga, Latvia. He is a full member of Latvian Association of Psychotherapists and a candidate of Estonian-Latvian Psychoanalytical Society and International Psychoanalytical Association. He has published in the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies and the American Journal of Psychoanalysis. His special areas of interest include analyzing psychoanalytic literature and educating psychotherapists.