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''Freud and Philosophy: An Essay on Interpretation'' (french: De l'interprétation. Essai sur Sigmund Freud) is a 1965 book about
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...
, the founder of
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
, written by the French philosopher Paul Ricœur. In ''Freud and Philosophy'', Ricœur interprets Freud's work in terms of
hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...
, a theory that governs the interpretation of a particular text, and phenomenology, a school of philosophy founded by
Edmund Husserl , thesis1_title = Beiträge zur Variationsrechnung (Contributions to the Calculus of Variations) , thesis1_url = https://fedora.phaidra.univie.ac.at/fedora/get/o:58535/bdef:Book/view , thesis1_year = 1883 , thesis2_title ...
. Ricœur addresses questions such as the nature of interpretation in psychoanalysis, the understanding of human nature and the relationship between Freud's interpretation of culture amongst other interpretations. The book was first published in France by
Éditions du Seuil Éditions du Seuil (), also known as ''Le Seuil'', is a French publishing house established in 1935 by Catholic intellectual Jean Plaquevent (1901–1965), and currently owned by La Martinière Groupe. It owes its name to this goal "The ''seuil' ...
, and in the United States by
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...
. Ricœur explores what he considers a tension in Freud's work between an emphasis on "energetics", which explains psychological phenomena in terms of quantities of energy, and an emphasis on hermeneutics. He compares Freud to the philosophers
Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
and
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
describing the trio as a " school of suspicion" and explores similarities and differences between
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
and phenomenology. He also compares Freud's ideas to those of the philosopher
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...
and further develops his ideas about symbols explored in an earlier work, ''The Symbolism of Evil'' (1960). In response to criticism of the scientific status of psychoanalysis by philosophers such as
Ernest Nagel Ernest Nagel (November 16, 1901 – September 20, 1985) was an American philosopher of science. Suppes, Patrick (1999)Biographical memoir of Ernest Nagel In '' American National Biograph''y (Vol. 16, pp. 216-218). New York: Oxford University Pr ...
, Ricœur argues that psychoanalysis should be understood not as an observational science, but as an "interpretation" that resembles
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
rather than
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
. He criticizes psychoanalysts who fail to adopt this as their response to arguments that psychoanalysis is unscientific. One of Ricœur's most noted works, ''Freud and Philosophy'' has been compared to the philosopher Herbert Marcuse's '' Eros and Civilization'' (1955), the classicist Norman O. Brown's ''
Life Against Death ''Life Against Death: The Psychoanalytical Meaning of History'' (1959; second edition 1985) is a book by the American classicist Norman O. Brown, in which the author offers a radical analysis and critique of the work of Sigmund Freud, tries to pr ...
'' (1959), the sociologist Philip Rieff's '' Freud: The Mind of the Moralist'' (1959), and the philosopher Jürgen Habermas's '' Knowledge and Human Interests'' (1968). Commentators have praised Ricœur's discussion of Freud's theories, his exploration of usually neglected aspects of Freud's work, his comparison of Freud to Hegel, Marx and Nietzsche and his discussion of phenomenology. However, ''Freud and Philosophy'' became controversial. The work angered the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, who accused Ricœur of borrowing his ideas without attribution; although some scholars have rejected the accusation. ''Freud and Philosophy'' received positive reviews upon the publication of its English translation in 1970. The book was described as one of the most important discussions of psychoanalysis, and Ricœur was praised for his discussion of symbols. He was also credited with convincingly criticizing Freud's views on both symbols and religion generally. However, some critics have argued that Ricœur's views imply the impossibility of scientifically evaluating psychoanalysis.


Summary


Preface

Ricœur explains that his subject is Sigmund Freud, the founder of
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
, rather than psychoanalysis itself, and that he therefore avoids discussing psychoanalytic literature subsequent to Freud and dissident figures such as the psychiatrist
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, phi ...
. He stresses that ''Freud and Philosophy'' is a work of philosophy and not a work of psychology, and compares his enterprise to those of philosophers such as Roland Dalbiez in ''Psychoanalytical Method and the Doctrine of Freud'' (1936) and Herbert Marcuse in ''Eros and Civilization'' (1955), as well as to those of the sociologist Philip Rieff in ''Freud: The Mind of the Moralist'' (1959) and the psychoanalyst
John Flügel John Carl Flügel (13 June 1884 – 6 August 1955), was a British experimental psychologist and a practising psychoanalyst. Training and career Flügel was born in Liverpool on 13 June 1884, to a German father and English mother. Psychoanalytic ...
in ''Man, Morals and Society'' (1945). Like Marcuse, Rieff, and Flügel, he considers psychoanalysis an "interpretation of culture", but unlike them his principal concern is the "structure of Freudian discourse". He identifies his main purposes as explaining the nature and purpose of interpretation in psychoanalysis, showing to what understanding of human nature psychoanalytic interpretation leads, and exploring whether or how Freud's interpretation of culture is compatible with other interpretations. He notes that by discussing these questions he further explores unresolved issues related to symbols raised in his earlier work ''The Symbolism of Evil''.


