object-relations-theory
A psychoanalytic framework emphasizing the importance of early relationships and emotional bonds in shaping the self and human nature.
1 chapter across 1 book
Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis (2009)Jeremy Rifkin
Chapter 2 of Jeremy Rifkin's 'Empathic Civilization' revisits classical and contemporary psychoanalytic theories to propose a new understanding of human nature centered on empathy and relationality rather than instinctual drives alone. Drawing extensively on Freud, Suttie, Winnicott, Bowlby, and others, the chapter traces the evolution of thought from Freud's conflicted view of civilization and human drives to modern attachment theory and the importance of early relational bonds in shaping empathy and social consciousness. The chapter emphasizes the foundational role of early human relationships in developing empathy, which underpins the possibility of a global empathic civilization.