Wittgenstein Reads Freud – the Myth Ofthe Unconscious (New French Thought Series) - Hardcover

Bouveresse, Jacques

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691034257 ISBN 13: 9780691034256

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 1995

Synopsis

Did Freud present a scientific hypothesis about the unconscious, as he always maintained and as many of his disciples keep repeating? This question has long prompted debates concerning the legitimacy and usefulness of psychoanalysis, and it is of utmost importance to Lacanian analysts, whose main project has been to stress Freud's scientific grounding. Here Jacques Bouveresse, a noted authority on Ludwig Wittgenstein, contributes to the debate by turning to this Austrian-born philosopher and contemporary of Freud for a candid assessment of the early issues surrounding psychoanalysis. Wittgenstein, who himself had delivered a devastating critique of traditional philosophy, sympathetically pondered Freud's claim to have produced a scientific theory in proposing a new model of the human psyche. What Wittgenstein recognized - and what Bouveresse stresses for today's reader - is that psychoanalysis does not aim to produce a change limited to the intellect, but rather seeks to provoke an authentic change of human attitudes. The beauty behind the theory of the unconscious for Wittgenstein is that it breaks away from scientific, causal explanations to offer new forms of thinking and speaking, or rather, a new mythology. Offering a critical view of all the texts in which Wittgenstein mentions Freud, Bouveresse immerses the reader in the European intellectual climate of the early part of the 20th century. Intertwined in this story of Wittgenstein's grappling with the theory of the unconscious is the story of how he came to question the authority of science and of philosophy itself. While aimed primarily at the clarification of Wittgenstein's opinion of Freud, Bouveresse's book can be read as a challenge to the French psychoanalytic school of Lacan and as a provocative commentary on cultural authority.

About this title

About the Author

Jacques Bouveresse is Professor of Philosophy at the Collège de France and the author of numerous works on Wittgenstein. Vincent Descombes is Director of Studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris.

From the Back Cover

"`It will take a long time,' said Wittgenstein, `before we lose our subservience' to Freudian psychoanalysis. By casting the philosopher's scattered reflections into the form of a sustained and powerful critique, Jacques Bouveresse brings that day considerably nearer."--Frederick Crews

From the Inside Flap

"`It will take a long time,' said Wittgenstein, `before we lose our subservience' to Freudian psychoanalysis. By casting the philosopher's scattered reflections into the form of a sustained and powerful critique, Jacques Bouveresse brings that day considerably nearer."--Frederick Crews

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691034257
• ISBN 13: 9780691034256
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 164