Disturbing pschoanalytic origins : a Derridean reading of Freudian theory

401 Pages·2000·9.1 MB·English

by  Anders, Eric W

DISTURBINGPSYCHOANALYTICORIGINS:
ADERRIDEANREADINGOFFREUDIANTHEORY
By
ERICW.ANDERS
ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL
OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT
OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF
DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA
2000
Copyright2000
by
EricW.Anders
Tomyparentsinappreciationoftheirsupport:
ValerieE.Anders
and
WilliamA.Anders
TABLEOFCONTENTS
1.THED(oDubIlSe)GPaOmSemsONOFAPETMONSTER 51
RespondingtoFreudandtheEthicsofPsychoanalysis 11
SupposingPsychoanalysis 15
DisturbingPsychoanalyticOrigins 26
FillingGaps 31
'ToPostorNottoPost?" 40
2.PROORBILGEIMNATOIFZPISNYGCH"HOYASNTAELRYISAI"SANDTHE 44
Historia 47
HysteriaandHysterization 57
FeminismandtheHysteric 62
Hom(m)osexualPornographiesandthePerformingHysteric 66
Psychoanalysis/Hysteria 79
TheLacanianHysteric'sEssentialQuestionofLack 88
3.(UN)SEufAfSeIrLinYgCROemNiTniAsIceNnEceDs:ELReEaMdEiNngTSDerrida'sReading 101
oftheProject 106
TheBasicsoftheProjectandDerrida'sReadingofIt 108
LimitingtheEffectsofMemoryandChancein
Freud'sWorkwith"Hysterics" 116
MyReadingofDerrida's"FreudandtheSceneofWriting" 127
FromMemorytoFantasy 138
DisturbingOrigins:TheInterpretationofDreams 143
OverdeterminationandChance 145
TTFhhreeoIImnnttPeerrripprrmeeattraayttiiPoonnrooocffeDDsrrseeaatommssP::riRWmeaabnledPrhaanndtaTsoireosk 111566629
iv
4.FREUTDh'eSBMeyAoSnTdEsRoPfLFrOeTudT'IsNCGaseWork:FromOntogeneticto 186
Phylogeneric 199
TheWolfManCaseHistory 205
PrimalPhantasies:FreudastheArcheologistoftheMind 211
Freud'sMasterplotRevisited 222
NarratologyandtheWolfMan 222
Freud'sOedipalMasterplot 232
Extendi'nTgoFSrpeeucdu'lsatMeasotner'pFlroetu:d'A"aRenaddBienygonofd 247
Inhibitions,SymptomsandAnxiety 259
5.UPNSCYACNHONAYN(AWLOY)SMIASN:THEHOME/SECRETSOF 288
TThheeLLaacckkooff""TThheeUUnnccaannnnyy''""II:I:PFrriemuadryanFdemLianci(nki)tayn 239193
"TheUncanny"'andSuperstition 318
HomeSecrets 332
6.WHAANTDRFEEMMAIINNISS:MPSSYCHOANALYSES,DECONSTRUCTIONS, 344
TheAnalysisofaRepression 344
Post(al)-Psychoanalysis 364
PhallocentrismandLogocentrism:RelatingtoFeminisms 370
WORKSCITED 384
BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 392
AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchool
oftheUniversityofFloridainPartialFulfillmentofthe
RequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy
DISTURBINGPSYCHOANALYTICORIGINS:
ADERRIDEANREADINGOFFREUDIANTHEORY
By
EricW.Anders
December2000
Chair:JohnP.Leavey,Jr.,Ph.D.
MajorDepartment:English
ThisDerrideanreadingofFreudasksthequestionofhowweshould
readFreudwithrespecttosexualdifferenceandwhatDerridaconsidersa
radicalizedconceptoftrace,a"sceneofwriting"ofdifferance—thatis,howwe
shouldreadFreudwithrespecttophallogocentrism.ThroughoutIconsider
thepossiblerelationshipsamongthe"mainstyles"(Derrida)ofvarious
psychoanalyses,deconstructions,andfeminisms.Byanalyzingwhatismost
originalforFreud—thecauseofhysteria,thenavelofthedream,the
perceptualidentity,theprimalphantasies,forexample—IfindthatFreud
consistentlyseeksasingleorigin,a"caputNili,"onwhichtobaseagrand
narrative.Atfirstthisnarrativeisanetiologyofhysteria,butitevolvesintoa
masterplotofsexualdevelopmentandlaterintooneofhumanity.The
establishmentofanoedipaloriginandtelos,andthemasterplotbasedon
them,movespsychoanalysistowardatotalizingtheory,andthereforeits
opennesstochanceandsomethingbeyondwhatthattheorycanmasteris
greatlyreduced.
