‘Mark Leffert has shown himself to be the most creative analyst writing today. In this book, in keeping with his other innovative contributions, he demonstrates that modern psychoanalysis is intimately linked with developing knowledge in the fields of philosophy, neuroscience, psychol- ogy and existential thought. The new work extends and enriches our understanding of psychoanalysis as does none other in the contemporary literature. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the life of the mind.’ Theodore Jacobs, training and supervising analyst at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute and the New York University Psychoanalytic Institute ‘Leffert elegantly guides us through multiple personal and social mean- ings to place contemporary psychoanalysis in the context of human evo- lution and development. He integrates phenomenology, existentialism, and confronting death. This book offers the reader a profound synthetic cognitive adventure and is strongly recommended for all clinicians and minds interested in modern psychoanalysis.’ Peter Loewenberg, professor emeritus, University of California, Los Angeles Psychoanalysis, the Self, and the World This book takes psychoanalysis into the 21st century, examining issues of existentialism, postphenomenology, social media, and death and death anx- iety that have gone largely ignored in the psychoanalytic and psychothera- peutic literature. Using an interdisciplinary perspective, Leffert explains that it is impos- sible to close the door of the consulting room. The therapeutic relationship is invaded by the outside world and its relationships for both patient and therapist and cannot be isolated from these influences. Drawing on richly detailed case studies, Leffert demonstrates how the internet, social media, and the metaverse have changed and expanded the self in ways that could not have been imagined in the last century. In turn, Leffert acknowledges recent advances in the neurosciences and addresses the lack of engagement with their implications for theories and practices of therapeutic action. Finally, the ways in which death and death anxiety impinge on the self, which have also gone mostly undealt with in psychoanalytic literature, become an important focus of this book. As a novel exploration of interdisciplinary connections, this book will be of use to both scholars and practitioners of psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, social network theory, philosophy, and neuroscience. Mark Leffert was educated in medicine, psychiatry, and psychoanalysis in New York and California. He has maintained a practice of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis in Del Mar, Minneapolis, and, currently, Santa Barbara. He has been on the faculty of five psychoanalytic institutes and has been a training and supervising analyst at four of them. He is the author of six prior books and several papers. Psychoanalysis, the Self, and the World Postphenomenology, Consciousness, and Death Mark Leffert Designed cover image: Untitled, Mark Leffert, Mixed Media, 2005, Photo by Author First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Mark Leffert The right of Mark Leffert to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Leffert, Mark, author. Title: Psychoanalysis, the self and the world : postphenomenology, consciousness, and death / Mark Leffert. Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2022029203 (print) | LCCN 2022029204 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032394008 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032394015 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003349556 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Psychoanalysis. | Self. | Psychotherapy. Classification: LCC BF175 .L446 2023 (print) | LCC BF175 (ebook) | DDC 150.19/5--dc23/eng/20220705 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022029203 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022029204 ISBN: 978-1-032-39400-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-39401-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-34955-6 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003349556 Typeset in Garamond by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. For my Grandchildren, Sarah and Adam Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1 So Why Do We Need Philosophy Anyway?: Phenomenology, Postmodernism, and the Plague in the Psychoanalytic Workplace 17 Introduction 17 Phenomenology 22 Existentialism 30 The Plagues 31 The Postmodern Turn 40 To Sum Up 46 2 The Evo-Devo of Phenomenology and Prephenomenology 53 Introduction 53 Evo-Devo 56 Paleoanthropology, the Evo-Devo of Human Mental Hardware: An Archaeology of the Self 58 Prephenomenology 64 Becoming Us—The Passing of Prephenomenology and the Advent of Phenomenology 69 The Devo of Phenomenology 74 3 Postphenomenology and Its Evo-Devo 85 Introduction 85 A Brief History of Postphenomenology 87 Postphenomenal Neuroscience and Its Evo-Devo 91