Seduction, Drive and Repetition
Freud's Metaphysics of Trauma
$185.44
- Paperback
288 pages
- Release Date
1 September 2025
Summary
A reinterpretation of Freud’s trauma theory
This book makes the compelling argument that the key to understanding Freud’s clinical writings and psychoanalytical theories lies in his trauma theory. The authors argue that Freud never truly abandoned his initial trauma theory – the seduction theory – in favour of the Oedipus complex and the primacy of fantasy. Instead, Freud progressively enriched his understanding of trauma, expanding his theory to include references to…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9789462704862 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 9462704864 |
| Author: | Herman Westerink, Philippe Van Haute |
| Publisher: | Leuven University Press |
| Imprint: | Leuven University Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 288 |
| Release Date: | 1 September 2025 |
| Weight: | 454g |
| Dimensions: | 233mm x 155mm |
| Series: | Figures of the Unconscious |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
Written by practicing psychoanalysts and longtime Freud-scholars, this study opens new perspectives on the inside-outside interweave of trauma, the role of time and personal history in the development of its related neuroses, and a serious but critical appraisal of Freud’s group psychology. - Bettina Bergo, Université de Montréal
‘Seduction, Drive and Repetition’ offers a bold, lucid, and impressively well-argued reexamination of the vital role that trauma plays in Freud’s understanding of psychic life. By showing how the question of trauma drives much of Freud’s thinking, Westerink and Van Haute provide a rich and precise historical account that also serves as a provocative alternative to the accepted reception of Freud. This book should be considered essential reading by anyone interested in psychoanalysis. - Elissa Marder, Emory University
About The Author
Herman Westerink
Herman Westerink is endowed and associate professor at the Center for Contemporary European Philosophy at Radboud University Nijmegen. Philippe Van Haute (†) was full professor at the Center for Contemporary European Philosophy, Radboud University Nijmegen, and extraordinary professor at the University of Pretoria.
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