Kroppen, viljan & skräcken för att falla: ur den manliga självbehärskningens historia

Abstract

The body, the will and falling-anxiety: from the history of male self-control

This article discusses the historical origin of some problematic traits of character in modem man, such as emotional numbness and incapability of intimate relations. In contemporary public debate these traits of character have often been attributed to the modem male in particular. In the long-term perspective of western disciplination and civilisation (M. Foucault, N. Elias), and also considering the changes of attitudes toward masculinity (P. N. Steams) the issue is discussed with the help of two case-studies. One of the cases concerns a schizoid patient treated by the psychoterapist A. Lowen and the other deals with the Swedish seventeenth-century priest Jacob Boethius. Furthermore aristocratic ideal of manliness is briefly discussed.