Towards the Limits of Freudian Thinking

A critical edition of one of the key texts in psychoanalysis.

Sigmund Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle stands as a foundational text in psychoanalysis, delving into profound questions about life, death, pleasure and pain. Through a combination of contextualising and philosophical contributions, this critical edition and commentary sheds new light on Freud’s text. In a series of contributions spanning approaches from historical exegesis to philosophical reflections on key concepts and ideas presented in Beyond the Pleasure Principle, the evolution and inconsistencies found in the various versions of the text are highlighted. Particular emphasis is placed on the conceptualisation of trauma and drive theory. These commentaries also provide context for the work, examining its position within the Freudian corpus, its role in the collaborative project with Sándor Ferenczi in speculative bioanalysis, and its clinical insights into war neuroses, trauma, bonding and aggression in post-World War I society.

By critically examining diverse interpretations of Freud’s work, Towards the Limits of Freudian Thinking re-actualises this classic text in contemporary philosophy and psychoanalysis, rendering it accessible to both specialised and broader audiences.

Contributors: Ulrike May (Berlin), Herman Westerink (Radboud University Nijmegen), Philippe Van Haute (Radboud University Nijmegen), Ulrike Kistner (University of Pretoria), Jenny Willner (LMU Munich), Jakob Staberg (Södertörn University Stockholm)

This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

This book will be made open access within three years of publication thanks to Path to Open, a program developed in partnership between JSTOR, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), University of Michigan Press, and The University of North Carolina Press to bring about equitable access and impact for the entire scholarly community, including authors, researchers, libraries, and university presses around the world. Learn more at https://about.jstor.org/path-to-open/

"Towards the Limits of Freudian Thinking" was edited by Herman Westerink, Jenny Willner and Philippe Van Haute.

Herman Westerink is endowed and associate professor at the Center for Contemporary European Philosophy at Radboud University Nijmegen.

Jenny Willner is assistant professor at the Department for Comparative Literature, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Philippe Van Haute (†) was full professor at the Center for Contemporary European Philosophy, Radboud University Nijmegen, and extraordinary professor at the University of Pretoria.

Yes, "Towards the Limits of Freudian Thinking" is part of the "Figures of the Unconscious" series.

Editors’ Note and Acknowledgements
Herman Westerink & Jenny Willner

Dimensions of ‘Beyond’: An Introduction
Herman Westerink & Jenny Willner

Beyond the Pleasure Principle
Sigmund Freud
Edited by M. ffytche, J. Forrester and M. Molnar on the basis of the German critical edition by U. May and M. Schröter

The Third Step in Drive Theory: On the Genesis of Beyond the Pleasure Principle
Ulrike May

From Repetition and Drive Monism to Binding and Conflict: Re‑reading Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle*
Philippe Van Haute & Herman Westerink

Traumatic Neuroses and Psychoneuroses in (and) Beyond the Pleasure Principle*
Ulrike Kistner

Neurotic Evolution: Bioanalysis against Biologism in Beyond the Pleasure Principle*
Jenny Willner

Ferenczi Thinking Beyond the Pleasure Principle
Jakob Staberg

On the Contributors

The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for "Towards the Limits of Freudian Thinking" is 10.11116/9789461665560.