Riflettendo sulla psicologia dei fenomeni collettivi a partire da Freud

Abstract

Following a historic path, article tries to illustrate role of the collective in Freud’s theory; and, although psychoanalytic theory only came to fully grasp social phenomena after understanding individual dynamics, overall vision of relationship between individual and group, appears to be fundamental in Freud’s theory. Several Freudian books have been analyzed; in parallel with development of theory of individual psychic processes, a theory of collective psychic phenomena was put together over time; explaining close interplay between individuals and society - laying foundations for future development of group psychoanalytic psychotherapy and for psychoanalytic study of institutions. A review of several Freudian books, explain how individual and collective psychology cannot simply be seen as a genetic sequence - since they develop simultaneously, from very beginning; they are a product of contemporary evolutionary processes that gain an increasing level of complexity, thanks to their mutual interaction: intrapsychic dynamics create conditions for a collective bond and influence of collectivity leads to emergence of new demands on a psychic level. It is mind, as conceived by Freud, that is social- outright.