Abstract

HERZOG, Regina  and  FARAH, Bruno. A psicanálise e o futuro da civilização moderna: Psychoanalysis and the future of the modern civilization. Psyche (Sao Paulo) [online]. 2005, vol.9, n.16, pp.49-64. ISSN 1415-1138.

This essay discusses the political and epistemological relevance of Freud’s proposal of future in Civilizations and its Discontents. In this work he denounce the breakdown of modernity’s faith in progress, and offers the reader the image of an open, unpredictable future, radically opposed to the orientation toward the future we find in Totem and Taboo. Whereas in the latter we find a normative view of modernity - as it suggests a progress toward the “scientific state” of civilization -, in Civilization and its Discontents a paradox is posed: how can we reject progress and still move toward the future? The tragic expectation implied in the question underscores the relevance of Freud’s criticism for present times, as he opposes both modernity’s promises of future harmony and the contemporary conservative emphasis on the present.

Keywords : Psychoanalysis; Future; Progress; Wait; Modernity.

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