Deflationism, Rationalism, and Anti-Rationalism: Three Views of Superego Morality

Ching Wa Wong

doi:10.4236/ojpp.2015.56045

Home > Journals > Social Sciences & Humanities > OJPP

Open Journal of Philosophy > Vol.5 No.6, August 2015

Deflationism, Rationalism, and Anti-Rationalism: Three Views of Superego Morality ()

Ching Wa Wong

Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.

DOI: 10.4236/ojpp.2015.56045 PDF HTML XML 4,714 Downloads 5,393 Views

Abstract

Philosophers of psychoanalysis have for years been debating over Freud’s criticism of morality as a sheer product of irrationality originated in our superego development. In this paper I shall consider three views on Freud’s moral psychology, which I call the “deflationist”, the “rationalist”, and the “anti-rationalist” view. I argue that both the deflationist and the rationalist view are untenable, as they fail to distinguish among different senses of irrationality that we can attribute to morality. By contrast, I shall develop and defend an anti-rationalist view, to the effect that an inherently irrational superego is no threat to morality’s place in human life, as long as it’s capable of making us experience an integrated form of life. And as this desired interaction does not always come easily, we can naturally see the point of introducing psychoanalysis to our lives.

Keywords

Freud, Klein, Moral Psychology, Psychoanalysis, the Superego

Share and Cite:

Wong, C. (2015) Deflationism, Rationalism, and Anti-Rationalism: Three Views of Superego Morality. Open Journal of Philosophy, 5, 374-383. doi: 10.4236/ojpp.2015.56045.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Cavell, M. (1993). The Psychoanalytic Mind: From Freud to Philosophy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
[2]	Cottingham, J. (1998). Philosophy and the Good Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511612237
[3]	Cottingham, J. (2005). The Spiritual Dimension: Religion, Philosophy and Human Value. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511614866
[4]	Deigh, J. (1996). The Sources of Moral Agency: Essays in Moral Psychology and Freudian Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511624636
[5]	Freud, S. (1909). Notes upon a Case of Obsessional Neurosis. In J. Strachey et al. (Trans.), The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume X. London: Hogarth Press.
[6]	Freud, S. (1912-1913). Totem and Taboo. In J. Strachey et al. (Trans.), The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XIII. London: Hogarth Press.
[7]	Freud, S. (1914). On Narcissism: An Introduction. In J. Strachey et al. (Trans.), The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XIV. London: Hogarth Press.
[8]	Freud, S. (1923). The Ego and the Id. In J. Strachey et al. (Trans.), The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XIX. London: Hogarth Press.
[9]	Freud, S. (1933). New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis. In J. Strachey et al. (Trans.), The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XXII. London: Hogarth Press.
[10]	Gardner, S. (1993). Irrationality and the Philosophy of Psychoanalysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511554599
[11]	Gardner, S. (1995). Psychoanalysis, Science, and Commonsense. Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology, 2, 93-113.
[12]	Isaacs, S. (1952). The Nature and Function of Phantasy. In J. Riviere (Ed.), Developments in Psychoanalysis (pp. 67-121). London: Hogarth Press.
[13]	Klein, M. (1936). Weaning. In M. Klein (Ed.), Love, Guilt and Reparation and Other Works 1921-1945 (pp. 290-305). New York: The Free Press.
[14]	Klein, M. (1937). Love, Guilt and Reparation. In M. Klein (Ed.), Love, Guilt and Reparation and Other Works 1921-1945 (pp. 306-343). New York: The Free Press.
[15]	Klein M. (1959). Our Adult World and Its Roots in Infancy. In M. Klein (Ed.), Envy and Gratitude and Other Works 1946-1963 (pp. 247-263). New York: The Free Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001872675901200401
[16]	Lear, J. (1992). Love and Its Place in Nature: A Philosophical Interpretation of Freudian Psychoanalysis. London: Faber & Faber.
[17]	Lear, J. (1995). The Heterogeneity of the Mental. Mind, 104, 863-879. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mind/104.416.863
[18]	Lear, J. (1998). Open Minded: Working Out the Logic of the Soul. London: Harvard University Press.
[19]	Lear, J. (2005). Freud. London: Routledge.
[20]	Meltzer, D. (1998). The Kleinian Development. London: Karnac Books.
[21]	Rycroft, C. (1995). A Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis. London: Penguin Books.
[22]	Scheffler, S. (1992). Human Morality. New York: Oxford University Press.
[23]	Velleman J. (2006). Self to Self: Selected Essays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[24]	Williams, B. (1985). Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
[25]	Wollheim, R. (1979). Wish-Fulfilment. In R. Harrison (Ed.), Rational Action (pp. 47-60). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[26]	Wollheim, R. (1980). On Persons and Their Lives. In A. Rorty (Ed.), Explaining Emotions (pp. 299-321). London: University of California Press.
[27]	Wollheim, R. (1984). The Thread of Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[28]	Wollheim, R. (1993). The Mind and Its Depth. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
[29]	Wollheim, R. (1999). On the Emotions. New Haven, London: Yale University Press.