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Here I'm Alive

The Spirit of Music in Psychoanalysis

Michael Levin author Adam Blum author Peter Goldberg author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Columbia University Press

Published:28th Mar '23

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Here I'm Alive cover

This book presents a unique exploration of music's vital role in human psychology, emphasizing its importance for identity and cultural participation in Here I’m Alive.

In Here I’m Alive, three psychoanalytic clinicians come together to present a novel perspective on the integral role of music in our psychological existence. They delve into an interdisciplinary analysis that reveals how music is not merely an art form but a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human. The authors argue that music shapes our embodied sense of belonging, helping us navigate and participate in the shared cultural fabric of our world.

Through their collaboration, the clinicians explore the profound connections between music and our psychological development. They emphasize that music is essential for establishing our identity and fostering relationships with others. By examining the musical underpinnings of human experience, Here I’m Alive offers insights into how our emotional lives are intertwined with musical expression, highlighting its significance in shaping our desires and behaviors.

With a unified voice, the authors articulate how music acts as a guiding force in our lives. They suggest that without this musical foundation, individuals may find themselves lost amidst the chaos of existence. Here I’m Alive ultimately invites readers to reflect on the ways in which music enriches our lives and informs our understanding of ourselves and our connections to others.

Showing us that music is at the heart of human development, of sociability, of love and desire—at the heart of most of what matters to us—this book shows us what many of us have always somehow thought but have never been able to know with such clarity and vision. Not simply one of the most fascinating books written about psychoanalysis, Here I’m Alive is, more importantly, about just how musical our lives are and can be. It is a unique and remarkable book. -- Adam Phillips, author of The Cure for Psychoanalysis
The phrase 'music lover' always rankled me, and this wild, beautiful, polyphonic book shows why: music is not just loved; music is love, is everywhere, is everything. Far from being a book just about music and psychoanalysis, Here I’m Alive is an experiment in eros. Its venerable concepts—the unconscious, the drives, rhythm, harmony—become a loom that weaves a world-sized tapestry. -- Seth Brodsky, University of Chicago, author of From 1989, or European Music & the Modernist Unconscious
Here I’m Alive is quietly revolutionary in the way it proposes that we as psychoanalysts are in the business of reuniting our patients with the musical dimension of life through which they become more fully human, more fully themselves. These essays illustrate the role of music in the very fabric of life. -- Thomas Ogden, author of Coming to Life in the Consulting Room: Toward a New Analytic Sensibility

ISBN: 9780231209458

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

328 pages