The illusion of autonomy: Locating humanism in existential-psychoanalytic social theory (original) (raw)

Sartre and existential psychoanalysis

The Humanistic Psychologist, 1999

This article explores the contributions which a shift from Freudian to Sartrean metatheory might make to contemporary psychoanalysis. Beginning with a brief history of Sartre's deeply ambivalent relationship to traditional psychoanalysis, the article moves forward to reinterpret ego psychology and object relations theory from a Sartrean perspective and to point out ways in which a Sartrean reinterpretation could lead to more effective practice. A case is made for the importance of distinguishing between "neurotic anxiety" based on the "return of the repressed" and "existential anxiety" based on angst over one's freedom and inability to be a solid self at moments of deep level change in therapy. The importance of reciprocity in the client-therapist relationship is emphasized. Downloaded by [University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries] at 12:16 26 May 2015

Sartre, Lacan, and the Ethics of Psychoanalysis: A Defense of Lacanian Responsibility

Sartre Studies International, 2016

In this article, I reconsider the philosophical significance of Jacques Lacan’s reading of Freud in light of Jean-Paul Sartre’s early critique of Freudian psychoanalysis. Since direct comparisons between the work of Sartre and Lacan are sparse in the English literature, Betty Cannon’s comprehensive treatment proves to be an invaluable resource in opening up this line of inquiry. I claim that one reason for the limited attention given to comparisons of their work is the continued strength of the polemics between humanism and structuralism. Lacan’s structuralism is regularly indicted by humanists for failing to provide a conception of subjective responsibility in the way that Sartre’s humanism does. Taking Cannon’s critique of Lacanian psychoanalysis on this issue as a point of departure, I argue that a conception of subjective responsibility can be found throughout Lacan’s work, serving as a point of common ground upon which further inquiry—particularly of Sartre’s later work—might begin.

Jean-Paul Sartre and Louis Lavelle – Two Existential Conceptions of Humanism and their Ethical Consequences

Kwartalnik Naukowy Fides et Ratio, 2021

On the basis of the thesis "existence precedes the essence", L. Lavelle and J.-P. Sartre developed two different versions of existentialism which were the foundation for creating different models of humanism based on the phenomenological approach. I attempt to show that Sartre's atheistic existentialism, which relies on the abstract conception of freedom and an erroneous project of man, is a theory which is less plausible than the existentialism of Lavelle, based on the assumption of man's participation in being. I also discuss the ethical consequences for individual and social development that result from the assumptions of both conceptions.

Existential Psychoanalysis and Freudian Psychoanalysis

Janus Head (Special Edition on Philosophical Practice), Winter 2005. 8(2) © 2005 by Trivium Publications, Amherst, NY.

This essay examines the similarities and dissimilarities between Freudian psychoanalysis and the form of analysis outlined by Sartre in Being and Nothingness in relation to the theory of intentionality developed by Brentano and Husserl. The principal aim of the paper is to establish a suitable starting point for a dialogue between these two forms of analysis, whose respective terminologies with respect to consciousness and the unconscious appear to cancel each other out.

Contemporary Humanism: Sartre's Existentialist Humanism and Heideggerean Humanism

The present study investigates the concept of humanism in terms of the two forms of contemporary humanism, namely Sartre's existentialist humanism and Heideggerean humanism. The aim is to explore the concept in detail and to present the views of Sartre and Heidegger on humanism and to shed a light on the discrepancy of the two views and disprove the arguments of some of the critics who claimed their similarity. Firstly, the concept is explained in terms of different classifications according to the historical era they became prominent and the philosophers or philosophical movements the concept was associated with. Then Sartre's existential humanism is discussed in relation with his " being-for-itself " and idea of human freedom. Sartre's view of humanism is followed by Heideggereanhumanism which isstudied in association with Heidegger's concepts of Dasein and Being. The investigation ends with the emphasis of the difference between Sartre's and Heidegger's views of humanism.

The humanism of Sartre: Toward a psychology of dignity

Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 1996

This paper is an attempt to make more explicit what we believe is the significance of the concept of dignity for psychology. The paper is grounded in the writings of Husserl and the humanism of Sartre and examines the humanistic position underlying psychology with that of positivism and determinism. Through an examination of Sartre's formulation of the cogito and intersubjectivity, we argue, that humanism more than any other orientation current in psychology is concerned with the human status of the individual and the recognition of dignity as central to that status. We argue that dignity is fundamental to the structure of human existence and is achieved only by holding the other as human in status rather than reduced to the status of an object. THE HUMANISM OF SARTRE: TOWARD A PSYCHOLOGY OF DIGNITY Humanists have a conception of the individual that has long stressed the importance of the quality of human experience as central to an understanding of human functioning. Humans are more than brain functions and neural circuits, cognitive schemas, complex conditioned behaviors, and unconscious instinctual drives. In asserting that human nature needs to be understood on its own terms, the humanistic movement holds to a "special status of human nature; one which does not reduce the human to a non-human" (Davidson, 1992, p. 143). It is our belief that it is this status as human that establishes the significance of dignity for human functioning. We argue that it is assigning to persons the status of a "non-human" or "object" that distorts our understanding of human experience and the unique qualities that humans possess as individuals of self-determination and self-expression. It is our belief that some current trends in psychology, such as psychoanalytic theory, behaviorism and some cognitive-behavioral approaches, and brain science, reflect a return to positivism and a mechanistic view of the individual. These underlying philosophical This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.