Against the Disembraining Machine. What is Psychoanalysis (Still) Capable of?

Am J Psychoanal. 2021 Dec;81(4):431-443. doi: 10.1057/s11231-021-09325-8.

Abstract

With the intensification of the practices of social networks and the phobia of the internal world, operationalist thinking ends up presenting itself as a (false) universal and automatic response to the human need for meaning and sharing. What can psychoanalysis do in the face of such a hypothesis? What concepts does it have at its disposal to think about the psychic impoverishment and hatred that seem to crystallize the pain of thinking that characterizes our times?

Keywords: hatred: social networks; operational thinking; psychoanalytic function of the personality; subjecticide; subjectivation.

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Psychoanalysis*
  • Psychoanalytic Theory
  • Psychotherapy