What is the concept of liberty in Freud's psychoanalysis? In this talk, Dr. Håvard Friis Nilsen revisits the political roots of psychoanalytic theory, in light of the excavation of classic republicanism, performed by Quentin Skinner, Philip Pettit and others.
Friis Nilsen argues that the concept of freedom lies at the core of Freud’s view of the aetiology of neuroses as well as his ideal of therapeutic efficacy of psychoanalysis. Arguing against what we might call the liberal interpretation of Freud’s politics associated with Carl Schorske or John Forrester, Friis Nilsen presents the theory of classic republicanism and claims that understanding the neo-Roman concept of liberty is required to understanding Freud’s concept of freedom. This argument opens up for an entirely new perspective on one of the 20th century’s most influential theories of the mind.
