Psychoanalysis as Art and Discipline of the Self: A Late Modern Perspective

This paper radicalizes the hermeneuticist and constructivist conception of psychoanalysis. It tries to show that every clinical approach is governed by an ideal of accomplished individuality—generally presented as a theory of the mature personality. Such ideals are linked to practices that are geared toward developing the traits implicit in the ideal. Following Foucault these practices are called disciplines of the self.

The paper argues that a liberal political view requires a plurality of such ideals. If a clinician does not want to impose his or her ideals on the patient, they must be made explicit. This allows the patient to take a stance toward the therapist's ideals. It is argued that such pluralist self-consciousness has clinical importance, since it creates a greater space of freedom.

It is shown that the art world may be a better model for the organization of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, since it does not strive toward uniformity, but thrives on plurality while maintaining the right to make judgments about quality. In this way the position of this paper, critical pluralism, avoids the Scylla of facile relativism and the Charybdis of rigid dogmatism.