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The Problem of Authority
(1984)
The problem of authority is examined in the light of 1) the studies of authority and the authoritarian character by FROMM (1941), Adorno (1950), Rokeach (1960), and Dominian (1976); 2) the ARCIC reports on Authority in the church (1977, 1982); and 3) the use of authority in theology and the tension between tradition and experience. The conclusion is that >the strong regressive tendency in religion is a constant temptation to authoritarianism<, but because authoritarianism is an uncreative way of dealing with regressive needs, a healthy religion is threatened by authoritarianism.
Societally transmitted stereotypes are examined as one of the types of cognitive factors that condition the motivation of human actions. Aspects discussed include the mechanisms by which stereotypes become part of an individual's system of values, and their effect on man's >social character< (as defined by Erich FROMM). Four pragmatic functions of stereotypes are identified and analyzed: socially integrative, defensive, ideology-forming, and political. All are characterized by a >screening off of social facts<, which is a major element of irrationality in human motivation.
Starting from the classical psychoanalytic view that, in human evolution, an overlap of sexual maturation and dependency [489] occurred, the oedipal situation is regarded as an innate behavioral sequence that also includes appropriate parental responses. An integration between this level of development and the earlier sequence of symbiosis and separation is attempted. In this connection, Bowlby’s concept of the subsidiary at-tachment figure plays a central role. The links between pathological developments at the oedipal level and those at the earlier level are investigated, and clinical examples are provided. In many cases, the Oedipus complex is considered to be the culmination of a bad symbiosis. The hypothesis is then put forth that the Oedipus complex, as a pathological structure, is an historical phenomenon which arose when cultural devel-opments interfered with the appropriate parental responses. It is suggested that these developments were the changes which took place after the advent of agriculture, in particular the changes in family and character structure connected with the peasant adaptation. Finally, the relevance of these problems to training analysis is discussed.