Psychoanalysis as Deconstruction and Myth: On Gender, Narcissism and Modernity's Discontents (*)

Abstract

Notions essential to post-Cartesian philosophy and to ethics such as the existence of a stable, autonomous self have been thrown into doubt. These ideas have been radically challenged by psychoanalysis. This chapter focuses on the possibilities and limitations of one of the modes of thought - psychoanalysis. It analyses the exstent to which S. Freud's work represents or can be the basis of a truly critical theory of culture. The chapter argues that the "riddle of sex" pervades and structures Freud's theories, including his discussion of supposedly gender neutral subjects as psychoanalytic technique. It shows that Freud's work is like an Egyptian hieroglyph - it both represents and conceals many of the paradoxes typically found in modern Western philosophy and social life. Underlying and grounding the concepts are the theory of narcissism and Freud's empiricism rests in part on his defensive avoidance of "penetrating" more deeply into the "riddle of sex."