Psyche and Eros Mind and Gender in the Life Course [Paperback]

This 1994 book asserts that the experience of development differs along gender lines.Asserting that the core experience of development differs along gender lines, the classical Greek myth of the gods Psyche and Eros serves as an evocative illustration of the author's theory, which argues that competition between masculine and feminine parts of the mind has limited developmental growth.Asserting that the core experience of development differs along gender lines, the classical Greek myth of the gods Psyche and Eros serves as an evocative illustration of the author's theory, which argues that competition between masculine and feminine parts of the mind has limited developmental growth.In Psyche and Eros, Gisela Labouvie-Vief describes historical and current concepts of mind and development, drawing from disciplines as diverse as philosophy, mythology, religion, literature, and psychology. She then presents a powerful theory of the maturing of mind, which brings together her empirical work and her exploration into mythology. The classical Greek myth of the gods Psyche and Eros serves as an evocative illustration of the author's theory. Psyche and Eros asserts that the core experience of development differs along gender lines. Rationality is regarded as masculine, while imagination is viewed as feminine. Competition between masculine and feminine parts of the mind has limited our ability to describe the mind and its development over the life course. The author suggests that we overcome the dualistic way of thinking about mind, and see how rationality and imagination can complement each other.Acknowledgments; 1. Prelude; Part I. The Mind Divided: 2. The rage of Aphrodite: the vertical mind; 3. The marriage of death: ascent and loss in development; 4. Night and day: reason and gender; Part II. The Mind Restored: 5. Knife and lamp: Mythos rediscovered; 6. Psyche's trials: the transformation of desire; 7. Postlude: the sacred marriage; Notes; References. ...lc*