Book I: Problematic: The Placing of Freud

Ricœur relates his discussion of Freud to the emphasis on the importance of
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
shared by philosophers such as
Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is con ...
and
Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th ce ...
, schools of philosophy, such as phenomenology, a movement founded by
Edmund Husserl , thesis1_title = Beiträge zur Variationsrechnung (Contributions to the Calculus of Variations) , thesis1_url = https://fedora.phaidra.univie.ac.at/fedora/get/o:58535/bdef:Book/view , thesis1_year = 1883 , thesis2_title ...
, and English
linguistic philosophy __notoc__ Linguistic philosophy is the view that many or all philosophical problems can be solved (or dissolved) by paying closer attention to language, either by reforming language or by better understanding our everyday language. The former po ...
—as well as disciplines such as
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
,
comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...
,
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
, and psychoanalysis. Ricœur argues that there is a need for a "comprehensive philosophy of language" to explain its diverse purposes, and that psychoanalysts should participate in discussion of language. He maintains that one of Freud's objectives was "a reinterpretation of all psychical productions pertaining to culture, from dreams, through art and morality, to religion". Discussing Freud's theory of dreams, he writes that Freud used dreams as a model for all disguised expressions of human desire. He argues that psychoanalysis is concerned not with desires themselves but rather the language in which they are conveyed, that it involves a "semantics of desire", and that psychoanalytic concepts such as repression and
cathexis In psychoanalysis, cathexis (or emotional investment) is defined as the process of allocation of mental or emotional energy to a person, object, or idea. Origin of term The Greek term ''cathexis'' (κάθεξις) was chosen by James Strache ...
express dynamics or "energetics" that are "articulated only in a semantics". He writes that Freud's examinations of dreams and related phenomena such as humor, mythology, and religion, shows that they are meaningful and concern the way in which desires "achieve speech". He concludes that psychoanalysis offers a new approach to speech. In Ricœur's view, Freud's work suggests that language resembles dreams, in the sense that it "means something other than what it says" and expresses "double meaning". According to Ricœur, dreams and phenomena comparable to them, including both
insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...
and human culture in general, involve "significations where another meaning is both given and hidden in an immediate meaning", which he equates with the symbol. Comparing the way in which psychoanalysis addresses "double meaning" to that of the
phenomenology of religion The phenomenology of religion concerns the experiential aspect of religion, describing religious phenomena in terms consistent with the orientation of worshippers. It views religion as made up of different components, and studies these components a ...
, he identifies both similarities and differences between the two approaches. In his view, the primary difference is that phenomena that psychoanalysis views as distorted reflections of basic desires are regarded by the phenomenology of religion as "the revelation of the sacred". The relative merits of these views are one of his major concerns. He argues that psychoanalysis is concerned with "the hermeneutic field", which concerns double meanings and the confrontation between different forms of interpretation. He defines "hermeneutics" as "the theory of the rules that preside over an exegesis—that is, over the interpretation of a particular text, or of a group of signs that may be viewed as a text", adding that exegesis can be understood to include the interpretation of things analogous to texts. He proposes that "the problem of symbolism" is to a large extent coextensive with that of language. In Ricœur's view, Freud's work can be compared to that of the philosophers
Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
and
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
. He refers to the trio as masters of the " school of suspicion", arguing that despite their differences, the apparent incompatibility of their ideas, and despite caricatures or misunderstandings of their conclusions, they all view consciousness primarily as
false consciousness In Marxist theory, false consciousness is a term describing the ways in which material, ideological, and institutional processes are said to mislead members of the proletariat and other class actors within capitalist societies, concealing the ...
, seeking to explain its process and provide a means of deciphering it, with the objective of extending consciousness. He views all of them as being fundamentally opposed to the "phenomenology of the sacred" and to "hermeneutics understood as the recollection of meaning and as the reminiscence of being".


Book II: Analytic: Reading of Freud

Ricœur explains that in the second section of the book he discusses psychoanalysis in relation to other perspectives primarily to show how it differs from or is opposed to them. He argues that it can be understood as both an "energetics", in that it entails "an explanation of psychical phenomena through conflicts of forces", and a "hermeneutics", in that it entails an "exegesis of apparent meaning through a latent meaning". He discusses Freud's theories of the
death drive In classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the death drive (german: Todestrieb) is the drive toward death and destruction, often expressed through behaviors such as aggression, repetition compulsion, and self-destructiveness.Eric Berne, '' ...
, the
defence mechanisms In psychoanalytic theory, a defence mechanism (American English: defense mechanism), is an unconscious psychological operation that functions to protect a person from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and ...
,
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
, the
id, ego and super-ego The id, ego, and super-ego are a set of three concepts in psychoanalytic theory describing distinct, interacting agents in the psychic apparatus (defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche). The three agents are theoretical con ...
, identification, the
libido Libido (; colloquial: sex drive) is a person's overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity. Libido is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. Biologically, the sex hormones and associated neurotransmitters that act u ...
,
metapsychology Metapsychology (Greek: ''meta'' 'beyond, transcending', and ''ψυχολογία'' 'psychology') is that aspect of any psychological theory which refers to the structure of the theory itself (hence the prefix "meta") rather than to the entity it d ...
,
narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...
, the
Oedipus complex The Oedipus complex (also spelled Œdipus complex) is an idea in psychoanalytic theory. The complex is an ostensibly universal phase in the life of a young boy in which, to try to immediately satisfy basic desires, he unconsciously wishes to hav ...
, the pleasure principle, the preconscious, the psychic apparatus,
psychosexual development In Freudian psychology, psychosexual development is a central element of the psychoanalytic sexual drive theory. Freud believed that personality developed through a series of childhood stages in which pleasure seeking energies from the child b ...
, the reality principle, sublimation, the
transference Transference (german: Übertragung) is a phenomenon within psychotherapy in which the "feelings, attitudes, or desires" a person had about one thing are subconsciously projected onto the here-and-now Other. It usually concerns feelings from a ...
, the
unconscious Unconscious may refer to: Physiology * Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli Psychology * Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...
, as well as dreamwork,
Freud's seduction theory Freud's seduction theory (german: Verführungstheorie) was a hypothesis posited in the mid-1890s by Sigmund Freud that he believed provided the solution to the problem of the origins of hysteria and obsessional neurosis. According to the theory, ...
, and the method of free association. He suggests that in ''
The Interpretation of Dreams ''The Interpretation of Dreams'' (german: Die Traumdeutung) is an 1899 book by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, in which the author introduces his theory of the unconscious with respect to dream interpretation, and discusses what w ...
'' (1899), Freud did not succeed in reconciling the "language of meaning" and the "quasi-physical language" implied by different parts of his theory. He notes that for Freud, dreams provide the "ultimate proof" of the existence of the unconscious, since in Freud's view the dreamwork's activity of distortion makes it necessary to attribute to the unconscious both a distinct place in the structure of the mind and its own set of laws. He considers the psychoanalytic concept of the unconscious "totally unphenomenological". He also sees a fundamental contrast between Husserl's epoché, which involves a "reduction ''to'' consciousness", and the procedures of psychoanalysis, which involve a "reduction ''of'' consciousness". He argues that the contrast is the result of Freud's emphasis on instinct, which displaces an emphasis on the role of the subject and the object in consciousness, and observes that Freud realized that by using the concept of instinct to "relate empirical facts", he had moved from description to systematization, and that this involved the use of postulates. He elaborates that Freud's postulates included those concerned with the operation of the psychic apparatus, which in Freud's view was regulated by qualities of "pleasure-unpleasure", which in turn depended on "the amounts of stimulus ... affecting mental life". Observing that, for Freud, the object of instincts must be understood in terms of their aim and not the reverse, he adds that the object may be either something external to a person or part of his or her own body. He credits Freud with making these discoveries in ''
Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality ''Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality'' (german: Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie), sometimes titled ''Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex'', is a 1905 work by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, in which the author advance ...
'' (1905). He provides examples of how Freud attempted to explain the process by which instincts change their objects in his theories of narcissism and identification, observing that, for Freud, explaining narcissism meant showing that "not only is the object a function of the aim of an instinct, but the ego itself is an aim of instinct". He writes that, in Freud's view, narcissism has to be understood through its secondary expressions, such as the perversion "in which one's own body is treated as an object of love", and that the theory of narcissism helped Freud to show that displacement of narcissism is the basis of "the formation of ideals" and thus has implications for the theory of identification. He notes that, for Freud, identification is based in the
oral stage In Freudian psychoanalysis, the term oral stage or hemitaxia denotes the first psychosexual development stage wherein the mouth of the infant is their primary erogenous zone. Spanning the life period from birth to the age of 18 months, the oral s ...
of development and modeled after the act of devouring. He argues that it was important for Freud that he decide whether it involves a desire to possess something or a desire to be like something, since only the former could be traced to oral origins. Following earlier commentary, Ricœur maintains that Freud uses different sets of terms, including an "observational" set concerned with observable phenomena and a "theoretical" set concerned with phenomena that cannot be observed, including various hypothesized forces. He maintains that the conflict between hermeneutics and an incompatible discourse of "economics", involving quantities of energy, persisted in Freud's work after ''The Interpretation of Dreams'', and concludes that in it, "the language of force can never be overcome by the language of meaning". According to Ricœur, psychoanalytic claims about religion are shaped by both the "topographic-economic model" of Freudian metapsychology and by the example of dreams. He argues that aspects of Freud's views on religion, such as his "radical questioning" of it, merit the consideration of both religious believers and non-believers, despite potential misunderstandings by both groups. He also proposes that psychoanalysis can co-exist with "purified" religious faith. However, he questions Freud's analogy between religion and neurosis, as well as the accuracy of some of his claims about the history of religion. Freud's hypothesis of the death instinct, put forward in ''
Beyond the Pleasure Principle ''Beyond the Pleasure Principle'' (german: Jenseits des Lustprinzips) is a 1920 essay by Sigmund Freud. It marks a major turning point in the formulation of his drive theory, where Freud had previously attributed self-preservation in human behav ...
'' (1920), is criticized by Ricœur, who describes it as speculative and as resting on a limited factual basis. He draws connections between Freud's ideas about the death instinct and his views about the structure of the mind as presented in ''
The Ego and the Id ''The Ego and the Id'' (german: Das Ich und das Es) is a prominent paper by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. It is an analytical study of the human psyche outlining his theories of the psychodynamics of the id, ego and super-ego, w ...
'' (1923).


