Psychoanalysis.  2010 Apr;21(1):32-40.

The Adult and Society: The Elaboration of Erik Erikson's Legacy to Psychoanalytic Thought

• Colarusso

Abstract

This paper traces the evolution of Erik H. Erikson's ideas on development from his earliest seminal work, titled Childhood and Society (1950), through the masterful psychohistories, Young Man Luther (1958) and Ghandi's Truth (1969), to his last contribution, the edited work of Adulthood (1987). In addition to describing the parallel course between his own adult developmental progression and his choice of subject matters from later developmental phases, the paper discusses the powerful human-and psychoanalytic-resistance to the study of development in the second half of life by building on Erikson's discussions on the reasons for the mixed reception of his ideas among psychoanalysis.

Keyword

Erikson; Development; Adulthood

MeSH Terms

Adult
Humans
Psychoanalysis