The politics of the family 9780887845468, 0887845460

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cbc massey lectures series

cbc massey lectures

the politics of the family

— Guardian — R. D. Laing’s analysis of familial interactions examines how various family members experience their relationship to the family unit. Using concepts of schizophrenia, he demonstrates that we tend to invalidate the subjective and experiential and accept the proper societal view of what should occur within the family. Laing discusses the unwritten scenarios in the home situation that rely on defence mechanisms such as denial and projection, and that occur beneath the surface of “normal” family operations. Such mechanisms are also the rules by which society as a whole functions.

R. D. Laing, a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, worked at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, where he served as principal investigator of the Institute’s Schizophrenia and Family Research Unit. From 1964 to 1982 he was chairman of the Philadelphia Association, London, where he developed a new theory to relate psychotic breakdown to family and social networks. His publications include The Self and Others, The Divided Self, Knots, and The Politics of Experience.

r.d. laing the politics of the family

“Everyone in contemporary psychiatry owes something to R. D. Laing.”

cover design: brant cowie / artplus limited

$17.95 ISBN 978-0-88784-546-8

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9 780887 845468

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The Massey Lectures Series The Massey Lectures are co-sponsored by Massey College, in the University of Toronto, and cbc Radio. The series was created in honour of the Right Honourable Vincent Massey, former Governor General of Canada, and was inaugurated in 1961 to enable distinguished authorities to communicate the results of original study or research on important subjects of contemporary interest.

R. D. Laing Ronald David Laing, born in 1927, was a native of Glasgow, Scotland, where he attended grammar school and, in 1951, obtained his degree in medicine from Glasgow University. He earned a Diploma in Psychiatric Medicine from the University of London, and received his psychoanalytical training between 1956 and 1960. From 1956 to 1967 he worked at the Tavistock Clinic and the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, where he served as principal investigator of the Institute’s Schizophrenia and Family Research Unit. After 1965, he worked with the Philadelphia Association, London, and in private practice. Dr. Laing died in 1989.

Also by R. D. Laing The Divided Self The Self and Others Interpersonal Perception (with H. Phillipson and A. R. Lee) Reason and Violence (with David Cooper) Sanity, Madness and the Family (with Aaron Esterson) The Politics of Experience Knots The Facts of Life Do You Love Me Conversations with Children Sonnets The Voice of Experience

Copyright © 1969 by R. D. Laing All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. This edition published in 1993 by House of Anansi Press Inc. 110 Spadina Avenue, Suite 801 Toronto, on m5v 2k4 Tel. 416-363-4343 Fax 416-363-1017 www.anansi.ca First published in 1969 by cbc Enterprises cbc Logo used by permission Distributed in Canada by HarperCollins Canada Ltd. 1995 Markham Road Scarborough, on, m1b 5m8 Toll free tel. 1-800-387-0117

Distributed in the United States by Publishers Group West 1700 Fourth Street Berkeley, ca 94710 Toll free tel. 1-800-788-3123

House of Anansi Press is committed to protecting our natural environment. As part of our efforts, this book is printed on paper that contains 100% post-consumer recycled fibres, is acid-free, and is processed chlorine-free. 14 13 12 11 10

2 3 4 5 6

library and archives canada cataloguing in publication Laing, R. D. (Ronald David), 1927–1989 The politics of the family (Massey Lectures) Text of 5 radio lectures broadcast during Nov. and Dec. 1968. isbn 978-0-88784-546-8 1. Family. I. Title. II. Series. hq7284.35 1993 306.85 c93-094910-2 Book design: Brant Cowie / ArtPlus Limited

We acknowledge for their financial support of our publishing program the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund. Printed and bound in Canada

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