The Innate Necessity for Survival Through Altruism Might Rescue Us from Needless Glorification of Violence in Our Culture

This article addresses the issue of why it is that United States of America glorifies violence and, at the same time, is scared of it, out of proportion to the country's overwhelming world strength and influence. The article focuses initially on the need to own weapons of mass destruction beyon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPsychoanalytic inquiry Vol. 36; no. 6; pp. 497 - 509
Main Author Twemlow, Stuart W.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Routledge 17.08.2016
Laurence Erlbaum Associates
Taylor & Francis Inc
Subjects
Altruism
Destruction
Displacement
Ego
Fear & phobias
Hunting
Intervention
Necessity
Psychoanalysis
Sports
Violence
Weapons
United States > US
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Summary:This article addresses the issue of why it is that United States of America glorifies violence and, at the same time, is scared of it, out of proportion to the country's overwhelming world strength and influence. The article focuses initially on the need to own weapons of mass destruction beyond those needed for sports, including hunting. My psychoanalytic hypothesis suggests that there is a displacement of a fear of being seen by the world as altruistic and, therefore, feminine (castrated and weak); and a hypermasculine defensive façade is often adopted. A history of altruism as reflected in community attitudes is given together with several examples of how altruistic interventions can be very helpful both in schools and in community-wide interventions. The article is the first in a series that will explore altruism as a drive and important in individual analysis beyond its role as an ego defense.
ISSN:0735-1690
1940-9133
DOI:10.1080/07351690.2016.1192399