All the Rage: Why We Feel Anger and How to Use It

Summary

Anger is all around us, from divisive social media arguments and heightened political divides to road rage and personal spats; from Black Lives Matter and climate justice movements to Trump, incels, and white supremacists. When it materializes, it seems to cry out for recognition and response. It affects our bodies and can transition into violence. It can be inherited through the generations; it can manifest in criminal acts. What should we do with it, and can it ever be put to good use?

Drawing on case studies of patients, developments in neuropsychology, literature, philosophy, and recent political events, acclaimed author and psychoanalyst Josh Cohen identifies the different forms of anger, including the most untrammeled and elemental fury, the more cynical anger that works towards political unrest, and the questioning anger of political protest. Rather than an emotion to ignore, he argues that anger is a primary human feeling. It maps itself onto every aspect of our intimate lives while politically and culturally shaping our world.

In a time of intense dissatisfactions and spiraling divisions, and with anger a dominating force, All the Rage offers a new and original understanding of anger, so we may better handle the rage within us.