Freuds Exorzismen

Der Teufel in der Psychoanalyse

E-Artikel

Zurück zum Heft: Archiv für Begriffsgeschichte. Band 49
DOI: 10.28937/9783787336753_8

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The article refers to the hermeneutic methods of psychoanalysis. It scrutinizes Freud’s strategy in transforming traditional myths of the devil into a theory of evil which reveals the dark side of the human soul. Relating to Freud’s epistemic construction of metapsychology, it is argued that his hermeneutic system fashions its specific principles of causality, which are stipulated by the theory of libido, in order to reinterpretate the mythology of the devil as a relic left by the unconscious. Freud’s argumentation, exemplified in his studies on religious superstition, demonstrates the interconnection between mythology and the unconscious. As the devil figures dirt and darkness, he represents distressing thoughts which are repressed and rejected by consciousness. The article is completed by a view on C. G. Jung’s theory of the archetypes, which considers the evil as part of the preconscious thoughts beyond individual experience. Thus the fundamental difference between Freud’s metapsychology and Jung’s archetypes is reflected in the interpretation of the devil as a figure, retaining the dark energies concentrated in the human soul.