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Metaphor and the violent
Donald Campbell1, Henrik Enckell
1Provost Road, London, NW3 4 ST, UK.
The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis
|August 13, 2005
Summary
Violent individuals sometimes use metaphors that become concretized, leading to physical assaults. This suggests a breakdown in psychic coherence and the ego
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Linguistics
- Psychoanalysis
Background:
- The study explores the relationship between language, metaphor, and violence in clinical settings.
- It examines the function of metaphors in the psychic lives of individuals undergoing treatment.
Observation:
- A correlation was observed between the use of metaphors and subsequent physical assaults in highly verbal, violent patients.
- Metaphors ceased functioning as 'as if' devices and became 'concretised' before violent episodes.
Findings:
- The capacity for psychic interconnection, essential for mental functioning, relies on a primary mental 'warp' or 'frame'.
- Distortions in this mental warp weaken the ego's interconnecting function, analogous to linguistic metaphor breakdown.
- Concretised metaphors represent a failed attempt to maintain psychic coherence during imminent psychological breakdown.
Implications:
- Understanding metaphor concretization can offer insights into the پیشبینی (prediction) and treatment of violent behavior.
- This research highlights the critical role of linguistic and psychic interconnectedness in maintaining psychological stability.
- Clinical interventions may benefit from addressing the underlying psychic fragmentation indicated by concretised metaphors.