Book III: Dialectic: A Philosophical Interpretation of Freud

Ricœur explains that the third section of the book is concerned with criticism of Freud's ideas. He summarizes his approach as involving first examining the validity of psychoanalysis from the standpoint of
epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epis ...
, then exploring its concepts through elaborating an "archaeology of the subject". He adds that he then integrates this "archaeology" with a "
teleology Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...
" in a way that suggests the possibility of interrelating these "opposed hermeneutics". He compares psychoanalysis to both scientific psychology and phenomenology, arguing that it cannot be made part of a "general psychology". He writes that most philosophers who have discussed psychoanalysis have concluded that it fails to satisfy the basic requirements of a scientific theory. He credits
Ernest Nagel Ernest Nagel (November 16, 1901 – September 20, 1985) was an American philosopher of science. Suppes, Patrick (1999)Biographical memoir of Ernest Nagel In '' American National Biograph''y (Vol. 16, pp. 216-218). New York: Oxford University Pr ...
with presenting the strongest such argument, summarizing it as follows. It is questionable whether psychoanalysis is subject to empirical verification, since some its concepts are so vague and metaphorical, and have such an unclear relevance to behavior, that it appears impossible to either deduce specific conclusions from them or explain how psychoanalysis itself could be refuted. Furthermore, there is no way of showing that psychoanalytic interpretations are valid because psychoanalytic data cannot be separated from the relationship of a given analyst to his or her patients and the suspicion that interpretations are forced upon the data by analysts is unavoidable given the lack of comparative procedures and statistical investigation. Between them, these problems make it impossible for independent inquirers to obtain the same data under carefully standardized circumstances or for psychoanalysts to establish objective procedures to decide which conflicting interpretations might be correct. Claims made by psychoanalysts about the effectiveness of treatment are unavailing, since the percentages of improvement cannot be strictly established or defined by appropriate studies, making it impossible to compare the effectiveness of psychoanalysis to other methods of treatment. In Ricœur's view, such arguments are convincing so long as psychoanalysis is considered an observational science. He argues that psychoanalysts should, but have not, respond by presenting psychoanalysis as an "interpretation" that resembles history rather than psychology. He argues that while some psychoanalysts have tried to reformulate psychoanalysis so that it meets scientific criteria acceptable to psychologists, aspects of Freudian theory make this difficult. He refers to the attempt to assimilate psychoanalysis to observational psychology as the "operational" reformulation of psychoanalysis. He writes that such efforts at
operationalization In research design, especially in psychology, social sciences, life sciences and physics, operationalization or operationalisation is a process of defining the measurement of a phenomenon which is not directly measurable, though its existence is in ...
have not satisfied psychologists. He nevertheless argues that they are legitimate, writing that it is desirable for psychoanalysis to be evaluated by psychology and that attempts should be made to validate or invalidate its results. However, he emphasizes that such reformulation of psychoanalysis is "a second operation with respect to the experience on the basis of which the Freudian concepts have arisen" and as such can only deal with results that are "detached from the analytic experience". Emphasizing the importance of the difference between the concepts of psychoanalysis and those of behavioral psychology, Ricœur endorses the philosopher Stephen Toulmin's argument that an explanation of human behavior in terms of motives is different in kind from an explanation of human behavior in terms of causes, and that psychoanalysis deals with motives rather than causes. He maintains that because psychoanalysis is concerned with motive concepts, there is a clear distinction between it and observational science. Criticizing the idea that psychoanalysis resembles an experimental science, he emphasizes, following the work of Jacques Lacan, that an analysis is based on verbal interactions between a psychoanalyst and a patient and that it reveals "another language, dissociated from common language, and which presents itself to be deciphered through its meaningful effects" such as symptoms and dreams. He maintains that psychoanalytic theory is thus concerned with "analytic experience, insofar as the latter operates in the field of speech". He critiques Freud's theories concerning sublimation, arguing that they suffer from multiple problems and that sublimation is an "empty concept", as well as his views on language. He also discusses the relationship between Freud's ideas and those of the philosopher
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...
, comparing the role that desire plays in both men's work.


Background and publication history

According to Ricœur, ''Freud and Philosophy'' originated in the Terry Lectures given at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
in 1961, and was also developed in lectures given at the University of Louvain in 1962. The book was first published in French in May 1965 by
Éditions du Seuil Éditions du Seuil (), also known as ''Le Seuil'', is a French publishing house established in 1935 by Catholic intellectual Jean Plaquevent (1901–1965), and currently owned by La Martinière Groupe. It owes its name to this goal "The ''seuil' ...
, as part of the series ''L'Ordre philosophique'' (The Philosophic Order). In 1970, an English translation by Denis Savage was published in hardcover by
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...
. A paperback edition followed in 1977.


