Freud and Nietzsche

by Paul-Laurent Assoun

Many of the leading Freudian analysts, including in the early days, Jung, Adler, Reich and Rank, attempted to link the writings of Nietzsche with the clinical work of Freud. But what was Nietzsche to Freud - an intuitive anticipation, a precursor, a rival psychologists? Assoun moves beyond the seduction of these attractive analogies to a deeper analysis of the relation between these two figures. He reconstructs Freud's encounter with Nietzsche, his personal interpretations and the contribution of Nietzsche's champions. He also examines the thematic similarities that appear on th surface to reveal close affinities between the theorists. His argument is that these "analogies" are really the symptom of an open, ongoing dialogue between Freud and Nietzsche (and Marx) which remains vital to critical theory today