Psychoanalytic Politics

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In 1914 Freud foretold the 'final decisive battle' for psychoanalysis would take place 'where the greatest resistance [had] been displayed.' Wary of America's too easy acceptance, he suspected a dilution & distortion of his most vital--thus unacceptable--doctrines. Among Western nations, France maybe resisted Freud longest. Yet in the late '60s, France was seized by an 'infatuation with Freudianism.' By the end of the decade, it had more than a movement: it had a widespread, deeply rooted psychoanalytic culture. At this development's core was Jacques Lacan's reconstruction of Freudian theory, a reinvention of psychoanalysis resonating with French culture in the aftermath of the 1968 uprisings. While psychoanalysis has become increasingly identified with an essentially conservative US medical establishment, the French rediscovery of Freud, enacting his prophesy, became associated with the most radical elements of philosophical & political life. The story of Lacan, & why his work so profoundly influenced the French psyche, is told clearly & unerringly by Sherry Turkle in this work. Acclaimed as 'an absolutely indispensable contribution to the psychoanalytic history,' this 2nd edition has two important additions. A preface explicates Lacan's impact by presenting a theory of the conditions for the dissemination & acceptance of philosophical positions by a culture. The final chapter, Dynasty 1991, portrays the last years of Lacan's life, the power struggles resulting in the break-up of his school & events unfolding in years following his 1981 death. The book's heart is a 1st-hand account of the psychoanalytic culture that developed--a politicized, Gallicized & poeticized Freudianism, deeply marked by Lacan. The clearest English introduction to Lacan's teaching, the work explores how cultures appropriate theories of mind. It's an intimate sociology of how ideas come to connect with individuals. Providing an inner history of the sciences of the mind, the book is valuable for all interested in psychoanalysis, history, social theory, communications, film theory & literary criticism.