All the Rage: Why anger drives the world Josh Cohen
Event details
Anger is all around us, from divisive social media arguments and heightened political divides to road rage and personal spats; from Black Lives Matter and climate justice movements to Trump, incels and white supremacists. When it materialises, it seems to cry out for recognition and response. It affects our bodies and can transition into violence. It can be inherited through the generations; it can manifest in criminal acts. What should we do with it, and can it ever be put to good use?
Drawing on case studies of patients, developments in neuropsychology, literature, philosophy and recent political events, psychoanalyst Josh Cohen, author of All the Rage: Why Anger Drives the World, identifies the different forms of anger - the most untrammelled and elemental fury, the more cynical anger that works towards political unrest and the questioning anger of political protest. Rather than an emotion to ignore, he argues that anger is a primary human feeling. It maps itself onto every aspect of our intimate lives while politically and culturally shaping our world.
In a time of intense dissatisfactions and spiralling divisions, and with anger a dominating force, join Josh as he offers a new and original understanding of anger, so we may better handle the rage within us.
Book sales
You can buy copies of many of our speakers’ books from Fox Lane Books, a local independent bookseller and Festival partner. In some cases, author signed bookplates are available too.
Portrait image credit: Charlotte Speechley
About the speaker
Josh Cohen is Professor of Modern Literary Theory at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK, and a psychoanalyst in private practice. He is the author of books and articles on modern literature, cultural theory and psychoanalysis, including All the Rage: Why Anger Drives the World, How to Read: Freud, The Private Life: Why We Remain in the Dark and Not Working.
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