Myth of Tantalus: A Scaffolding for an Ontological Personality Theory

by S. Giora Shoham

These psychological dynamics are presented by way of the developmental and relationship experiences we have with the outside world -- alternations between conflict and a striving to revert back to earlier developmental phases. At any given moment of our lives there is a gap between our desires for participation and our subjectively defined distance from our participatory aims. This gap is denoted the Tantalus Ratio, after the Olympian demigod. Transcendental longings and quests are explored in their actual structuring of the human personality. This new Theory of Personality also explores the mytho-empirical manifestation of the normative sacrifice of the young, denoted as the Isaac Syndrome. The author pays homage to Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus by recognising the absurd drudgeries of man's existence, the maddening routines, the point-lessness of being, the silence of god, and the cruelty of man to man. Examples from literature and myth demonstrate that if man can find a
creative modus vivendi

323 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1979