Stephen Costello Libri

Exploring the complexities of family dynamics, the author delves into the relationships between mothers, fathers, and children, highlighting the struggles and joys of parenthood. With a blend of wit and insight, the narrative presents eighteen reasons mothers may feel conflicted about their love for their babies. This thought-provoking work offers aphorisms that resonate with anyone, emphasizing how childhood experiences shape our lives and prevent us from fully embracing adulthood.

The book explores the intersection of Freudian psychoanalysis and religion through a hermeneutical lens, influenced by Paul Ricoeur's philosophy. It critically examines Freud's views on Christianity while questioning if psychoanalysis can be seen as a form of hermeneutics. The author delves into the contentious debates between Ricoeur and Jacques Lacan, alongside Slavoj Zizek's perspectives, highlighting Lacan and Zizek's opposition to interpreting psychoanalysis in hermeneutical terms. This study offers a deep philosophical inquiry into these complex ideas.

This book is on the philosophy and psychology of happiness. The author traces the shifting meanings of the term from the Greeks, who understood happiness as flourishing to the twenty-first century, which views it as subjective satisfaction. The book proceeds historically from Aristotle to Viktor Frankl. The author argues that we should not aim for happiness; rather, happiness should be let happen; it is a by-product of meaning and Dr. Costello anchors his thesis in Frankl s tri-dimensional ontology, delineating the differences between pleasure, happiness and joy.

Within this important book, Costello draws on Eastern philosophy, Western psychology, and wisdom traditions, to offer an interpretation and answer to the multidimensional problem of addiction.