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Shades of Loneliness
Pathologies of a Technological Society
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Publisher:
2004
Summary
To varying degrees, loneliness has us all in its grip. In this incisive and controversial book, Richard Stivers rejects the recent emphasis on genetic explanations of psychological problems, arguing that the very organization of technological societies is behind the pervasive experience of loneliness. The extreme rationality that governs our institutions and organizations results in abstract and impersonal relationships in much of daily life. Moreover, as common meaning is gradually eroded, our connections to others become vague and tenuous. Our ensuing fear and loneliness, however, can be masked by an outgoing, extroverted personality. In its extreme form, loneliness assumes pathological dimensions in neurosis and schizophrenia. Stivers maintains that even here the causes remain social. The various forms of neuroses and psychoses follow the key contradictions of a technological society. For instance, narcissism and depression reflect the tension between power and meaninglessness that characterizes modern societies. Stivers demonstrates that there is a continuum from the normal 'technological personality' through the various neuroses to full-blown schizophrenia. He argues that all forms of loneliness emanate from the same cause; they likewise share a common dynamic despite their differences. Loneliness, in its many manifestations, seems to be the price we must pay for living in the modern world. Yet nurturing family, friend, and community ties can mitigate its culturally and psychologically disorganizing power. This book is a clarion call for a renewal of moral awareness and custom to combat the fragmentation and depersonalization of our technological civilization.
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Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2004
ISBN-Print
978-0-7425-3002-7
ISBN-Online
978-1-4175-0359-9
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
149
Product type
Book Titles
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Table of Contents No access
Foreword No access
Acknowledgments No access
Introduction No access Pages 1 - 8
Chapter 1: Technology, Character, and Personality No access Pages 9 - 32
Chapter 2: Technology and Stress No access Pages 33 - 54
Chapter 3: Cultural and Psychological Conflict No access Pages 55 - 74
Chapter 4: Culture and the Neurotic Need for Affection and Power No access Pages 75 - 92
Chapter 5: Compulsive and Impulsive Styles No access Pages 93 - 104
Chapter 6: Narcissism and Depression No access Pages 105 - 124
Chapter 7: Paranoia and Schizophrenia No access Pages 125 - 140
Chapter 8: Shades of Loneliness No access Pages 141 - 144
Index No access Pages 145 - 148
About the Author No access Pages 149 - 149
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