Attacks on Thinking: Dialogues on the Distortion of Reality in the Social Sphere

24-03-2025

Hans Loewald argued that thinking about reality always involves interpretation. How we interpret the world depends on what we include and exclude as facts and on the theories we use.

In the social sphere, culture wars are raging. Facts, truth, emotions, and thinking itself are twisted and fragmented by propaganda enabled by the deft capturing and manipulation of the media. George Orwell wrote, “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” There is much to unpack here, drawing on multiple perspectives.

In recent times, psychoanalysts mostly have practiced their arts behind closed doors, invisible to the public eye. Now, in this time of violent attacks on the methods and institutions painstakingly built to explore reality and to further human progress, we believe psychoanalysts must join the fray with kindred disciplines, adding their psychological insights to our communal thinking.

In dialogue with scholars from journalism, history, politics, and literature, as well as an expert in systems perspectives on unconscious processes, we aim to deepen our understanding of the social pathologies plaguing us.

The symposium consists of three panels over the course of the day, with twelve brief presentations and dedicated time for exchange of ideas with the attendees.

Anyone interested in these crucial issues is welcome to join our conversation.

Program

Panel 1: Repeating the History of Destructive Aggression, Media I (aka, “Reviving Voldemort & the Death Eaters”)
Frank Yeomans
Dagmar Herzog
Ivor Shapiro
James Krantz
Moderator: Ted Kenny

Panel 2: Limiting Freedoms & Targeting Groups, Media II (aka, “Finagling Authoritarianism”)
Zahid Chaudhary
Lauren Dwyer
Ben Kafka
Dionne Powell
Moderator: David Lindy

Panel 3: Group Psychology & The Social Unconscious in the Service of Attacking Higher Education (aka, “Burning Books”)
Carlo Invernizzi Accetti
Usha Tummala-Narra
Karim Dajani
Eric Marcus
Moderator: Shabnam Shakibaie Smith

Registration Fees

Early Bird Registration (Last day 04/04/2025)

APM Members: $175
Non-APM Members: $225

Regular Registration (Last day 04/21/2025)

APM Members: $200
Non-APM Members: $250
Late Registration (after 4/21/2025) $275
Candidates and Graduate Students $100
Undergraduate Students (Sliding Scale available, based on Financial Need) $75

Refund and cancelation policy: Registrants can request a full refund by emailing the APM until 11:59pm on Friday, April 11, at which time no refunds will be issued. In the unlikely event that the program is canceled, all fees will be refunded.

Registration is available for both in-person and online attendance.
In-person attendance is strongly encouraged.

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