The Foundation of the Unconscious: Schelling, Freud And The Birth Of The Modern Psyche

by Matt Ffytche

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Author: Matt Ffytche

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 1107629535
ISBN 13: 978-1107629530

The unconscious, cornerstone of psychoanalysis, was a key twentieth-century concept and retains an enormous influence on psychological and cultural theory. Yet there is a surprising lack of investigation into its roots in the critical philosophy and Romantic psychology of the early nineteenth century, long before Freud. Why did the unconscious emerge as such a powerful idea? And why at that point? This interdisciplinary study breaks new ground in tracing the emergence of the unconscious through the work of philosopher Friedrich Schelling, examining his association with Romantic psychologists, anthropologists and theorists of nature. It sets out the beginnings of a neglected tradition of the unconscious psyche and proposes a compelling new argument: that the unconscious develops from the modern need to theorise individual independence. The book assesses the impact of this tradition on psychoanalysis itself, re-reading Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams in the light of broader post-Enlightenment attempts to theorise individuality.

Review

"... persuasive, well argued and intellectually ambitious - this is an impressive piece of work."
Matthew Bell, Professor of German and Comparative Literature, King's College London

"... an impressive contribution to the history of philosophy and the history of psychoanalysis."
John Forrester, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge

"... In addition to Fichte, this study pays close attention to such other key figures as Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert and Carl Gustav Carus, while it also acknowledges the role of Eduard von Hartmann in awakening renewed interest in Schellingian thought in the late nineteenth century. Its scholarship is enriched by references to Hegel, Coleridge, Heidegger, Benjamin, Derrida, Habermas, Jean-Luc Nancy and D. W. Winnicott: almost every page is illuminated by a fresh insight ... In this important and masterful study, Schelling emerges from 'the context of a trend of "dark" Romanticism ..."
Paul Bishop, Journal of European Studies

"... Matt Ffytche's fine book draws our attention to the rich, complex philosophical history of the unconscious, especially as articulated in Schelling's Naturphilosophie and within German Romanticism ... Ffytche's excellent book sets a new standard for philosophically sensitive historical writing on the concept of the unconscious."
Tom Eyers, Radical Philosophy

"It has long been recognised that Freud did not discover the unconscious and that the modern concept originated in philosophy not psychology. In his meticulous work, ffytche traces the concept back to the German idealist philosopher Friedrich Schelling. Most original is the argument that the concept served a political function: to confer moral autonomy on the individual. Brilliant."
Robert A. Segal, Times Higher Education

"A thoughtful and intricate historiography of the unconscious ... Ffytche's study will be useful to researchers and postgraduates engaged in contemporary theoretical speculations about the relationship between concepts of subjectivity, political life and the legacy of the Enlightenment."
Booknotes

Book Description

This study of the emergence of a psychology of the 'unconscious' in the Romantic period provides a fascinating account of the rise and role of the 'unconscious' in modernity. It draws together interdisciplinary research that will appeal to readers from psychology, psychoanalysis, philosophy, Romanticism and intellectual history.

About the Author

Dr Matt Ffytche has lectured in the Department of English and the Department of History at Queen Mary, University of London, and is now a Lecturer in Psychoanalytic Studies at the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex. He is co-editor of the web-based digital archive, 'Deviance, Disorder and the Self'. His research focuses on the history of psychoanalysis and critical theories of subjectivity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

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The Foundation of the Unconscious: Schelling, Freud And The Birth Of The Modern Psyche