Sunday, April 26, 2009

Up and Down 'The Elevator' in Hegel's Hotel -- and Into The Psychology and Personality Theory Section of The Hotel

For distinction and clarification purposes here, let me point out that I wish to reserve at least seven floors in Hegel's Hotel for the strict study of psychology -- most notably, personality theory and its various ramifications and offshoots into psychopathology (neurosis and psychosis or sczhizophrenia); personal growth; and clinical psychology/psychotherapy.

In this regard, I wish to introduce a model of the human psyche that will take up seven floors in the 'Psychology' section of Hegel's Hotel.

This model and the 'seven different floors' are described below:

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A Hegel's Hotel Seven Floor Model of The Human Psyche

Hegel's Hotel Personality Theory Section -- Floor 1: The 'First Basement Floor' will be dedicated to studying 'The Genetic, Potential Humanistic-Existential Self' -- 'The Essence, Architectural Design, and/ or Blue Print' of The Individual Self, Psyche, and/or Personality;

Hegel's Hotel Personality Theory Section -- Floor 2: The 'Second Basement Floor': The Genetic and/or Collective Unconscious' including the study of mythology, archetypes, symbolism, creativity and dream work, Freud's 'primary process'...;

Hegel's Hotel Personality Theory Section -- Floor 3: The 'Third Basement Floor' will be dedicated to the study of 'The Id' including all biological and psychiological influences on the personality, sex, violence, 'life vs. death impulses and/or wishes', fantasies, and their mythological, transference, and/or creative-destructive derivatives;

Hegel's Hotel Personality Theory Section -- Floor 4: The 'Fourth Basement Floor' will be dedicated to the study of 'The Personal Unconscious' including learning and memory theory, conscious memories, subconscious memories, screen memories, unconscious and/or repressed memories, and 'The Transference Complex Templates';

Hegel's Hotel Personality Theory Section -- Floor 5: 'The Main Lobby Floor' will be dedicated to the study of 'The Underdog Ego Functions and Agents' including: 1. 'The Co-operative (Approval-Seeking) Underdog Ego'; 2. 'The Rebellious-Righteous Underdog Ego'; 3. 'The Dionysian-Hedonistic-Narcissistic Underdog Ego'; and 4. The Schizoid (Distance-Seeking) Underdog Ego';

Hegel's Hotel Personality Theory Section -- Floor 6: 'The First Mezzanine Floor' will be dedicated to the study of 1. 'The Central Mediating-Executive Ego'; and its corollorary agents 2. The Darwinian-Economic-Survival Ego'; 3. 'The Enlightenment Epistemological and Ethical Ego'; and 4. 'The Romantic-Humanistic-Existential Ego';

Hegel's Hotel Personality Theory Section -- Floor 7: 'The Upper Mezzanine Floor' will be dedicated to the study of 'The Topdog (Super) Ego Functions and Agents including: 1. 'The Nurturing-Supportive-Encouraging Topdog Ego'; 2. The Righteous-Critical-Rejecting-Exciting Topdog Ego; 3. The Dionysian-Hedonistic-Narcissistic Topdog Ego; and 4. The Schizoid (Distance-Seeking) Topdog Ego.

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I realize that some people -- quite possibly many people -- might view this as an over-complicated, over-compartmentalized, over-objectified model of the human psyche.

My main counter-arguments to these possible criticisms of the model are:

1. The model is a very large, comprehensive one of the personality that allows for the possibility of integrating elements of Psychoanalysis including Traumacy-Seduction Theory, Oedipal Theory, Transference Theory, Sexuality and Narcissistic Theory, Life and Death Instinct Theory, Expanded Ego-Id-Superego Theory, Central Ego Theory, Ego-Splitting Theory, Object Relations Theory, Self-Psychology (Kohut), Jungian Psychology, Adlerian Psychology, Transactional Analysis, Enlightenment Epistemology and Ethics, Cognitive Therapy, General Semantics, Romantic Philosophy and Humanistic-Existentialism, Gestalt Therapy...In short, the model allows me to discuss and apply almost everything that I have learned about personality theory in the last 35 years or so.

Having said this, the model is also easy to 'reduce into the smaller relevant part(s) of the personality that we might want to work in at any particular time, and the names can be shortened as well for greater simplicity. And the model can also be easily 'subjectified' using a simple change in pronouns from third person to first person.

At this point in time, I am comfortable with this DGB model of the human psyche and will work with it in future essays to come....

-- dgb, March 26th, 2009; updated April 26th, 2009