Freud, Psychoanalysis and Death PDF
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Freud, Psychoanalysis and Death Was “death” a lacuna at the heart of Sigmund Freud’s work? Liran Razinsky argues that the question of death is repressed, rejected and avoided by Freud, therefore resulting in an impairment of the entire theoretical structure of psychoanalysis. Razinsky supports his claim through a series of close readings of psychoanalytic texts (including not just Freud, but Klein, Kohut, Jung and Lacan, among others) that explore psychoanalysis’ inattention to this fundamental human concern. The readings are combined to form an overall critique of psychoanalysis—onethatremainssympatheticbutcallsforarethinking oftheissueofdeath.Inpresentingafreshandpersuasiveinterpretation oftheFreudiancorpus,thisbookwillbeofinteresttoscholarsofFreud’s thoughtandpsychoanalysis,literaryscholars,analysts,cliniciansandall thosecuriousaboutdeath’spsychiclife. liran razinsky is a Lecturer in the Department of Hermeneutics and Cultural Studies at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. He works in both French and comparative literature, and critical theory, as well as in theoreticalpsychoanalysis. Freud, Psychoanalysis and Death Liran Razinsky cambridge university press Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown, Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo,Delhi,MexicoCity CambridgeUniversityPress TheEdinburghBuilding,CambridgeCB28RU,UK PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericaby CambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107009721 #LiranRazinsky2013 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithout thewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2013 PrintedandboundintheUnitedKingdombytheMPGBooksGroup AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Razinsky,Liran. Freud,psychoanalysisanddeath/LiranRazinsky. pages cm Includesbibliographicalreferences. ISBN978-1-107-00972-1 1. Death–Psychologicalaspects. 2. Psychoanalysis. 3. Freud,Sigmund, 1856–1939. I. Title. BF789.D4.R392013 150.19052–dc23 2012018825 ISBN978-1-107-00972-1Hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyInternetwebsitesreferredto inthispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. Contents Acknowledgments pageix Introduction 1 Deathintheory 5 Deathintheclinic 9 Thestructureofthebook 12 Chapter 1: Against death: Freudand the questionof death’s psychic presence 15 Thecaseagainstrepresentation 15 Thedesiringmachine(hitsthewallofreality) 24 TheIofthebeholder 26 Thecaseagainstfear 30 Doubtandhesitation 37 Chapter 2: “Most of the timelife appears souncertain to me”: Death as aconcern in Freud’slife 40 Chapter 3: The dream of death: TheInterpretation of Dreams 46 Opening:Deathrepresentableandirrepresentable 46 Dyingthedeathoftheother 50 Nonvixit 52 Dyinginone’sdreams 56 Finallyhemeltedaway 56 Acastlebythesea 59 Autopsy-choanalyzingoneself 62 Howmuchtime? 64 Imustnotgoyet?Avisittotheunderworld 67 Concernforothers 67 Limping,pale,andseriouslyill.Irma 69 Chapter 4: Todream,perchance to die: A further exploration of The Interpretation of Dreams 75 Deathandambition 75 Themanwiththebeard 76 Nonvixit 77 Rome 78 “Imustnotdelayanylonger” 81 v vi Contents Lateinlife 82 TheBotanicalMonograph 83 Methodinthemadness 85 The“1851and1856”dream 86 Aspire–expire 87 Death,anabsurdity 89 Fatheronhisdeath-bed 90 Death:Betweendenialandrecognition 92 Fordustthouart 93 Nightofthelivingdead 97 Anxietyandwish 98 Conclusions:Deathanddreams 101 Chapter 5: Death andanxiety 105 Chapter 6: Astruggle with the concept of death: “Thoughts for the Times on War andDeath” 112 Givingdeaththeplacewhichisitsdue 114 Butwhatistheplacewhichisdeath’sdue? 117 Thehigheststakeinthegameofliving 120 Thedirectencounterwithdeath 124 Theinfluenceofwar 126 Freud’shesitation 127 Chapter 7: Drivingdeathaway:Freud’stheoryofthedeathdrive 131 Thedeathdriveanddeath 133 Dyingyourowndeath 142 Critiquesofthedeathdrive 146 Recastingthedeathdriveasanexistentialconcept 149 Thedeathdrive,Freud,anddeath:Furtherconsiderations 152 Chapter 8: Death andculture: Death as acentral motif in Freud’s culturalandliteraryanalyses 155 Thedeadandus 155 Immortality 155 Theuncanny 158 TotemandTaboo 160 Transientlives 161 Furtherthoughtson“Thoughts” 162 OnTransience 164 Chapter 9: Avoidance and reduction of death in psychoanalysis 170 Reduction 170 Generalizationandnon-specification 173 Sexualizationofdeath 175 Renderingdeathawishandactivizingthesubjectindeath 176 Concretizingdeath 177 Pathologizationofthepsychicreactiontodeath 178 Anegativemoraljudgment 180 Overlookingdeath 182 Contents vii Intermezzo:Dyingwithoutdeath—MourningandMelancholia 183 Treatingdeathasaproblemoftheillandelderly 189 “Sowhat?” 189 Chapter 10: The post-Freudians in the labyrinth of death 191 TheKleinians 191 TheKleinianunderstandingofthefearofdeath 193 Thetheory’sapplication 195 Erikson 197 Kohut 201 Jung 204 Winnicott 206 Chapter 11: Lacan 208 Thesymbolic,theimaginary,andthereal 209 Thesymbolic 209 Theimaginary 211 Thereal 213 Tragicpathsandthedeathdrive 215 Thenatureofdesire 216 DasDing 218 Theconcretefearofdeath 219 Conclusion:Talkingaboutdeath 220 Chapter 12: Attempts at reconciliation 222 RankandBecker 222 Piven 224 Lifton 225 Deathequivalents 226 Yalomandclinicalapproaches 228 Facingtheabyssandsurvivingit 230 Existentialpsychoanalysis:Handlingotherness 232 Bridgestoone’spast 233 Chapter 13: Sourcesof the clash: The conflictbetween analyticideasand concern with death 236 Wheredoestheproblemlie?Someanalytictenetsthat hindertheintegrationofdeath 236 Thedeterministic-mechanisticmodel 237 Thefocusonthepast 238 Thedetachabilityofaffectandcontent 238 Theinterdependenceofpsychicevents 239 Theinstinctualmodel 240 Thefocusonpresence 240 Explainingtheexternalintermsoftheinternal 241 Theanalyticperspectiveonreality 242 Thefocusonrelationalaspects 243 Recoilingfromthe“high”:Againstphilosophy 243 GeneralityversusidiosyncrasyI:Universalexplanations 245 Therapeuticpessimism 246 viii Contents Aspectsofdeaththatlie—ordothey?Beyondpsychoanalysis 247 Deathandthemeaningoflife 247 Analyticsensibilitieshelpfultotheintegrationofdeath 248 “Freudianpessimism” 249 Truthandillusion 249 GeneralityversusidiosyncrasyII:Idiosyncraticexplorations 249 Chapter 14: Deathin life 253 Deathinpraxis 254 Thepsychiclifeofdeath 257 Deathanxietyandthethoughtofdeath 260 Onnotknowingdeath:Defensesanddistortions 261 Deathasadynamicabsence 265 Tobewithnot-to-be 274 Knowledgeofdeathandtheencounterwithit 276 Final thoughts 279 References 286 Index 299
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