ambivalence

Totem and Taboo by Sigmund Freud.

Chapter two, Taboo and the Ambivalence of Emotions, part one.

Section one.

Taboo is a Polynesian word, the translation of which provides difficulties for us because we no longer possess the idea which it connotes.

Among these, I stress on those taboos which are attached, A, to enemies, B, to chiefs, and C, to the dead.

The material for our investigation is taken from the excellent collection of J.G. Fraser in his great work, The Golden Bough.

End of Chapter 2, Part 1 Read by Mary Schneider Totem and Taboo Resemblances Between the Psychic Lives of Savages and Neurotics By Professor Dr. Sigmund Freud Translated by A.A. Brill This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Totem and Taboo Chapter 2 Taboo and the Ambivalence of Emotion Part 2 A.

The Treatment of Enemies Inclined as we may have been to ascribe to savage and semi-savage races uninhibited and remorseless cruelty towards their enemies, it is of great interest to us to learn that with them too the killing of a person compels the observation of a series of rules which are associated with taboo customs.

And I think for, obviously for different immediate reasons, but I think that like the way that you said is like the control, like systems of control.

And this gets to my kind of Ambivalent, well, not even ambivalent, just my distrust of institutions and that kind of thing.

What you said was, I mean, we've inherited this practice, like that tradition produced us.

I struggle to keep that in mind at the same time as I think about what is the essence? Like, I always want to identify, like, what is the essence of this? What's the thing that we're actually trying to respect and develop? But that is a kind of a dualism where I can say I've isolated that and then everything else I can cast off.

I mean, Franzen even filmed B-roll footage with her production crew in his hometown of St. Louis.

But then, he publicly and loudly expressed ambivalence about the selection.

Ambivalence is the polite academic word for it.

He went on NPR and actively whined that the Oprah book club logo printed on the cover of his novel would dissuade men from reading it.

He essentially called some of her previous book club selections schmaltzy.

The other person is not a planet orbiting you, the sun.

We orbit each other, and that entails that we have a mature relationship with ambivalence to tolerate the mixed experience that is loving anything, that is being alive, you know.Um, psychoanalyst, uh, Adam Phillips says, "We're ambivalent about anything and everything that matters to us.

Indeed, ambivalence is the way we recognize that someone or something has become significant to us Ambivalence, often the way I think about the first noble truth.

That things are not just one way.

Pleasure trembles others heal us and disappoint us; the moment does not satiate can we open our heart to ambivalence? And opening to some ambivalence en-entails a measure of grief...

Two, it can stop them from getting in touch with their own ambivalence, which ambivalence is a powerful force.

You know, we want them to get in touch with that.

Ambivalence is a powerful force.

Another suicide attempt survivor on this podcast made a similar point that stuck with us.

He said, you don't have to be excited about a future, just at least a little curious about it.

It is the absolute core.

Ambivalence is the engine of film noir.

Okay.

In a standard Hollywood picture, the moral universe is perfectly balanced.

So in this article that you wrote, you wrote, "It's a today decision, not a forever decision.

Ambivalence isn't weakness.

It's the honest response to a decision this big." I love that.

So true.

Hmm

... ambivalence is the love-hate.

Ambivalence is the I am both frustrated by you and I care about you.

I both long to be close to you and I want to go away from you at the same time.

Right.