Gérard Mendel (1930 – 14 October 2004) was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist.

The Revolt against the Father

His popularity began when he published his 1968 work ''La révolte contre le père'' ("The Revolt against the Father"). Deleuze and Guattari assessed this book as one example of the "drivel on Oedipus".Deleuze, Guattari (1972) '' Anti-Œdipus'', section 2.6 ''A recapitulation of the three syntheses'' p.116, 118-9 Mendel argued that the father "died over a period of thousands of years" and that the "internalization" corresponding to the paternal image was produced during the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

right up until the start of the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

, "approximately 8,000 years ago". Deleuze and Guattari mention this work as an example of psychoanalysts who want to impose the Oedipus model upon everyone; psychoanalysts like Mendel consider those "who do not bow to the imperialism of Oedipus as dangerous deviants, leftists who ought to be handed over to social and police repression." In their '' Anti-Œdipus,'' they cite Mendel as an example of the prominence of a fascist tone among the most respected psychoanalysis associations.Deleuze, Guattari (1972) '' Anti-Œdipus'', section 2.4 ''The disjunctive synthesis of recording'' p.89

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendel, Gerard French psychoanalysts 2004 deaths 1930 births 20th-century French psychologists