Overview

The discovery of mirror neurons in the 1990s led to an explosion of research and debate about the imitative capacities of the human brain. Some herald a paradigm shift on the order of DNA in biology, while others remain skeptical. In this revolutionary volume Jean- Michel Oughourlian shows how the hypotheses of René Girard can be combined with the insights of neuroscientists to shed new light on the “mimetic brain.” Offering up clinical studies and a complete reevaluation of classical psychiatry, Oughourlian explores the interaction among reason, emotions, and imitation and reveals that rivalry—the blind spot in contemporary neuroscientific understandings of imitation—is a misunderstood driving force behind mental illness. Oughourlian’s analyses shake the very foundations of psychiatry as we know it and open up new avenues for both theoretical research and clinical practice.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jean-Michel Oughourlian ,  Trevor Cribben Merrill
Publisher:   Michigan State University Press
Imprint:   Michigan State University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.612kg
ISBN:  

9781611861891

ISBN 10:   1611861896
Pages:   242
Publication Date:   01 January 2016
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Contents Author’s Note Preface Introduction Part 1. Towards a Mimetic Anthropology Chapter 1. Contagious Desire Chapter 2. The Precursors Chapter 3. Some Contemporaries Part 2. A Psychiatry of the Three Brains Chapter 4. Interdividual Psychology Chapter 5. Psychological Time and the Nodal Points N and N' Chapter 6. The Three Brains Chapter 7. The Three Possibilities of the Interdividual Rapport Chapter 8. Classical Nosology Part 3. An Essay in Mimetic Nosology Chapter 9. Figures of the Other in Normal Experience Chapter 10. Figures of the Other in Neurotic Experience Chapter 11. Figures of the Other in Psychotic Experience Chapter 12. Mood Disorders Chapter 13. Diseases of Desire Part 4. The Dialectic of the Rational, Emotional, and Mimetic Brains Chapter 14. The Mimetic Mechanism Chapter 15. Some Clinical Studies Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

This is Oughourlian s most important book since The Puppet of Desire. . . . Its theory of the three brain functions rational, emotive, and mimetic is clearly explained and well-illustrated with fascinating case studies that show how psychoses and neuroses need to be understood as involving the interaction of all three in different proportions relating to the particular case. As an added bonus, the author s warm humanity and sense of humor make this book a delight to read. Eugene Webb, professor emeritus, University of Washington

“This is Oughourlian’s most important book since The Puppet of Desire. . . . Its theory of the three ‘brain functions’—rational, emotive, and mimetic—is clearly explained and well-illustrated with fascinating case studies that show how psychoses and neuroses need to be understood as involving the interaction of all three in different proportions relating to the particular case. As an added bonus, the author’s warm humanity and sense of humor make this book a delight to read.” –Eugene Webb, professor emeritus, University of Washington

Author Information

Jean-Michel Oughourlian is the former chief of psychiatry at the American Hospital of Paris and taught for many years at the Sorbonne and the University of Franche-Comté.

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