Iapproachthesetopicsintermsofaquestionoftheethicsof
psychoanalysis.ThisappropriativeorreductiveprocessofFreud's
masterplottingisbasedonwhatDerridacalls"castration-truth"inhis
readingofLacan,"Lefacteurdelaverite."Incontrasttosometheoristswho
appealtotheradicalspiritofFreudiantheoryasabasisfortheir
radicalizationofpsychoanalysis—specificallyBarnabyB.Barratfs
PsychoanalysisandthePostmodernImpulse—IarguethatLacan's
phallogocentric"returntoFreud"isactuallyamorefaithfulonesinceIfind
both"mainstyles"ofthesepsychoanalysesbasedonalogicoflackor
"castration-truth."IarguethroughoutthattheradicalspiritofFreudisat
timesoveremphasizedorexaggeratedbyDerrideantheorists—andeven
Derridahimself,thoughrarely—andthatthedominantspecterofFreudisan
"establishment"orappropriativeone,ratherthanonewhichisradicalor
"other-wise."IconnectthistrendofDerrideanthinkersclaimingtoomuch
debttopsychoanalysistothesethinkersnottakingseriouslyFreud's
commitmenttoandinterestinanidealizedphylogenetics:"phylo-'genetics."'
SincemyestablishmentofthisestablishmentspecterofFreudasthe
"mainstyle"ofFreudiantheoryitselfrisksreproducingexactlythekindof
appropriativediscourseIhopetoproblematize,Iattempttoavoidsucha
reproductionbyconsideringwhatremainsoftheradicalspiritofFreudian
theoryinwhatmightbecalledadeconstructive"technologyofiterability,"a
"cyborg-analysis,"orwhat1call"post(al)-psychoanalysis."
THE(DIS)POSICTHIAONPTOEFRA1PETMONSTER
PsychoanWWahhlyeesnnisoi,tnfseiunfpdipsn,odssseuidptl,pyiot,sieissdplfsyoy,ucnhidto.fainnadlsysitisselift/sielsf,fosuunppdo—sesdolmye,thtihnatg.fi(nDdesri8t7sealf4.13)
JacquesDerrida1
Ipotrh'iasgleilxnutaslr.apoIsrmydceihanonaar,nyaylwoyhutaigtcethpaoripindpteo.nf(stMhiweth8ue2nnc1o5yn)osucigoeuts,rigdeotfrtidheofcesnetxruaalliittyyo,fgtehtericdonocfetphteofthe
JulietMitchell
In"SomeStatementsandTruismsaboutNeologisms,Newisms,Postisms,
Parasitisms,andOtherSmallSeismisms,"JacquesDerridaarguesthatthose
"withintheuniversityandelsewherewhoaren'tcompletelyasleepknowthat"
titlesofacademicdiscoursessuchaspsychoanalysis,deconstruction,orfeminism
"donotcorrespondtoanyclassifiableidentity,toanycorpuswhichcanbe
delimited.However,forallthat,thisdoesn'tmakethosetitlesemptyor
insignificant.Whattheynameisthemainstyleofeachjetty"(67).
Psychoanalysisisthusthe"mainstyle"ofone"theoreticaljetty"in"theopenand
p1QFtshruAyeeaclsnhneacadnhanareBilelasyksbtsshete,r,rioetnauehgvseeoup,rptlprafaoaoyssnuueesrprldp,asoottssoneaertrth,eorefmoreeueTlvn.khete.ssSe,PeQotstusrirtoanoucnCuveadvere—todrh,neqcuawctrernholiiiqmtrtuedelesaasctenthhrnoeobtsueoefv.nteochrlTe,lthocmoe'wuefisdsintontgeudlbnbkieol,ttseraeelemsftaeuoadpanptinodhniseenttarogw,bboooqevfuweifar:soeyefus"ln.Ltedrax.oTiuvhvTeeeh.vuesr,bsin
passagefromthreetofourviairreducibledoublenessisaconstantthemeinDerrida'sworks"
(413n2).
