Difference between revisions of "Religion"

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==Sigmund Freud==
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[[Freud]] renounced the [[Jewish]] [[religion]] of his [[parents]] -- though not his [[Jewish]] [[identity]] -- and considered himself an [[atheist]].  [[Freud]] regarded [[monotheistic]] forms of [[religion]] as the [[sign]] of a highly developed [[state]] of [[civilization]].  [[Freud]] [[thought]] that all [[religions]] were barriers to [[cultural]] [[progress]], and thus argued that they should be abandoned in favor of [[science]].
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==Reality and Delusion==
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[[Freud]] argued that [[religion]]s were an attempt to protect oneself against [[suffering]] by "a delusional remoulding of [[reality]]," and thus concluded that they "must be classed among the mass-[[delusions]]" of humankind.<ref>{{F}} ''[[Civilization and Its Discontents]]''. 1930. [[SE]] XXI. p. 81</ref>  [[Freud]] saw the [[idea]] of [[God]] as an expression of an [[infantile]] longing for a protective [[father]].<ref>{{F}} ''[[Works of Sigmund Freud|The Future of an Illusion]]''. 1927. [[SE]] XXI, 3.</ref>  [[Freud]] described [[religion]] as a "[[universal]] [[obsessional]] [[neurosis]]."<ref>{{F}} "[[Works of Sigmund Freud|Obsessiove Actions and Religious Practices]]." 1907. [[SE]] IX, 116.</ref>
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==Jacques Lacan==
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[[Jacques Lacan]] also considers himself an [[atheist]], having renounced the [[Catholic]] [[religion]] of his parents.  Like [[Freud]] he opposes [[religion]] to [[science]], and aligns [[psychoanalysis]] with the latter.<ref>{{S11}} p. 265</ref>  [[Lacan]] states that the [[true]] [[formula]] of [[atheism]] is not ''God is [[dead]]'' but ''God is [[unconscious]]''.<ref>{{S11}} p. 59</ref>
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==Examples==
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[[Lacan]]'s [[discourse]] abounds in [[metaphor]]s drawn from [[Christian]] [[theology]].  The most obvious example is surely the phrase the [[Name-of-the-Father]], which [[Lacan]] adopts to denote a fundamental [[signifier]] whose [[foreclosure]] leads to [[psychosis]].  The changes wrought by the [[symbolic]] are described in creationist rather than evolutionary [[terms]].  In the [[seminar]] of 1972-3, [[Lacan]] uses the term "[[religion|God]]" as a [[metaphor]] for the [[Other|big Other]], and compares [[woman|feminine]] ''[[jouissance]]'' to the ecstacy experienced by Christian mystics such as St Teresa of Avila.<ref>{{S20}} p.70-1</ref>
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==See Also==
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{{See}}
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{{Also}}
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==References==
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[[Category:New]]
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[[Category:Sigmund Freud]]
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[[Category:Philosophy]]
 
[[Category:Religion]]
 
[[Category:Religion]]
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Latest revision as of 22:04, 20 May 2019

French: religion

Sigmund Freud

Freud renounced the Jewish religion of his parents -- though not his Jewish identity -- and considered himself an atheist. Freud regarded monotheistic forms of religion as the sign of a highly developed state of civilization. Freud thought that all religions were barriers to cultural progress, and thus argued that they should be abandoned in favor of science.

Reality and Delusion

Freud argued that religions were an attempt to protect oneself against suffering by "a delusional remoulding of reality," and thus concluded that they "must be classed among the mass-delusions" of humankind.[1] Freud saw the idea of God as an expression of an infantile longing for a protective father.[2] Freud described religion as a "universal obsessional neurosis."[3]

Jacques Lacan

Jacques Lacan also considers himself an atheist, having renounced the Catholic religion of his parents. Like Freud he opposes religion to science, and aligns psychoanalysis with the latter.[4] Lacan states that the true formula of atheism is not God is dead but God is unconscious.[5]

Examples

Lacan's discourse abounds in metaphors drawn from Christian theology. The most obvious example is surely the phrase the Name-of-the-Father, which Lacan adopts to denote a fundamental signifier whose foreclosure leads to psychosis. The changes wrought by the symbolic are described in creationist rather than evolutionary terms. In the seminar of 1972-3, Lacan uses the term "God" as a metaphor for the big Other, and compares feminine jouissance to the ecstacy experienced by Christian mystics such as St Teresa of Avila.[6]

See Also

References