ABSTRACT
In exploring egregious behavior on the part of psychoanalysts, this article attempts to redefine the traditionally ecclesiastical, moralistic notion of evil. Referencing the “Nazification” of the famed Berlin Institute, the vociferous “controversial discussions” at the British Psychoanalytic Society during the London Blitz, and more recent events involving psychologists condoning torture, the author considers evil as a universal potential in context, rather than a fixed social or psychiatric aberration. As such, the dynamic stance of participant observation is put forth as a safeguard against the analyst’s loss of self-reflexivity.
