UMass Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press

The Work of Affirmation

Book Jacket: "A Sense of Self" by T. J. Cottle

Thomas J. Cottle

A Choice Outstanding Academic Book

An exploration of the crucial role of affirmation in human development

A clinical psychologist as well as a sociologist, Thomas J. Cottle is the author of more than twenty-five books. At the heart of his work is a concern with the problems confronted by ordinary people in their everyday lives, the kinds of issues that shape who we are and how we interact with the world around us.

In this book, his focus is on affirmation, that mysterious process by which the self comes to know itself in relation to others and forges an identity. What is it that we experience when we are affirmed, Cottle asks, and what are the ramifications of affirmation, or the lack of it, in how we lead our lives?

In pursuing his investigation, Cottle draws on a remarkably broad range of social scientific and philosophical literature, from Piaget and Kohut to Nietzsche and Levinas. Looking closely at the relationship between the individual, the family, and society, he explores issues of intimacy, morality, ethics, aesthetics, and socialization. He pays particular attention to the role of devotion, showing how the act of taking responsibility for another is the essence of affirmation, which in turn is the fundamental ingredient in the development of a self. Without those who take responsibility for us and commit themselves to us forever, he argues, there can be no secure sense of self and no genuine capacity for self-reflection and self-knowledge.

Cottle concludes by emphasizing how much is at stake in the work of affirmation. Just as the affirming gaze of another nurtures and strengthens one's sense of self, the absence of affirmation-what we might call disaffirmation-can lead to a life of despair, alienation, and even violence.

"The highest praise I can give a book is to say to myself, 'I wish I had written this.' I wish I wrote A Sense of Self. Every page contains important insights, lucidly and often elegantly expressed. The book is learned without being pedantic, synthetic without being overly general. Cottle's voice is strong, original, and unique."

Jeffrey Berman, author of Risky Writing: Self-Disclosure
and Self-Transformation in the Classroom
"Cottle has written a tour de force, filled with ideas, insights, and questions. He tells an engrossing story of a notion called affirmation, of the power of its presence to light up our lives, and the power of its absence to plunge us into the darkness of despair."

Lane K. Conn, M.D., clinical psychologist

Thomas J. Cottle is professor of education at Boston University.

Psychology / Philosophy
240 pp.
$32.50t cloth, ISBN 1-55849-367-0
May 2003

By the same author
Book Jacket: "At Peril" by T. J. Cottle
At Peril
Stories of Injustice

Thomas J. Cottle
Foreword by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot
"A passionate proponent of the 'life study' method, Cottle skillfully combines various painful, personal stories with his own fiercely intelligent commentaries on sociological and psychological variables that have brought his protagonists to a particular place."—Library Journal

328 pp., LC 00-056832
$35.00t cloth, ISBN 1-55849-278-X
2001
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