The other Freud : Rethinking the philosophical roots of psychoanalysis
PhD Thesis
Parker, Donald Lewis. (2022). The other Freud : Rethinking the philosophical roots of psychoanalysis [PhD Thesis]. Australian Catholic University Faculty of Theology and Philosophy https://doi.org/10.26199/acu.8x7w5
Authors | Parker, Donald Lewis |
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Type | PhD Thesis |
Qualification name | Doctor of Philosophy |
Abstract | This thesis inquires into the intellectual roots of Freudian psychoanalysis. In reemphasising the influence of British empiricist sources of Freud’s early thought (especially before 1900), it offers an interpretation of his philosophical inspiration that contrasts with most contemporary accounts. One major theme concerns the place of psychoanalysis within European intellectual history. Accordingly, Freud’s evolving theory of the unconscious is set in the context of key themes in the 17-18th century Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment (Mendelssohn, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Kant, Hamann). If Freud’s determination to scientifically investigate the human mind was an indisputably ‘enlightened’ project, its results nonetheless challenged the capacity of Enlightenment reason to banish the darkness of the human soul. This folds into the second major theme, concerning the identification of various “tradition lines” (Gödde’s phrase) that fed into psychoanalysis. If Enlightenment rationalism was one such line, German Romanticism and irrationalistic vitalism also contributed, both implicitly before 1900, and more explicitly later. However, contrary to (but building on) Gödde’s threefold schema, the thesis argues for a fourth (“Anglo-Scottish empiricist”) tradition line that has been routinely overlooked. After the Introductory chapter, that sets out the main thesis arguments and addresses issues of methodology, the thesis begins with an examination of the 17-18th century Enlightenment and European Rationalism, noting even here the early signs of an opening to a sese of the “non-conscious” recesses of the mind. It is in this context that Freud’s various models of the unconscious throughout his career are considered. The conclusion draws out some tentative implications (and openings for further research) on how this enlarged tradition-lines approach can serve as a helpful heuristic for understanding twentieth century and contemporary psychoanalysis. The cognitive unconscious tradition-line is presented as being revitalised in contemporary epiphenomenalism and neuroscience more generally. The Romantic tradition-line inspired twentieth century figures such as Carl Jung and James Hillman. The drive-based irrational line was taken up in the work of figures such as Melanie Klein and Ian Suttie, as well as quite recent work on evolutionary psychiatry. There have also been new lines of tradition, such as the linguistic and structuralist turn associated most strongly with the work of Jacques Lacan. |
Keywords | Sigmund Freud; psychoanalysis; The Enlightenment; Brentano; Anglo-Scottish empricism; tradition-lines |
Year | 2022 |
Publisher | Australian Catholic University |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.26199/acu.8x7w5 |
Page range | 1-333 |
Final version | License File Access Level Open |
Supplementary Files (Layperson Summary) | File Access Level Controlled |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 07 Mar 2022 |
Publication process dates | |
Completed | 15 Oct 2021 |
Deposited | 07 Mar 2022 |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8x7w5/the-other-freud-rethinking-the-philosophical-roots-of-psychoanalysis
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Parker_2022_The_other_Freud_rethinking_the_philosophical.pdf | |
License: CC BY 4.0 | |
File access level: Open |
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Supplementary Files (Layperson Summary)
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