Neurosis according to Karen Horney and the anthropological aspects of St. Maximus the confessor: a comparative study

Abstract

This doctoral thesis deals with the topic of Pastoral Psychology. It is a comparative study of the Psychoanalyst Karen Homey and the Father of the Church, Saint Maximus the Confessor. The central part of the thesis is a comparison of Karen Homey's psychological theory of neurosis and Saint Maximus the Confessor's anthropological understanding of the nature of human fallenness. This is preceded by a comparative study of the understanding of the potentialities of healthy human nature, or human nature as God intended it, and followed by a comparison of the therapeutic methods proposed by Karen Homey on one hand and Saint Maximus on the other. The whole study is prefaced by a historical introduction that seeks to place the American Psychoanalyst and the Father of the Church in their respective historical and intellectual context. This study closes with conclusions and an epilogue that deals with the current position of Karen Homey's psychoanalysis, and the way in which Saint Maximus the Confessor's teaching on Creation, Man and World contributes to the teaching of the Church today.