Freud as a Social and Cultural Theorist: On Human Nature and the Civilizing Process. By Howard L. Kaye. New York:  Routledge, 2019.  238 pp.

Howard L. Kaye has written an engaging and remarkably well-researched book on the social and cultural interests of Freud, going a long way to sustain the importance of Freudian thought in non-clinical fields. While the reader is not obliged to agree with all of Kaye’s conclusions, the rigorousness of his research and argument compels one to take them seriously.

Freud As a Social and Cultural Theorist is comprised of ten chapters and a conclusion. The first chapter is a brief introduction into the central inquiry of the book: is Freud developing a biological or social view of humankind? Unequivocally, Kaye asserts that “Freud…must be read as we would a Marx, Durkheim or Weber…with the same sensitivity to development, ambiguity, and nuance which the totality of their work requires.” (p. 121). He goes on to argue this point throughout the book.

After taking the reader through an overview of Freud’s initial psychoanalytic discoveries such as defense, infantile sexuality, and moving beyond the seduction hypothesis, Kaye begins an exploration of Freud’s social, cultural, political, and religious interests. To my mind, what is truly original here is the manner in which the author manages to almost constantly alternate between Freud’s theoretical works and personal epistolary. In this way, Kaye evokes a conversation in the reader’s mind

between a more private Freud and the more formal and public Freud. This provides not only social context, but an intimate one that frames Freud as a human being with desires and aspirations. Not merely an analysis of his social works, this book is fundamentally different from others on Freud as a social thinker in that it comprises a fine, yet layered tapestry of his thoughts and feelings. What this final tapestry looks like is for each reader to discover.

Kaye