The Wisdom of the Ego

by George E. Vaillant

One of America's preeminent psychiatrists draws on his famous Study of Adult Development to give us an exhilarating look at how the mind's defenses work. What we see as the mind's trickery, George Vaillant tells us, is actually healthy. What's more, it can reveal the mind at its most creative and mature, soothing and protecting us in the face of unbearable reality, managing the unmanageable, ordering disorder. And because creativity is so intrinsic to this alchemy of the ego, Vaillant mingles his studies of obscure lives with psychobiographies of famous artists and others--including Florence Nightingale, Sylvia Plath, Anna Freud, and Eugene O'Neill.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychiatry, Spirituality

406 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

George Eman Vaillant, M.D., born 1934, is an American psychiatrist and Professor at Harvard Medical School and Director of Research for the Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Vaillant has spent his research career charting adult development and the recovery process of schizophrenia, heroin addiction, alcoholism, and personality disorder. Through 2003, he spent 30 years as Director of the Study of Adult Development at the Harvard University Health Service. The study has prospectively charted the lives of 824 men and women for over 60 years.

A major focus of his work in the past has been to develop ways of studying defense mechanisms empirically; more recently, he has been interested in successful aging and human happiness.

Villant has received the Foundations Fund Prize for Research in Psychiatry from the American Psychiatric Association, the Strecker Award from The Pennsylvania Hospital, the Burlingame Award from The Institute for Living, and the Jellinek Award for research on alcoholism. In 1995 he received the research prize of the International Psychogeriatric Society.

- summarised from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Blaine Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Buddhists should read this book. The ego is not the source of all your problems, rather, it is how you are able to do Buddhism in the first place. More later.

[Lisa P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book about defense mechanisms and development. Using real life examples, Vaillant shows how it is possible to move from immature defenses to more mature defenses that allow us to live successful lives, finding intimacy, career consolidation and generativity. His work is based on a 50 year survey of real people. A life long study that shows how childhood affected later life in 3 groups of people.

[Joe Falchetto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro che può cambiare lo stile di vita di una persona 'disorganizzata', solo perché può dimostrare che la creatività ben si può conciliare con l'organizzazione, anzi la può favorire.

[Peg · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The human ego,like the human immune system continues to provide us with better therapy than the best-trained physician or the most up-to-date pharmacy. We all must learn to understand and work with this powerful ally." Easier said than done George :)

[Ste1334vyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

although most of the readings in my grad. program suck, this was excellent.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly thought-provoking!

[Shumiala Kinnear · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will continue to serve as a reference and a reminder of the complexities of human development.