Psychoanalytic and anthropological reflections
This page is devoted to a set of articles whose themes revolve around religion, sacrifice and certain pathologies, which have in common the question of evil.
From ritual to forgiveness.
Belief is generally opposed to knowledge, and with good reason it seems, as the two modes of operation differ from each other in their modalities. Even the Christian faith, which has presented itself as a specific form of knowledge, has not succeeded in reversing this pattern. The anthropological phenomenon which best manifests belief is ritual. It crystallizes in itself everything towards which the social and the individual tend implicitly. However, rites, phenomena that bring expectations, often end in failure. Undoubtedly it is the belief which underlies them which requires to be enlightened. This reflection also questions the powerful springs of forgiveness and revenge which are not very far from each other ...
Places of worship and expiatory sacrifice.
The question of the sacred and the origin of prestige .
All places of religious worship share the same characteristic: that of being consecrated places. But what gives them this sacred character? And what veils the aura that makes them so fascinating?
This sacredness is also specific to certain people, said to be consecrated, such as kings, religious leaders, priests, monks, or more trivially the gurus of sects. This article questions the origin of the prestige that surrounds these people and tries to understand the mode of appearance.
Language and Other at Lacan.
This text brings together two articles: the first is a review of an introductory book on Lacanian thought. I insist on the crucial question of language in this thought., And of the limits of the use of the signifier to the detriment of the referent.
The second explores the twists and turns of the notion of "Other", just as essential. The concepts forged by Lacan, as ingenious as they are, often turn out to be problematic and difficult to use. So it is with this "Other", which designates multiple realities and whose polysemy ends up damaging its credibility.
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The feelings of love and compassion with regard to the superego.
It is thanks to the discoveries of psychoanalysis that we have been able to bring to light the existence of a third psychic instance, between the unconscious and the ego. This, called the superego, gives rhythm to the life of the human psyche even in its deepest affects and apparently the purest or the most free from moral imperatives. So it is with love, whether erotic or charitable, and with compassion.
This text reveals some little-known aspects.
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From the origin of societies and human beings.
The common roots of evil.
Nothing is more difficult to think of than the notion of origin. Especially when it tends to evade all empirical investigations.
But this is an additional reason, in my opinion, to try to confront it. Quit to do this, to perceive only a part of it. However, in order to better think about the origin or the origins, whether they are those of societies or individuals, it seemed to me important to consider it from an angle not often taken by thought, because painful as such, to know the question of evil.
Indeed, it appeared to me that these two elements were deeply correlated and referred, even in the mystery of their being or their non-being, to the same event. This was formerly thematized by Christian theology, in particular in the dogma of original sin, then experienced an update thanks to the discoveries of Freudian psychoanalysis.
It is through these two axes of thought that this reflection, which does not claim to be exhaustive on these serious questions, opens and questions itself ...
The relations between language, desire and the law.
Among all the philosophical and linguistic theories which deal with the specificity of language and its appearance, only psychoanalysis has put forward the hypothesis of a violent origin of speech and language.
This reflection presents the few key elements of this hypothesis which I find of remarkable relevance, but which obviously calls for longer developments. I also explore the complex relationships that are established between law, desire and language.
From the Cause to the " Thing ".
Metaphysics and metapsychology.
No notion more delicate and more subtle in psychoanalysis than that of " Thing " which originates in cause and causality, and vice versa.
Because if the “Thing”, das ding in German, designates for Freud the Maternal and the desire for maternal incest, or even that of returning to the Mother, for Lacan, this notion “ suffers from the signifier ”. Which means that it depends on it.
I analyze here this murky and profound notion and try to understand its implications even in the religious domain.
Psychoanalysis of artistic practice.
From existential debt to creativity.
Art is certainly one of the most explored fields today.
For centuries, it has fascinated. But the reasons for practicing artistic activity, like the deep motivations of those who engage in it, often remain a mystery. A glance enlightened by psychoanalysis can help to penetrate its mysteries, in particular by relating art, as a specific activity, to the notion of existential debt. Another hypothesis, which I explore in the second part, mentions a close link between certain artistic practices, such as theater and cinema, and the Dionysian religion of which Nietzsche was a fervent thurifer.
Truth in the psychoanalytic sense.
Truth of desire or desire for truth?
Unlike philosophy or religions, psychoanalytic truth does not corroborate a full or harmonious meaning between the subject and the world.
And it differs from other definitions by the psychic realities that are often difficult to hear that it brings to light.
This reflection questions the meaning of truth according to the Christian faith, and oriental wisdoms, to put them to the test of psychoanalysis. We thus discover a radical opposition between the truth of desire, specific to religions, spiritualities as well as contemporary therapies, which stops at desire and exalts it. And the desire for truth which does not allow itself to be taken in by the spells of desire.
Emergence of monotheism.
A historical and psychic recurrence.
Monotheism is one of the most debated and mysterious religious and historical questions.
Between the anthropological theses and the theologies of the great monotheistic religions, there is hardly any agreement.
However, by analyzing the biblical texts and comparing them with the mythological texts of great civilizations, such as Egypt and Mesopotamia, it is possible to understand the emergence of this religious phenomenon which is intended to be beyond any phenomenon.
The contemplation.
Between voyeurism and melancholy.
Meditation and contemplation have never been so popular as nowadays when they have become the new practices of post-modern man in search of meaning and wisdom. Adorned with all the virtues, they are supposed to lead the human being to his original condition and cure him of the ailments from which he suffers by showing him the way to follow to find himself and live in harmony with the world and others.
While respecting these widespread ideas, it occurred to me, after years of meditative practice and reflections on these notions, that contemplation was arguably more than these definitions suggest. Or more exactly that it could be other and convey with it characteristics which do not reinforce the usual ideal representations.
From Gift to Law.
Sketch of an anthropology.
One usually opposes the gift, a gracious and gratuitous act which is carried out in an indicative mode, to the imposition of the Law, which sets out prescriptions in an imperative mode. And indeed, the two realities do not overlap.
In the Bible, we could speak of the "gift of the Law" given by God to Moses. But this expression seems inappropriate to describe the act by which the Law was imposed on the Hebrews. I take up in this reflection elements of the gift to understand its nature and I oppose it to the Law. The gift or the love, contrary to what Christianity affirmed, is not the completion or the fulfillment of the Law, but it is its opposite or its contrary.
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The theme of the murder of the Father.
Psychic repression and mythological rewriting.
It is down to the genius of S. Freud to have known how to perfectly theorize the theme of the murder of the Father. And this, whether through his psychoanalytical discoveries, with the Oedipal complex, or through his anthropological hypotheses.
However, with regard to monotheism, Freud's anthropological theses were strongly oriented towards ancient Egypt, with the Armanian reform of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Thanks to recent archaeological and philological discoveries, it is possible to extend this hypothesis by taking inspiration from other mythological stories, notably of Mesopotamian origin. And to consolidate, thanks to this ancient literary material, the great Freudian discoveries.
This article describes the implications of these discoveries for individuals and institutions alike, and analyzes Bible origin stories, such as the book of Genesis, that contain as yet unrecognized truths.
Maternal power.
Presence of the Mother and desire to return to the maternal in some authors and in the Bible.
This text follows the previous one. It analyzes and deepens from some authors and in the biblical texts the presence and the power of the maternal, always underestimated by the believers themselves.