Reception

''Freud and Philosophy'' has become a well-known study of Freud, influential in both philosophy and psychoanalysis. Together with ''Fallible Man'' and ''The Symbolism of Evil'', both published in 1960, and ''The Conflict of Interpretations'' (1969), it is considered one of Ricœur's most important works. Commentators have evaluated it from a variety of philosophical perspectives, offering a mixture of praise and criticism for the work. ''Freud and Philosophy'' has been compared to ''Eros and Civilization'', as well as to ''Freud: The Mind of the Moralist'', and the philosopher Jürgen Habermas's ''Knowledge and Human Interests'' (1968) and the classicist Norman O. Brown's ''Life Against Death'' (1959). The philosopher Jeffrey Abramson, who praised Ricœur's discussions of narcissism and sublimation, maintained that these works jointly placed Freud at the center of moral and philosophical inquiry. ''Freud and Philosophy'' has also been praised by the philosophers Don Ihde, who nevertheless found its approach to interpretation limited by its focus on the ideas of symbol and double meaning, Richard Kearney, and
Douglas Kellner Douglas Kellner (born May 31, 1943) is an American academic who works at the intersection of "third-generation" critical theory in the tradition of the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, or Frankfurt School, and in cultural studies in the ...
. Kearney credited Ricœur with demonstrating that the symbolic imagination is linguistic; he has also suggested that Ricœur was engaged in a form of
eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...
. Kellner credited Ricœur with demonstrating the importance of psychoanalysis for "increasing understanding of human nature and contributing to the process of self-formation". He believed Ricœur made better use of some Freudian ideas than did Marcuse. The psychoanalysts R. D. Chessick, Joel Kovel, and Joel Whitebook, have praised ''Freud and Philosophy''. Chessick called the book a "classic" and "one of the best philosophical works on Freud", crediting Ricœur with providing a "thorough and scholarly" discussion of Freud, and with presenting "brilliant ideas and conceptions". He praised Ricœur's treatment of Freud's view of religion. He compared the structure of ''Freud and Philosophy'' to that of the philosopher
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
's '' Critique of Pure Reason'' (1781), and found its "methodology and prose" reminiscent of Hegel. However, he described the work as poorly written and sometimes unintelligible. He also faulted Ricœur for over-emphasizing symbols and for his treatment of the transference and the relationship of psychoanalysis to science. He suggested that Ricœur borrowed from Lacan, finding this apparent in Ricœur's understanding of the "semantics of desire". Kovel described ''Freud and Philosophy'' as an important demonstration that Freud was a post-Hegelian thinker. Whitebook argued that ''Freud and Philosophy'' was "unsurpassed" and disproved the view that clinical experience is necessary for understanding psychoanalytic theory. The psychologists
Paul Vitz Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
and Malcolm Macmillan have both praised Ricœur's discussion of Freud's theories about the development of the ego. Macmillan credited Ricœur with recognizing that Freud saw a close connection between the mental structures he outlined in ''The Ego and the Id'' and the instinctual theory he put forward in ''Beyond the Pleasure Principle''. He endorsed Ricœur's criticism of the concept of sublimation and his questioning of the idea that identification has an oral origin. Ricœur's hermeneutic approach to psychoanalysis has been discussed by the historians Peter Gay and Roger Smith. Gay described ''Freud and Philosophy'' as a "highly disciplined study", but noted his disagreement with the work. Smith credited Ricœur with demonstrating the merits of a hermeneutic approach to Freud. The pastoral counselor Kirk A. Bingaman praised Ricœur's discussion of hermeneutics, crediting him with demonstrating that "a Freudian hermeneutic" can both challenge and "purify and strengthen" religious faith. However, ''Freud and Philosophy'' has received criticism from psychologists such as Hans Eysenck, Glenn Wilson, and Paul Kline, who have attributed to Ricœur the view that psychoanalysis either cannot or should not be evaluated in terms of experimental evidence. Eysenck and Wilson described ''Freud and Philosophy'' as a good example of a defense of psychoanalysis against the claim that it should be so evaluated. They argued that Ricœur espoused a form of "extreme subjectivism" which implies that psychoanalytic theories cannot be tested empirically or shown to be mistaken. They suggested that Freud would have rejected Ricœur's conclusions and that few psychologists or psychoanalysts would accept them. They also argued that if Ricœur's conclusions were to be accepted, this would further undermine psychoanalysis. Kline wrote that Ricœur might be correct that psychoanalysis cannot be dealt with through experiments based on quantifiable evidence, but argued that if he is, this shows that psychoanalytic theory is not scientific. The sociologist John Thompson considered Ricœur's views about the role of language and meaning in psychoanalysis similar to those of Lacan. While Thompson praised ''Freud and Philosophy'', he believed that Ricœur failed to resolve the "question of the scientific status of psychoanalysis" in the work. He and Ricœur both noted that Ricœur took a different approach to the issue in his essay "The question of proof in Freud's psychoanalytic writings", which was published in '' Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences'' (1981). The philosopher
Richard J. Bernstein Richard Jacob Bernstein (May 14, 1932 – July 4, 2022) was an American philosopher who taught for many years at Haverford College and then at The New School for Social Research, where he was Vera List Professor of Philosophy. Bernstein wrote ...
