Caïn et Abel, fils prodigues de la psychanalyse ?

Abstract

This paper argues that Freud's insights into human aggression can at the very least be viewed as one-sided and problematic, and that the heuristic potential of the Œdipus myth, correspondingly, is limited. It considers how the Hungarian psychiatrist Lipót Szondi, tries to bridge this gap using the myth of Cain and Abel. The aim of this paper is to explore how Szondi's interpretation of this myth offers a much more subtle approach to human aggression. Szondi's alternative and distinctive look at aggressive phenomena offers an exciting and fruitful addition to Freud's interpretation as exclusively referring to sadism and/or the death instinct. This contribution wants to highlight Szondi's amendment to Freud's Œdipus and aims to show that psychoanalysis can benefit from taking into account the mythical figures of Cain and Abel as its “prodigal sons”.