You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
The Body Image Study Group, which operates under the auspices of the Pfeffer Center for Neuropsychoanalysis, met throughout 2010-11 to discuss what biologists call development and psychoanalysts call the genetic point of view.
We went through the history of the nature-nurture problem as debated over most of the twentieth century by European ethologists and American animal behaviorists. The theoretical concepts, which were developed from research on animal behavior, were extrapolated to psychoanalytic theory. We went beyond the original delineation of causal factors arising from internal and external sources (“nature-nurture”) to trying to understand the role of hierarchically organized causal factors including body image. We tried to theorize the application of theories of development of animal behavior to the development of mental life in humans.
The new year began with the profoundly devastating loss of one of our members, Eleanor Galenson, who died at home at the age of 94. Eleanor was one of the most extraordinary people one could ever hope to meet. She was full of life until the end, seeing patients, hosting salons and soirées, attending concerts, meeting with friends, and challenging us all with her vast erudition and intelligence. She was an enthusiastic thinker and questioner. She was at the center of the action for the last half of the century and knew almost all the great people whose ideas comprise the contemporary field of psychoanalysis. We will miss her without end.
In the fall we will begin a year's study of the mind-body problem, where the mind is the psychoanalytic mind and the body is contemporary neurobiology. Our group is tilting a bit toward the geriatric side, and we would encourage one or two young analysts to join us. We meet monthly in New York City.