credited Ricœur with showing that there was always a tension in Freud's thinking between an emphasis on "energetics" and an emphasis on "hermeneutics", and with using his discussion of Hegel to explain aspects of Freud's work. However, he noted that Ricœur presented only one possible philosophical interpretation of Freud, and suggested that the section of ''Freud and Philosophy'' in which he did so was the weakest part of the book. He argued that Ricœur's interpretation of Freud suffered from "tensions and unresolved issues". He also remained unconvinced by Ricœur's critique of Freud's views on religion. Ricœur has also been criticized by the philosophers Ronald de Sousa, Geoff Waite, and
Todd Dufresne Todd Dufresne (born 7 November 1966) is a Canadians, Canadian social and cultural theorist best known for his work on Sigmund Freud and the history of psychoanalysis. He is Professor of Philosophy at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Ed ...
. De Sousa maintained that Ricœur was one of several commentators on Freud to have incorrectly argued that Freud, by basing the method of psychoanalysis on an extension of the principle of determinism from the physical to the mental realm, confused determinism and meaningfulness. Waite described Ricœur's claim that Freud, Marx, and Nietzsche form a "school of suspicion" as "famous" but misleading. Dufresne considered Ricœur's interpretation of Freud evenhanded and in some ways superior to Lacan's. He credited Ricœur with discussing important points that are rarely addressed, and complimented his interpretation of the concept of the death drive. However, he concluded that Ricœur's attempt to "oppose and then synthesize" Freud and Hegel was already dated when ''Freud and Philosophy'' was published. He noted that thinkers such Marcuse, Lacan, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, and Judith Butler have produced interpretations of ''Beyond the Pleasure Principle'' irreconcilable with Ricœur's. The philosopher Adolf Grünbaum has discussed ''Freud and Philosophy'' in works such as '' The Foundations of Psychoanalysis'' (1984) and '' Validation in the Clinical Theory of Psychoanalysis'' (1993). In ''The Foundations of Psychoanalysis'', he criticized Ricœur's hermeneutic interpretation of Freud, arguing that Ricœur incorrectly limited the relevance of psychoanalytic theory to verbal statements made during analytic therapy. He accused Ricœur of wanting to protect his hermeneutic understanding of psychoanalysis from scientific examination and criticism, and maintained that Ricœur's arguments rested on an untenable dichotomy between theory and observation and that he took a reductive form of behaviorism as his model of scientific psychology. He argued that Ricœur's view that psychoanalysis provides a "semantics of desire" mistakenly equates symptoms with linguistic representations of their causes, and accused Ricœur of endorsing Lacan's "obfuscating" view that a symptom resembles "a language whose speech must be realized". However, Grünbaum gave Ricœur credit for later, in ''Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences'', reassessing his views by abandoning the dichotomy between reasons and causes. Grünbaum's criticisms of Ricœur have been endorsed, in whole or in part, by the psychologist Robert R. Holt, the psychoanalyst
Jonathan Lear Jonathan Lear is an American philosopher and psychoanalyst. He is the John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought and Roman Family Director of the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society at the University ...
, the historian Paul Robinson, and the critic Frederick Crews. Holt dismissed ''Freud and Philosophy'', arguing that it was only superficially impressive, that parts of it were unreadable, and that Ricœur used vague or inappropriately metaphorical language. He also maintained that Ricœur's view that psychoanalysis is not a science depended on unoriginal arguments. Though he noted that Ricœur's views were supported by some psychoanalysts, he argued that if Ricœur's view that psychoanalysis does not have to make predictions and is not subject to "substantial constraints" were correct, it would mean the end of psychoanalysis. Lear criticized ''Freud and Philosophy'', blaming it, along with ''Knowledge and Human Interests'', for convincing some psychoanalysts that reasons cannot be causes. Robinson described ''Freud and Philosophy'' as a classic portrayal of Freud as a hermeneutician and a philosopher similar to Nietzsche. He compared Ricœur's views to those of Derrida. Although he believed that there was some truth to them, he argued that Ricœur's arguments obscured Freud's identification with the scientific tradition. He credited Grünbaum with showing that Ricœur was misguided in this respect. Crews criticized Ricœur for helping to inspire unscientific defenses of Freud and psychoanalysis and for misunderstanding Freud. The philosopher Philippe Lacour suggested that the debate between Grünbaum and Ricœur suffered from the fact that, while Grünbaum read and responded to Ricœur's writings, it was unclear whether Ricœur paid any attention to Grünbaum. According to the historian and psychoanalyst
Élisabeth Roudinesco Élisabeth Roudinesco ( ro , Rudinescu; born 10 September 1944) is a French historian and psychoanalyst, affiliated researcher in history at Paris Diderot University, in the group « Identités-Cultures-Territoires ». She also conducts a seminar ...
, Ricœur first presented the interpretation of Freud later expounded in ''Freud and Philosophy'' at a colloquium held in France in 1960. Roudinesco maintains that ''Freud and Philosophy'' combines hermeneutics with a philosophy inspired by "post-Hegelian phenomenology", draws on Christian traditions and language, and conflicted with the structuralism of the early 1960s. According to Roudinesco, ''Freud and Philosophy'' was well received in France because it was the first book of its kind, but also criticized because phenomenology had become unfashionable by the time it was published in May 1965. ''Freud and Philosophy'' angered Lacan, who had expected the book to praise him. It has been suggested that Lacan was angered by ''Freud and Philosophy'' because he considered himself alone to be the "authentic French interpreter of Freud". Lacan spread the rumor, which convinced Lacan's followers, that Ricœur had borrowed his ideas without attribution. Some psychoanalysts influenced by Lacan argued that since Ricœur was not a psychoanalyst and had never been psychoanalyzed he was incompetent to write about Freud. In ''Critique'', the psychoanalyst Jean-Paul Valabrega accused Ricœur of having drawn on Lacan's ideas despite claiming to be original. At the request of the philosopher Michel Foucault, ''Critique'' published a reply by Ricœur, in which he denied the accusation and explained that he had completed the outline of his interpretation of Freud before having read Lacan. Roudinesco dismisses the charge that Ricœur had borrowed Lacan's ideas, arguing that he could not have done so given his failure to understand them. Roudinesco states that ''Freud and Philosophy'' received a negative review in ''
