Freud and the Politics of Psychoanalysis

by Brunner,Jose

• ISBN13: 9780765806727
• ISBN10: 076580672X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2001-01-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Freud and the Politics of Psychoanalysis is a sympathetic critique of Freud's work, tracing its political content and context from his early writings on hysteria to his late essays on civilization and religion. Brunner's central claim is that politics is a pervasive and essential component of all of Freud's discourse, since Freud viewed both the psyche and society primarily as constellations of power and domination. Brunner shows that when read politically, Freud's discourse can be seen to unite mechanics and meaning into a plausible, fruitful and internally consistent theory of the mind, therapy, family and society.Part one deals with the medical and political background of Freud's work. It explains how Freud postulated mental principles that were the same for all races and nations. The second part is concerned with the logic and language of Freud's theory of the mind. Brunner also details how Freud introduced dynamics of dominance and subjugation into the very core of the psyche. Part three addresses dynamics of power in the clinical setting, which Freud forged out of a curious blend of authoritarian and liberal elements. Brunner

Author Biography

Jose Brunner is Senior Lecturer at the Buchmann Faculty of Law and the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, both at Tel Aviv University.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Transaction Edition	vii
Preface	xxxiii
I Nervousness and Nationalism: Medical Politics and the Origins of Psychoanalysis	1	(44)
Hereditary Vices	5	(8)
Suspicious Respectability	13	(9)
Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Jew	22	(9)
Meaningful Sex	31	(14)
II A State of Mind: Metaphorical Politics in Freud's Metapsychology	45	(44)
Who Censors Whom, Where and Why?	51	(6)
Politics of Representation	57	(6)
Mechanical Failures	63	(6)
Occupying Forces	69	(6)
Strategies of Conflict	75	(6)
Free to Choose	81	(8)
III Between Two Consenting Adults: Face-to-Face Politics in the Clinical Practice of Psychoanalysis	89	(56)
A Touch of Class	93	(13)
Psychiatry Goes to War	106	(17)
Authority for Hire	123	(12)
Mighty Words	135	(10)
IV Empires of Passion: Oedipal Politics in Freud's Writings on Social Relations	145	(36)
Body Heat	149	(7)
Brothers in Arms	156	(10)
Big Daddy	166	(15)
Conclusions	181	(6)
Notes	187	(30)
References	217	(16)
Index	233