Thresholds and synergies between the soul and culture
the personal symbol in the psychoanalytic anthropology of Gananath Obeyesekere
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30715/doxa.v26i00.20576Keywords:
Symbolism, Anthropology, Psychoanalysis, Unconscious, CultureAbstract
The Personal Symbol is a fundamental conceptual operator in Gananath Obeyesekere’s work. This operator is defined and redefined throughout his works. Obeyesekere maintains a conceptual openness, allowing his field experiences, case studies, and theoretical developments to continually contribute to his formulations. Like Freud, Obeyesekere presents a paradigmatic case for the development of this conceptual operator in his Psychoanalytic Anthropology. Abdin, a Sinhalese Muslim who was led to perform rites from another religious tradition (Hinduism), first appears in Medusa’s Hair (1981) and later in The Work of Culture (1990b). The personal symbol operator parallels the reconsiderations of this case analysis, resulting in a conceptual operator that is open in its definition but articulated with other operators: deep motivation and cultural work. This article presents this trajectory and highlights the theoretical-methodological relevance of the concept for the fieldwork of Psychoanalytic Anthropology proposed by the author.
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