10/09/2026
‘ALIENATION, POLITICALLY, SOCIALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY FROM AN OBJECT RELATIONS PERSPECTIVE’ BY JOHN FODEN
John Foden’s’s presentation ‘Alienation, Politically, Socially and Psychologically from an Object Relations Perspective’ forms part of the Global Politics Panel, one of three themed panel discussions taking place during the ‘Object Relations in the Modern Era’ event on the 31st of October, 2026.
The Presentation: When Christopher Bollas writes of the democratic mind, he quotes John Stuart Mill who states: “that man [should be] is capable of rectifying his mistakes by discussion and experience”. This process requires a thinking mind, a mind that can process information, but also emotional experiences in a thoughtful and contained way. Such a state of mind and state of community and “State” requires a culture of thinking, where the dialectical process of thesis and counter thesis can develop and nurture a process of understanding and development, enabling the process of decision making. Democratic processes are undermined and threatened by primitive states of mind where projection and a lack of integration are present and encouraged. Such paranoid schizoid states of thinking are the bedrock of authoritarian regimes and are increasing prevalent throughout the world today and in an insidious way undermine many democracies. We have witnessed the largest democracy in the world gradually succumb to fragmentation and splitting, which we often witness in our patients with severe emotional dysregulation. Thinking is the enemy, whereas action usually based on projective processes is increasingly normalised. Thought based on facts and reality are defended against with venom. How and why is this process gaining momentum. In my paper I will seek to examine the concept of Alienation from a Marxist perspective and from a psychoanalytic perspective, with particular reference to the recent work Bob Hinshelwood, who describes the “alienation of the self and the depersonalisation caused by projective identification [causing] a disrupted experience of oneself”. How can we understand this process from an object relations perspective.
The conference brings together clinicians, academics and researchers to explore contemporary applications of object relations theory across arts and culture, global politics and clinical practice.
31 October 2026
9.00 am - 5.15 pm
In person & online
Registration is now open. Tickets are available via Eventbrite.
Attend IN PERSON: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-tickets-1991321800109
Attend ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-online-attendance-tickets-1990660397837
