This short note explores a profound idea on which the philosopher Hegel and the psychoanalyst Winnicott agree: that growing up (and, possibly, becoming wise) is a developmental process driven by negative experiences. Where we end up depends on how we come to terms with them.
Dec 19, 2023·edited Dec 19, 2023Liked by Gary Borjesson
I really enjoyed this essay. The point about snow plow parenting perhaps explains a fair bit of the fragility that so many seem to be observing in young people. Well done. Beautifully written, as always.
Thank you for the kind comment. I think you're exactly right about the connection between over-protective parenting and fragility--and a lack of resilience.
Wikipedia link quintupled my knowledge of Hegel, although the good parts of philosophy have a way of becoming conventional wisdom and thus not-unfamiliar or even “obvious”
That's a great observation. Though few have studied Hegel, his thought (he would say a dumbed-down version of it) suffuses Western thinking in various ways. Marx for example turned Hegelian dialectic on its head and ran with it.
I really enjoyed this essay. The point about snow plow parenting perhaps explains a fair bit of the fragility that so many seem to be observing in young people. Well done. Beautifully written, as always.
Thank you for the kind comment. I think you're exactly right about the connection between over-protective parenting and fragility--and a lack of resilience.
Wonderful teaching and connections here, many thanks for sharing your thoughts
Wikipedia link quintupled my knowledge of Hegel, although the good parts of philosophy have a way of becoming conventional wisdom and thus not-unfamiliar or even “obvious”
That's a great observation. Though few have studied Hegel, his thought (he would say a dumbed-down version of it) suffuses Western thinking in various ways. Marx for example turned Hegelian dialectic on its head and ran with it.
You’re in a “movement” apparently !
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/when-philosophers-become-therapists