Psychoanalysis and Leftism - Studies on their contacts and ruptures in the perspective of History of thoughts

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24520086
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: History of thought
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: TSUIKI KOSUKE 京都大学, 人文科学研究所, 准教授 (70314250)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 精神分析 / 左翼思想 / ラカン / 68年5月 / マルクシズム / マオイズム / 国際精神分析協会 / ベルリン精神分析インスティトゥート

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Why couldn’t psychoanalysis and leftism make a long-lasting relationship ? The project was an attempt to answer to this question, in a positive and synthetical way, relying on the literature and historical archives. Indeed psychoanalysis and leftism have had contacts since the 1920s until today, but just have past each other every time. In the project, the very history of these contacts and their loss was constructed, mainly focused on Germany (Berlin) from the 1920s to the 30s and on France (especially the Lacanian school, excluded from the International Association in 1964) from the 1960s to the 70s. Also was studied the singular case of the United States where the medicalization of psychoanalysis had functioned as breakwater in fact (even if not in form) against the leftism ideology, with some particular historical consequences.

Free Research Field

精神分析