Seduction, Drive and Repetition: Freud’s Metaphysics of Trauma

This book makes the compelling argument that the key to understanding Freud’s clinical writings and psychoanalytical theories lies in his trauma theory. The authors argue that Freud never truly abandoned his initial trauma theory - the seduction theory - in favour of the Oedipus complex and the primacy of fantasy life. Instead, Freud progressively enriched his understanding of trauma, expanding his theory to include references to the evolution of human beings and organic life. Trauma runs as a red thread throughout Freud’s oeuvre. It occupies a central position in both his clinical case studies and his meta-psychological speculations. Freud ultimately develops a metaphysics of trauma and a tragic view of human existence - a worldview that continues to resonate within contemporary philosophy and psychoanalysis.

Herman Westerink is an endowed and associate professor at the Center for Contemporary European Philosophy at Radboud University Nijmegen.

Philippe Van Haute () was a full professor at the Center for Contemporary European Philosophy, Radboud University Nijmegen, and extraordinary professor at the University of Pretoria.