Eyes, Mind and Vision

A vital investigation into the importance of eyes and vision in psychoanalytic theory, which includes conceptual innovations, linguistic nuances, illustrations from fairy tales and folklore, film criticism, global concerns, sexual perversion, and clinical vignettes to bring theory to life. A must-read for psychoanalysts and ocular professionals.

This pioneering work introduces the concept of psychoanalytic ophthalmology with chapters from Salman Akhtar, Suzanne Benser, Cemile Serin Gurdal, Richard K. Hertel, Alan Michael Karbelnig, Nilofer Kaul, Toni Mandelbaum, Anneliese Riess, Nina Savelle-Rocklin, Brian Watermeyer, and Thomas Wolman. Eyes play a role in a number of diverse psychopathologies, including hallucinations, blindness, voyeurism, and the feeling of being invisible or, conversely, under constant surveillance. Yet, vision is more than mere physical sight. There exist cultural notions, such as the “evil eye” and the mythic self-blinding of Oedipus, and the actions of seeing, looking, and watching (and the passive being seen, being looked at, being watched) play a huge part in childhood psychological development and adult psychosocial functioning. Our ocular experience begins with the maternal gaze and the eye-to-eye contact of mother and infant, which moves on to the ubiquitous “peek-a-boo” game, young children shouting “look at me!”, adolescents torn between wanting to be seen and to be invisible, the locked eyes of adult lovers, and so much more. Eyes can express respect or contempt, love or hate; they are called the windows to the soul. This collection of inspiring papers brings a much-needed focus on their varied and multi-layered role in our physical and mental lives and their continuing and overlooked importance in psychoanalytic theory and practice. This enjoyable book is ideal reading for academics and clinicians.

Acknowledgments

About the editors and contributors

Introduction

Prologue

1. The mother’s eye
Anneliese Riess

Part I: Developmental Realm

2. Vision, attachment, and the development of the self
Toni Mandelbaum

3. Primal scene and other cocreated “wild things”
Cemile Serin Gürdal

Part II: Cultural Realm

4. The spectrum of sight in literary and psychoanalytic narratives
Nilofer Kaul

5. Psychoanalytic aspects of blindness as depicted in three Hollywood films
Thomas Wolman

6. The lethal psychic blindness about global warming and nuclear threat
Alan Michael Karbelnig

Part III: Clinical Realm

7. Blindness, psychoanalysis, and the denial of our shared human condition
Brian Watermeyer

8. The impact of childhood visual difficulties on adult psychic functioning
Richard K. Hertel

9. On feeling watched
Nina Savelle-Rocklin

10. Voyeurism
Salman Akhtar

Epilogue

11. The analyst’s eye
Suzanne Benser

References

Index

• Edited by Salman Akhtar
• Edited by Nina Savelle-Rocklin

"'From the mother's eye to the analyst's eye, this wonderful volume explores the developmental, cultural, and clinical aspects of seeing, visualizing, and being seen. Salman Akhtar and Nina Savelle-Rocklin have brought together a distinguished group of contributors who provide multidimensional - literal, metaphorical, scientific, and artistic - perspectives on vision that will be truly mind expanding for all psychotherapists and psychoanalysts.'Charles P. Fisher, MD, Associate Director, Science Department, American Psychoanalytic Association, co-editor of 'The Rangell Reader''In the image-driven culture of the twenty-first century where identities and ideologies are often shaped by what one sees and what one is made to see, this book places a revealing psychoanalytic lens on visual realities and imaginations. It helps us reflect upon not only what all the images we are bombarded with reveal but also, more importantly, what they conceal from our inner selves.'Sergio Lewkowicz, MD, Training and Supervising Analyst, Psychoanalytic Society of Porto Alegre, co-editor of 'On Freud's Mourning and Melancholia''Salman Akhtar and Nina Savelle-Rocklin have done it again! In this co-edited new collection of accessibly written contributions from various parts of the world, we are invited to re-view developmental, symbolic, cultural and clinical aspects of seeing. Drawing on Freud, Winnicott, Mahler, and others, the psychopathology of vision is described and expanded. Seeing is located in the context of object relations. Aspects of the superego are linked to the inner eye, e.g., in watching and being watched. The authors discuss how much we blind ourselves to personal and broader, dangerous realities, such as global warming and nuclear threats. The book truly gathers together and widens the field of ""psychoanalytic ophthalmology"" and is highly relevant to medical practitioners and those in the mental health field.'Jennifer Davids, Fellow BPaS, IPA, Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychoanalyst, author of 'The Nursery Age Child'"
—

‘From the mother’s eye to the analyst’s eye, this wonderful volume explores the developmental, cultural, and clinical aspects of seeing, visualizing, and being seen. Salman Akhtar and Nina Savelle-Rocklin have brought together a distinguished group of contributors who provide multidimensional – literal, metaphorical, scientific, and artistic – perspectives on vision that will be truly mind expanding for all psychotherapists and psychoanalysts.’

— Charles P. Fisher, MD, Associate Director, Science Department, American Psychoanalytic Association, co-editor of 'The Rangell Reader'

‘Salman Akhtar and Nina Savelle-Rocklin have done it again! In this co-edited new collection of accessibly written contributions from various parts of the world, we are invited to re-view developmental, symbolic, cultural and clinical aspects of seeing. Drawing on Freud, Winnicott, Mahler, and others, the psychopathology of vision is described and expanded. Seeing is located in the context of object relations. Aspects of the superego are linked to the inner eye, e.g., in watching and being watched. The authors discuss how much we blind ourselves to personal and broader, dangerous realities, such as global warming and nuclear threats. The book truly gathers together and widens the field of “psychoanalytic ophthalmology” and is highly relevant to medical practitioners and those in the mental health field.’

— Jennifer Davids, Fellow BPaS, IPA, Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychoanalyst, author of 'The Nursery Age Child'

‘In the image-driven culture of the twenty-first century where identities and ideologies are often shaped by what one sees and what one is made to see, this book places a revealing psychoanalytic lens on visual realities and imaginations. It helps us reflect upon not only what all the images we are bombarded with reveal but also, more importantly, what they conceal from our inner selves.’

— Sergio Lewkowicz, MD, Training and Supervising Analyst, Psychoanalytic Society of Porto Alegre, co-editor of 'On Freud’s Mourning and Melancholia'