nonunified"fieldofforcesthatthedoxatriestostabilizeandobjectifyinorderto
fitintoaneatandorderlytaxonomyofdiscourses(65-67passim).HereIwill
attempttoestablishthe"mainstyle"ofFreudiantheory,ifnotofpsychoanalysis
ingeneral,withrespecttomyversionofthe"mainstyle"deconstruction.A
guidingquestionthroughoutthisprojectiswhatistherelationshipbetween
thesetwo"mainstyle"theoreticaljetties?Andwhatisthe"mainstyle"spiritof
Freudiantheoryoftheincalculable"spectersofFreud"thathauntthe
"mainstyle"deconstructionandotheracademicdiscoursesunderconsideration
here?
The"quasi-concept"(94)of"jetty,"accordingtoDerrida,"hasnostatus"
in"theory,"butisusedheretorefer"totheforceofthatmovementwhichisnot
yetsubject,project,orobject,notevenrejection,butinwhichtakesplaceany
productionandanydetermination,whichfindsitspossibilityinthejetty"(65).
"Eachtheoreticaljetty,"Derridacontinues,"entersapriori,originally,into
conflictandcompetition"(ibid.)withothertheoreticaljetties:a"convergent
competition"(72)ofunstableanddestabilizingpseudo-identitieswhere"each
jetty,farfrombeingthepartincludedinthewhole,isonlyatheoreticaljetty
inasmuchasitclaimstocomprehenditselfbycomprehendingalltheothers"
(65),and"eachspeciesinthistableconstitutesitsownidentityonlyby
incorporatingotheridentities—bycontamination,parasitism,grafts,organ
transplants,incorporationetc."(66).Derridastatesthatthisprocessof
convergentcompetitionandincorporationisbasedona"principleoftaxonomic
disorder"(67)andhewonders"towhatkindsofmonstersthesecombinatory
operationsmustgivebirth,consideringthefactthattheoriesincorporate
opposingtheorems,whichhavethemselvesincorporatedotherones"(ibid.).
AccordingtoDerrida,"Monsterscannotbeannounced.Onecannotsay:'Here
areourmonsters/withoutimmediatelyturningthemintopets"(80).The
presentstudyattemptstobe,Iannouncehere,amonstrouspetprojectthat
combinesvariousstylesofthetheoreticaljettiesofpsychoanalysis,
deconstruction,andfeminism.InEnglishdepartmentsinNorthAmerica,this
typeofcombinatorypetmonster,knownas"theory,"isthenormofthe"trans-,
inter-,andaboveallultra-disciplinaryapproaches,which,uptonow[1990],met
nowhere,innodepartment,innoareaofanydiscipline"(82).
Thepresentstudyismonstrousbecauseitscorpustriestobeofindefinite
localewithrespecttotraditionaldisciplines,toeschewtraditionalaxiomatic
boundariesbyembracingacertainlitararinessfoundindeconstructionandsome
stylesoffeminism;apetbecause,beyondannouncingitselfasamonsterusing
predicativeclausesandbeingrequiredtomeettheinstitutionalstandardsofthe
university,italsoattemptstobea(transferential)testamenttomypositionasthe
properlegatee,alegitimateson,ofacomplexparentagethatwouldseemquite
familiartothosedoingthe"theory"ofEnglishdepartmentsinNorthAmerican
researchuniversities.TheparentageconsistsofwhatIwillarguearegenerally
misunderstoodelementsofpsychoanalysisthataretoorareortoounsupported
toconstitutea"mainstyle,"acertain"ms.enabyme"feminism(Elam),anda
DerridawhoIhopeisnottoosimplified,especiallybymakinghimonewho
wouldbelessresistanttoanysuchpaternityoranygenealogythanheactually
is.Itismonstrousbecausethiscomplexparentageresistsbeinganoedipal
complex.Itcouldalsobeconsideredapet,however,becausetherearetracesof
whatIcall,borrowingfromLuceIrigaray,"hom(m)osexuality"(Iri8598),since
thefeminismhere,whichmightbeconstruedasoccupyingthepositionofthe