Les Temps modernes ''Les Temps Modernes'' (''Modern Times'') is a French journal, founded by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. It first issue was published in October 1945. It was named after the 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin. ''L ...
'' from Michel Tort, who argued that the book was obscurantist and reactionary, that Ricœur's Christian and phenomenological approach to understanding Freud's texts was unhelpful and obsolete, and that Lacan's approach to psychoanalysis was superior to that of Ricœur. Vinicio Busacchi wrote that Tort's discussion of ''Freud and Philosophy'' was "fallacious and calumnious" and that the accusation of plagiarism against Ricœur was false. Others who responded to the book in France include the philosopher Louis Althusser's students, whose view of the work was negative, as well as
Deleuze and Guattari Gilles Deleuze, a French philosopher, and Félix Guattari, a French psychoanalyst and political activist, wrote a number of works together (besides both having distinguished independent careers). Their conjoint works were '' Capitalism and Schizo ...
; Ricœur's arguments about the death instinct influenced their joint work '' Anti-Oedipus'' (1972). However, they were critical of Ricœur's interpretation of Freud's theory of culture. After Ricœur's death in 2005, the philosopher
Jonathan Rée Jonathan Rée (born 1948) is a British freelance historian and philosopher from Bradford. Educated at Sussex University and then at Oxford, Rée was previously a professor of philosophy at Middlesex University, but gave up a teaching career in orde ...
wrote that ''Freud and Philosophy'' was a "powerful" book that had been "scandalously neglected in France". ''Freud and Philosophy'' received positive reviews in academic journals written in English. These reviews include those by the psychiatrist Peter H. Knapp in '' The American Journal of Psychiatry'', the psychoanalyst Gerald J. Gargiulo in ''The Psychoanalytic Review'', the philosopher
Eliseo Vivas Eliseo Vivas (July 13, 1901 – August 28, 1991) "Vivas, Eliseo (1901-91)", in ''Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers'', John R. Shook, ed. (A&C Black, 2005) p2487 was a 20th-century philosopher and literary theorist. As a child, his fami ...
in the '' Journal of Value Inquiry'', the philosopher John W. Slaughter in the ''International Journal for Philosophy of Religion'', the psychiatrist Simon A. Grolnick in '' The Psychoanalytic Quarterly'', the psychiatrist Norman Reider in the ''
Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences The ''Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history of social and behavioral sciences. It was established in 1965 and is published by John Wiley & Sons. The editor-in-chief i ...
'', Ihde in the ''
International Philosophical Quarterly The ''International Philosophical Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal edited by a group of academics at Fordham University Fordham University () is a private Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and n ...
'', the psychiatrist Eliot Slater in the ''
British Journal of Psychiatry The ''British Journal of Psychiatry'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering all branches of psychiatry with a particular emphasis on the clinical aspects of each topic. The journal is owned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and publ ...
'', the philosopher George J. Stack in '' The Modern Schoolman'', and the theologian Walter James Lowe in '' Religious Studies Review''. However, the book received a negative review from the philosopher John M. Hems in '' Philosophy and Phenomenological Research''. Knapp described the book as "thoughtful, searching, and comprehensive". He wrote that Ricœur had broad knowledge of both philosophy and psychoanalysis. He credited him with carefully distinguishing between different aspects of Freud's work and convincingly criticizing Freud's hypotheses about language and views about religion. He also believed that he revealed Freud's "lack of a broad view of symbolic functioning", exposed confusions in Freud's thought, such as that between "force" as a metaphorical term and "force" as a reference to observable phenomena, and showed that psychoanalysis resembles historical science and phenomenology rather than science as understood by positivism. He praised his discussion of Toulmin. However, he suggested that integrating Freud's views about meaning with Freud's ideas about "drive energy" would "require a more comprehensive psychosomatic theory of emotion" than that provided by Ricœur, and that ''Freud and Philosophy'' was sometimes confused and presented debatable conclusions. He compared the book to Brown's ''Life Against Death''. Gargiulo described the book as "a provocative philosophical enterprise and a masterful reading of Freud" and "a text of extraordinary complexity and sensitivity". He compared Ricœur's work to that of Rieff, and credited him with showing that "desire has a semantics" and that psychoanalysis "cannot be verified as in physical and experimental sciences". He praised his discussions of sublimation and symbols. However, he criticized Ricœur's discussion of the reality principle. Vivas described the book as the most thorough study of Freudian theory that he was aware of. He considered it similar, but also superior to, ''Freud: The Mind of the Moralist''. He praised Ricœur's discussion of