History, morality, and the politics of relationality

a conversation with Philip Cushman

Philip Cushman

pp. 89-116

in: Heather Macdonald, David Goodman, Brian Becker (eds), Dialogues at the edge of American psychological discourse, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017

Abstract

In his interview, Cushman acknowledges that his ideas regarding the cultural and social history of psychotherapy emerged in part from reading Heidegger's and Gadamer's analyses of historical embeddedness. He also discusses the importance of Michel Foucault's (1970, 1973) notions of disciplinary power but is quick to point out that the exercise of power occurs within a tradition and within a network of moral understandings. So, for Cushman, Gadamer is able to rectify some of Foucault's cynicism. Gadamer's embrace of dialogue assumes that interpretation does not proceed on the basis of a sovereign attitude, such as the proposed metaphysics of psychic structures that guide some classical models of psychoanalytic interpretation.

Cited authors

Heidegger Martin

Gadamer Hans-Georg

Foucault Michel

Cushman Philip