Driven Again?
Reconsidering Psychoanalysis between the Theoretical Models of Jürgen Habermas and Amy Allen
Abstract
This paper aims to reconstruct elements of the current debate on the incorporation of psychoanalysis into Critical Theory, contrasting two of its main models: the model of self-reflection, proposed by Jürgen Habermas in Knowledge and Human Interests (1968)—and which is reflected in recent developments by Axel Honneth—and the attempt to reintegrate drive theory according to a Kleinian model, developed by Amy Allen. Based on this interlocution, the aim is to investigate the reasons that led Habermas to distance himself from Freud's drive theory, discussing its possible consequences, and then to revisit Allen's argument regarding which psychoanalytic version would better serve the objectives of Critical Theory in order to raise some questions about it.
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