Freud's views on religion, crediting him with convincingly criticizing and correcting them. However, while finding Ricœur's views on religion preferable to Freud's, he nevertheless disagreed with them. He also expressed uncertainty about whether Ricœur had resolved the issue of the scientific status of psychoanalysis, and questioned the value of Ricœur's discussion of the reasons for the difficulty of resolving whether the processes postulated by psychoanalysis actually exist. Slaughter suggested that the book might be the best commentary on Freud ever written, maintaining that it not only assisted in the understanding of Freud but had implications for the practice of philosophy. However, he criticized Ricœur's discussion of Freud's views on religion, believing that Ricœur interrupted his discussion of Freud by presenting his personal beliefs. Grolnick understood the work as "a stage in the development of a comprehensive religious philosophy". He credited Ricœur with placing psychoanalysis in a larger historical and intellectual context and relating it to contemporary cultural trends, showing broad knowledge of philosophy, literature, and religion, and providing a useful discussion of the development of Freud's work. He praised Ricœur's exploration of topics such as narcissism, identification, sublimation, and the reality principle, and believed that he showed the flaws of some of Freud's views on art, culture, and religion. He complimented Ricœur for his comparison of psychoanalysis and phenomenology. However, he wrote that psychoanalysts might disagree with Ricœur's assessment of the scientific status of psychoanalysis, and that some of Ricœur's criticisms of Freud were unoriginal, having been made within psychoanalysis itself. Reider described the work as "one of the most important books on the theory of psychoanalysis in the last two decades". He praised Ricœur's discussion of Freud, crediting him with noting respects in which Freud's views were illogical, inconsistent, or incomplete, especially where religion was concerned. He considered Ricœur's critique of Freud superior to anything written by psychoanalysts. He also praised Ricœur's discussion of "symbols and symbolization" and his criticism of Nagel. However, he wrote that Ricœur's "preoccupation with religion, with the sacred, and his conclusion that psychoanalyis is teleological contain weighty evidence of his acceptance of idealism". Ihde maintained that the book was primarily about language and hermeneutics and that Ricœur's discussion of Freud was often "tedious". He credited Ricœur with using the Freudian ideas to correct phenomenology. He noted that the book was "Ricœur's most controversial work", and that it was criticized by adherents of phenomenology, who argued that Ricœur ignored the contributions of "phenomenological-existentialist psychologists". He rejected such criticisms. He also argued that despite the charge that Ricœur had borrowed ideas from Lacan, ''Freud and Philosophy'' reflected themes, such as the importance of symbols, that Ricœur had explored in earlier works such as ''The Symbolism of Evil''. Slater considered the book impressive, calling it the first detailed study "by a professional philosopher of the development of Freud's thought and of psychoanalytical theory in all the stages of its growth". He praised Ricœur's discussion of the development of Freud's ideas. However, he found it unclear whether Ricœur "shows successfully on what grounds psychoanalysis could subjected to any criticism whatsoever". He suggested that Ricœur's view of the interactions between psychoanalysts and their patients misleadingly suggested that there is no way for third parties to determine the truth or untruth of the claims made by the analysts about their patients. He believed that this undermined their credibility. Stack described the book as "illuminating and profound". He credited Ricœur with providing "the most complete philosophical interpretation" of psychoanalysis to date, demonstrating "the incompleteness of Freud's conception of symbols", carefully discussing Freud's view of instinct, convincingly criticizing Freud's theorizing about the death instinct, and usefully comparing "Hegel's phenomenology of desire and Freudian theory". He praised Ricœur's comparison of psychoanalysis and phenomenology, suggesting that he showed that they are ultimately incompatible despite the similarities between them. While he believed that Ricœur's insights undermined Freud's hostility to religion, he questioned Ricœur's attempt to find common ground between Freud and the phenomenology of religion. He was also unconvinced by Ricœur's attempt to demonstrate "an implicit teleology in psychoanalysis". In ''Religious Studies Review'', Lowe credited Ricœur with providing an interesting perspective on psychoanalysis. He compared Ricœur's views to those of Browning. He praised his comparison of psychoanalysis and phenomenology, crediting him with showing why it is wrong to absorb psychoanalysis into phenomenology or identify the two. He also praised his discussion of Freud's ideas in relation to those of Hegel. He wrote that he had influenced discussions of the relevance of Freud to theology, for example in his description of a teleological aspect to Freudian thought. However, he suggested that ''Freud and Philosophy'' contained unusual language. Hems wrote that the book could be seen as either "a work of formidable thoroughness" or one of "irksome prolixity", depending on one's point of view. He questioned whether Ricœur's attempt to reinterpret Freud was successful.


See also

* '' Freud and His Critics'' * '' Love and Its Place in Nature'' * '' Philosophical Essays on Freud''


References


Bibliography

;Books * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ;Journals * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ;Online articles * {{refend


External links


Gerald J. Gargiulo's review of ''Freud and Philosophy''
1965 non-fiction books Books about hermeneutics Books about religion Books about Sigmund Freud Books by Paul Ricœur Continental philosophy literature Éditions du Seuil books French non-fiction books Works about philosophy of psychology Yale University Press books