Psychoanalysis and culture: some contemporary challenges

The evolution and current usage of the concept of culture is briefly discussed. Two divergent views on the initial relationship between psychoanalysis and culture are presented and the influence of the former on the latter illustrated, both in the previous decades and at present. Some general aspect...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Laks Eizirik, Cláudio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
Repositorio:Clinical and Biomedical Research
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:seer.ufrgs.br:article/125097
Acceso en línea:https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/hcpa/article/view/125097
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Western culture
philosophy
history
perspective
Cultura ocidental
filosofia
história
perspectiva
Descripción
Sumario:The evolution and current usage of the concept of culture is briefly discussed. Two divergent views on the initial relationship between psychoanalysis and culture are presented and the influence of the former on the latter illustrated, both in the previous decades and at present. Some general aspects of present-day western culture are then outlined, among them the great flood of information, the culture of narcissism, the temptations of conventionality, the ideology of visual and media and the “light culture”, and five propositions that attempt to characterize ‘post-modern sensibility’. Finally, four challenges faced today by psychoanalysis are discussed: the changing nature of philosophical and cultural cross-currents as it influences psychoanalysis as a discipline; the empiricist versus the hermeneutic approach; attacks on psychoanalysis as an elitist discipline and profession; and the movement away from the subjectivistand existential concerns and the focus on a more collectivist and pragmatic relationship to reality. The author suggests possible ways to face each of these challenges.