Robert M. Young Online Writings
'Lincoln, Mandela and the Depressive Position'
An invitation to speak on a subject of my choice allowed me to write about two of my heroes in the light of the Kleinian concept of ‘the depressive position’, which is as good as it gets in Kleinian metapsychology. I examine the lives - the tribulations, achievements and relationships (especially the marriages) – of Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela and also reflect on the concept of stoicism as a potential philosophical equivalent for the depressive position. The talk was delivered to the Bristol Psychotherapy Society on 20 October 2000.