Chapter 19 From Compensation to Purpose: A Neo-Jungian Critique of Horkheimer and Marcuse

In: Collective Structures of Imagination in Jungian Interpretation
Author:
Stefano Carpani
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Abstract

In this paper, I look at Horkheimer’s view of psychoanalysis and his own sociological reflections on psychoanalysis. Therefore, I look at Horkheimer’s view on pleasure, standard of living, religion, and emancipation.

When looking at Marcuse, I underline how close to Freud’s dogma the Frankfurters were, and I claim that Marcuse became the keeper of the dogma against those who revisited, amplified, or proposed an alternative vision to Freud’s. Therefore, I propose that, for Marcuse, psychoanalysis is more a political tool than a cure, the aim of which is to realize socialism.

As an alternative to Horkheimer’s and Marcuse’s views, I propose Jung’s reflection on the religious dimension and the need for “becoming Christ” (instead of Imitatio Christi): to become emancipated. Therefore, I introduce my own concept of ludic life.

Following this, I propose that the individual might be seen as the outcome of social and psychological roots which are both individual and collective and that, following Jung and contextualizing this in the 21st century, therapy is a creative transformation that enables people to become themselves—clarifying who they are and what they want—while living in a social context that might not be entirely friendly to them; therefore finding one’s own purpose (instead of living a life built on never-ending compensations).

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