Habermas, Post-Freudian Psychoanalysis, and the End of the Individual

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2353608
AutoresC F Alford (0000-0002-9948-2454, autor correspondente)
Ano1987
Volume4
Fascículo1
Páginas3-29
Data de publicação1987-02-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoTheory Culture & Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0263-2764 • E-ISSN: 1460-3616
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/026327687004001001
OpenAlexW2110147065
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas24

For some time now a number of critics have argued that Juergen Habermas has misinterpreted Freud. The gist of this criticism is that Habermas' interpretation of psychoanalysis as 'depth hermeneutics' must violate the intent of Freud's work, which is so deeply grounded in drive theory. In other words, Habermas confuses philosophical reflection with psychoanalysis. This paper takes a somewhat different focus. It examines the consequences of Habermas' interpretation of Freud for Habermas' view of the individual. It is shown that Habermas' interpretation eventuates in an abstract and shadowy view of the individual. It is argued that an alternative view of psychoanalysis, object relations theory, can help locate the source of Habermas' pale view of the individual, and help correct it, without succumbing to 'neo-Freudian revisionism'. Object relations theory also suggests that in order to overcome the diminution of the individual in real life it is necessary for political theory to examine seriously the role of the family. Finally, object relations theory generates an interesting criticism of so-called postmodern psychoanalysis-for example, the work of Jacques Lacan. This criticism can help us better understand the relationship between Habermas and modernism

Critical theory · Criticism · Epistemology · Freudian slip · Hermeneutics · Interpretation (philosophy · Literature · Object (grammar · Order (exchange · Postmodernism · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Sociology · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Philosophy · Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism · Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Politics · Psychology