Abstract
The conclusions of two recent books that evaluate Freud's adamant defense of his Oedipal theory and its effects on modern family life are distilled. Logical reconstruction reveals four pivotal arguments Freud presents in the Little Hans case history to support Oedipal theory. Each argument is brilliant in logic but unsound when compared to the case evidence. Lacking confirmation, Oedipal theory remains an ad hoc attempt to save Freud's sexual theory of the neuroses after the failure of the seduction theory. Regarding the theory's effects, its acceptance changed family power relations in Hans's family and modern families by creating a sense of danger in mother/son physical affection. This led to reduced parent/child physical affection and separation of young children from parents especially at bedtime. The child's "suspect bed" of the anti-masturbation campaign is thus exchanged for the parents' "protected bed," serving the new marital ideal of sexual and emotional satisfaction.
Translated title of the contribution | Anti-Oedipus from philosophy of science and Foucauldian knowledge-power perspectives |
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Original language | Italian |
Pages (from-to) | 187-212 |
Number of pages | 26 |
Journal | Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2023 |
Keywords
- Little Hans
- Oedipus complex
- Power/knowledge
- Psychoanalysis
- Sigmund Freud
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Psychology