Françoise Héritier

On Violence II

In this new volume, anthropologists, biologists, psychoanalysts and political scientists continue their interdisciplinary examination of violence. What are our links with the animal world? Is the animal metaphor relevant when discussing violent acts committed by human beings against other human beings? What is the relationship between pain and violence? What part does violence play in social relations? What is nonviolence? Could the concept of nonviolence enable us to develop a universal ethical system? Françoise Héritier is an honorary professor at the Collège de France.

Françoise Héritier

On Violence II

Françoise Sironi

Torturers and Victims The Psychology of Torture

To fight against torture, a simple denunciation of violence is not enough. It is necessary to help the victims find a "normal life" again. According to Françoise Sironi, this supposes an penetration into the mind of the torturer. How is it possible to influence someone to the point of forcing them to confess, reveal information and betray others? Physical violence alone does not suffice. What psychological methods are used ? The mechanisms of torture can only be understood by an examination of how torturers are "created". Françoise Sironi is a lecturer in clinical psychology and psychopathology at the University of Paris-VIII and director of the Georges Devereux Centre for Ethnopsychiatry at the University of Paris-VIII. She is also the co-founder of the Centre Primo Levi, which specialises in the treatment of victims of torture and collective violence.