Subjectivity and culture in Freud

Abstract

This paper discusses Freud’s notion of subject is his writings concerning culture (mainly Civilisation and its discontents) as a means of understanding contemporary problems concerning subjectivity. But given that our own society differs widely from Freud’s in many relevant respects, there arises the question of which elements of his theory retain their pertinence and which should be adapted or rejected. The answer to this question lies in a careful genetic reconstruction of Freud’s conception of the conflict between subjectivity and culture so as to be contrasted with our own present situation.