Affect, Representation and Language: Between the Silence and the Cry.

Abstract

dissolution of traditional monotheism. I find this analysis to be highly problematic, since it presupposes that the only variable in the development of a civilization that manages to generate a cohesive unified sense of self is religious, and monotheistic religion at that. It therefore eschews any possible relevance that other cultural phenomena may contribute to the mix. From this perspective, gender, ideology, ethnicity, economic modes of production, etc. are completely absent from this analysis—as is that most Freudian of concepts, overdetermination. As he finalizes his book, Kaye proposes some limitations to Freud’s clinical objectives—limitations that I imagine Freud himself wouldn’t oppose. Readers have enough to draw from in Kaye’s text to reach their own conclusions on this matter. All in all, Kaye succeeds in rescuing a particular contribution by Freud, which he states like this: