The wish for self-help, to be autonomous in the way of one’s development, is popular. But it has its implications: Niccolò Fiorentino Polipo talks about the concept of False Start, an accelerated psychodynamic pattern, as a diagnosis and applies Jung’s theory of psychodynamics.
Why should self-help be considered an unsatisfactory answer to the spiritual needs of modern individuals, from a neo-Jungian perspective? Niccolò Fiorentino Polipo reviews Jung’s theory of psychodynamics and reformulates it into a theoretical framework to classify ethical systems on the basis of their likelihood of leading to lasting individual or collective self-change. Then, building on this framework, he introduces the concept of False Start as a ‘diagnosis’ for the characteristically short-lived trajectory of self-help projects. He underlines that a False Start is an accelerated psychodynamic pattern by which consciousness orients itself towards a one-sidedly positive proposition (‘let us strive for P and leave ¬P behind’) that triggers a compensatory movement causing the associated project to be interrupted shortly thereafter. Polipo discusses the dynamic of False Starts establishing analogies between psychodynamics and a variety of other fields, including literature, psychopathology, and even aerospace engineering. He will talk about implications with a view to bridge the gap between the psychological and sociocultural levels of analysis.
