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Review
. 1991 Sep:64 ( Pt 3):211-23.
doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1991.tb01660.x.

Ownership: a pathography of the self

D W Mann  1
Affiliations
Review

Ownership: a pathography of the self

D W Mann. Br J Med Psychol. 1991 Sep.

Abstract

With this essay I intend to base a theory of psychodynamics on the concept of ownership. I begin with the crucial but negative notion, unconsciousness, exploring certain ways in which this notion is necessary to any psychodynamic theory. Following Havens (1986), I take the concept of self as supraordinate to the elements of psychoanalytic structural theory. Building upon a unique relationship between the self and the unconscious, I then show that variations in self-ownership suffice to generate the gamut of psychopathological situations. I critique the economic aspect of Freudian psychodynamic theory, suggesting a way to improve upon it. In light of the theory thus elaborated, I examine the problem of deliberate suffering. Finally, I suggest a place of special importance for the present theory in psychoanalysis and psychiatry.

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