Anger, Madness and the Daimonic: The Paradoxical Power of Rage in Violence, Evil and Creativity

by Stephen A. Diamond

We are in the midst of a runaway rage epidemic. Hateful mass murders at schools, shopping malls and places of business are rapidly escalating in America and around the globe in recent decades. Why? Though the causes of violence in our culture are complex, the troublesome human emotions of anger and rage play a central role in the genesis of evil, violent behavior and psychopathology in general. In this newly revised electronic edition of his provocative and critically acclaimed 1996 book, clinical and forensic psychologist Stephen A. Diamond determines where rage and anger originate and explores whether these powerful passions are, as most people presume, purely pathological, negative and destructive or can be meaningfully redeemed and consciously redirected into constructive activity. Employing concrete examples of the vicious and terrifying explosions of violence tearing society apart, clinical and biographical case studies, as well as striking visual images, Dr. Diamond traces anger, rage and violence through their most terrible and destructive expressions to their creative and transcendent functions in art, psychotherapy and spirituality, illuminating and revealing the paradoxical power of rage. He provides a penetrating existential and depth psychological analysis of the perplexing and pervasive problem of anger today, explains how even trained mental health professionals tend to misunderstand and mismanage it, and offers an alternative approach to dealing more constructively with rage in psychotherapy and society.

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy, Nonfiction

439 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Arjun Ravichandran · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid and intriguing book on existentialist psychology, alternatively known as humanistic psychology.

The author takes over the notion of repression from Freud , and agrees with him insofar as repression is the cause of psychic distress ; where he disagrees profoundly is what is the nature of this repression.

The author argues that what is repressed is not simply sexuality, but a more complete and profoundly subterranean force, which he terms the 'daimonic'.

The daimonic (not to be confused with demonic) is the psychobiological source of human vitality and energy, and we repress it to our own detriment. A crucial component of the daimonic are the very human impulses of anger and rage. The author makes a convincing case that the majority of the violence we see in our day and age - he starts off his book with a long meditation on the wave of violence that consumed America in the last decades of the 20th century - is due to repressed violence and anger, which has became poisoned and which therefore exploded in an unpredictable manner.

Anger and rage are fundamentally a part of human nature, and it is our existential attitude towards them that causes us to embrace or repress them. This is the core message of the book, and it is a well-made point. This thesis is well-argued, using material from mythology, dreams, Jungian shadow-work, and existential philosophy.

The book suffers from the usual tendency of psychology books, however, in that it spends a bit too much time attacking other schools of thought. The CBT and purely-biological strands of psychiatric practice, in particular, come in for some well-aimed criticism. Additionally, there were a bit too many examples and counter-examples, and ill-placed case studies that detracted from the flow of the text. But I suppose a purely theoretical book on psychology is to mistake it for philosophy.

I also got a bit tired of seeing Rollo May's name crop up every 3 to 4 pages. But to be fair to the author, most of the quotes were well-sourced and quite profound and helped stoke my interest in reading the man in his own words.

[Steve Ellerhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important book, to be sure, this study on both the destructive and creative potential of anger in its daimonic forms was published nearly thirty years ago but feels like it could have been written today. America's and Americans' pathological relationships to rage (and its sibling states) seem only to have worsened over the years. There's so much valuable insight here, especially in terms of the idea that we can redirect our anger into creativity. His thoughts on eudaimonia and dysdaimonia are especially helpful. The book is a little long in the tooth and sometimes the quotations a tad lengthy, but distillations of wisdom can be found throughout. The idea here isn't to banish anger, but to put it toward conscious and creative ends. Most helpful for me, wearing my novelist cap, when it comes to my work in progress.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diamond is a disciple of Rollo May's which makes him interesting enough to me to investigate further. I think Diamond lacks the eloquence of May, but manages to discuss in an in depth way how anger and at times even psychopathology can be used effectively towards a more creative life. It's a good book, very philosophical and historically based at times, but worth a read.

[Paul A. Toth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite a lot of repetitions and some low-grade psychoanalyzing, this is if nothing else such an excellent compendium of other writers' and psychologists' insights that it pays for itself in interest. The daemonic, which is, as the title indicates, central to the thesis, is also an important and infrequently discussed topic. In fact, Diamond makes a good and believable case that therapists ignore the discussion in literal fear for their own lives. I can't exactly blame them, but on the other hand, isn't the dark side of some slight interest if you want to be a therapist? America, heal thyself. The doctor is at the trough.

[Jimmy Winokur · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with Diamond's profound notion of the **diamonic"** -- distinct from demonic -- as a psychological force within us that can take over the whole person, and can work for good or ill, but if properly channeled can be the source of great creativity. This makes the book itself profound. Diamond's writing is more clumsy than that of the thinker with whom he studied these ideas, the father of Existential Psychology -- Rollo May.

[Gregory Bellarmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply the most accurate understanding of the mechanics of creativity, how to deal with such an elemental force and grow as an individual.

Anyone who has had a "crossroads" experience will be grateful for Prof Diamond's contribution.

[Joe]

cool. especially the info on daemonea

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Details how the daimonic is part of our lives but not much on HOW to weave it in, maybe a secret of the trade? Interesting anyways, wiil make me explore more of Rollo May