Archery and the Human Condition in Lacan, the Greeks, and Nietzsche

The Bow with the Greatest Tension

Matthew P. Meyer

Archery and the Human Condition in Lacan, the Greeks, and Nietzsche showcases archery as a metaphor for the fundamental tension at the heart of the human condition. Matthew Meyer develops a theory of subjectivity that incorporates elements from psychoanalysis, Greek literature, philosophy, and Zen archery, bringing together allusions to the bow and archery made by Sophocles, Homer, Heraclitus, Aristotle, Lacan, Nietzsche, and Awa Kenzo. The book weaves together a psychoanalytic account of infant development, the obstacles faced by Greek heroes, and virtue theory to explore the tension between the forces inside and outside of the human that subject the human beingit to conditions beyond its control. Meyer develops this side of the tension through Jacques Lacan’s theory of human drive, illustrating the three parts of drive theory through application to three works in Greek literature and philosophy. He The second part of the text describes the other side of this fundamental tension--the ability to control drive impulses—through Aristotle’s use of the archer as a metaphor in his virtue theory. The book illustrates the productive nature of this tension through an analysis of Friedrich Nietzsche’s ideas about drives and sublimation, especially his contention that the “highest” types are like “the bow with the greatest tension.”

Lexington Books

Pages: 218 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4985-6044-3 • Hardback • October 2019 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

978-1-4985-6045-0 • eBook • October 2019 • $99.50 • (£77.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Psychology / Cognitive Psychology & Cognition, Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes / General

Archery and the Human Condition in Lacan, the Greeks, and Nietzsche

The Bow with the Greatest Tension

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Archery and the Human Condition in Lacan, the Greeks, and Nietzsche showcases archery as a metaphor for the fundamental tension at the heart of the human condition. Matthew Meyer develops a theory of subjectivity that incorporates elements from psychoanalysis, Greek literature, philosophy, and Zen archery, bringing together allusions to the bow and archery made by Sophocles, Homer, Heraclitus, Aristotle, Lacan, Nietzsche, and Awa Kenzo. The book weaves together a psychoanalytic account of infant development, the obstacles faced by Greek heroes, and virtue theory to explore the tension between the forces inside and outside of the human that subject the human beingit to conditions beyond its control. Meyer develops this side of the tension through Jacques Lacan’s theory of human drive, illustrating the three parts of drive theory through application to three works in Greek literature and philosophy. He The second part of the text describes the other side of this fundamental tension--the ability to control drive impulses—through Aristotle’s use of the archer as a metaphor in his virtue theory. The book illustrates the productive nature of this tension through an analysis of Friedrich Nietzsche’s ideas about drives and sublimation, especially his contention that the “highest” types are like “the bow with the greatest tension.”

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 218 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4985-6044-3 • Hardback • October 2019 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

978-1-4985-6045-0 • eBook • October 2019 • $99.50 • (£77.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Psychology / Cognitive Psychology & Cognition, Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes / General

Author

Matthew P. Meyer is assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Bows, Arrows, and Archers

Chapter 1: The Tension of the Bow

Chapter 2: Philoctetes’ Bow: The Concept of Need

Chapter 3: Heraclitus’ Bow: Desire and Death

Chapter 4: Odysseus’ Bow: Demand and the Ego

Chapter 5: Aristotle’s Archer: Killing the Ego and Self-Transformation

Conclusion: The Bow with the Greatest Tension

Epilogue: The Human Condition and Ten Rules of Archery

Reviews

Archery and the Human Condition offers unique and insightful exploration of cultural and psychological constructions of the bow as a metaphor for the human condition. In this innovative and far-reaching analysis, Matthew P. Meyer invokes and illuminates the work of Heraclitus, Nietzsche, Lacan and several eastern philosophical and religious thinkers, weaving many historical threads into a seamless narrative.
— Carol Poster, York University, retired

Archery and the Human Condition is an engagingly eclectic, original, and inspiring survey of the symbolism of archery in relation to the human condition –a symbol that, as Matthew Meyer demonstrates, transcends cultures and spans millennia. Meyer displays deep knowledge of the authors and texts he draws upon, from Heraclitus through to Nietzsche. Crucially, he also has a sure grasp of the psychoanalytic theory that underpins much of his discussion. This is far from a jargon-laced analysis, however. Meyer is unafraid to build outwards from the conceptual to a more affirmative theory of psychic health. Concerns shared by figures as diverse as Aristotle and the Buddhist archer Awa Kenzo suggest how we might learn to manage the tension that defines us as humans.
— Oliver Harris, author of Lacan’s Return to Antiquity