Reverso
Print version ISSN 0102-7395
Abstract
CECCARELLI, Paulo Roberto and FRANCO, Samuel. Religion or illusion?: Freud x Pfister clash. Reverso [online]. 2014, vol.36, n.67, pp.75-83. ISSN 0102-7395.
The text proposes a clash of Freud and Pfister concerning psychoanalysis and religion. Whereas for Freud religion equals to dream and illusion, for Pfister, based on his text “The illusion of a future”, the “Shepherd of Souls” questions Freudian scheme of religion. For Pfister, realistic thinking and desire are not illusions and must live along in different dimensions of life, including science. For Freud, illusion will always be needed to accommodate our constitutive helplessness. The authors conclude that for psychoanalysis what is important is to understand the underlying reasons of religious beliefs and disbeliefs. Every speech, including the religious one is human. Regardless of being neurotic or sublime, it is subjected to unconscious determinations.
Keywords : Religion; Illusion; Psychoanalysis; Freud x Pfister.