Denial, Negation, and the Forces of the Negative SUNY series in Hegelian Studies William Desmond, editor D E N I A L , N E G A T I O N , A N D THE F O R C E S OF THE N E G A T I V E Freud, Hegel, Lacan, Spitz, and Sophocles WILFRIED VER EECKE ST A TE U N I V E R S I T Y OF NEW YORK PRESS Published by State University of New York Press Albany © 2006 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press www.sunypress.edu Production, Laurie Searl Marketing, Susan Petrie Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ver Eecke, Wilfried. Denial, negation, and the forces of the negative : Freud, Hegel, Lacan, Spitz, and Sophocles / Wilfried Ver Eecke. p. cm. — (SUNY series in Hegelian studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-6599-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7914-6600-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Freud, Sigmund, 1856-1939. 2. Psychoanalysis. 3. Denial (Psychology) 4. Negation (Logic) 5. Negativity (Philosophy) 6. Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 1770-1831. I. Title. II. Series. BF175.V465 2005 121'.5—dc22 2004029291 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Josiane, with whom I crossed an ocean to start a family in the promised land. Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 One The Complex Phenomenon of Denial 7 Two The Epistemological Problem of Self-description in Freudian Psychoanalysis 25 Three Denial and Hegel’s Philosophical Anthropology 37 Four Denial and Hegel’s Theory of the Will 47 Five A Child’s No-Saying: A Step toward Independence 61 Six Oedipus, the King: How and How Not to Undo a Denial 91 Seven Denial, Metaphor, the Symbolic, and Freedom: The Ontological Dimensions of Denial 101 Conclusion 123 N otes 127 Bibliography 155 Author Index 167 Subject Index 173 Acknowledgments This book would not have been possible without the editorial assistance of Lynn Poss and David O’Mara, supported by a Georgetown University Under­ graduate Research Opportunity grant, and Lacy Baugher and Eupil Muhn, supported by the Department of Philosophy. I want to give special thanks to Devra Simiu for helping to improve the style of the whole manuscript. Several chapters have appeared before as separate articles. All have been adapted to the interdisciplinary nature of this book. Often, I have added extensive references to the treatment of the problem in other disciplines, in particular, psychoanalysis, psychology, linguistics, and philosophy. I wish to thank the following publishers for their permission to use articles in writing some of the chapters of this book. I made use of: Ver Eecke, W. “Ontology of Denial.” Rereading Freud: Psy­ choanalysis through Philosophy. Ed. J. Mills (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2004). 103-25, in writing chapter 1, “The Complex Phe­ nomenon of Denial,” with the kind permission of State University of New York Press. I made use of: Ver Eecke, W. “Epistemological Consequences of Freud’s Theory of Negation.” Man and World 14 (1981): 111-25, in writing chapter 2, “The Epistemological Problem of Self-description in Freudian Psycho­ analysis,” with the kind permission of Kluwer Academic Publishers, copyright owner of Man and World. I made use of: Ver Eecke, W. “Negation and Desire in Freud and Hegel.” Owi of Minerva 15 (1983): 11-22, in writing chapter 3, “Denial and Hegel’s Philosophical Anthropology,” with the kind permission of Owl of Minerva. I made use of: Ver Eecke, W. “Seeing and Saying ‘No’ Within the Theo­ ries of Spitz and Lacan,” Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought 12:3 (1989): 383-431, in writing chapter 5, “A Child’s No-Saying: A Step towards Independence,” with the kind permission of International Universities Press, based upon: Copyright 1989 Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought, pub­ lished by International Universities Press, Inc., Madison, CT. ix