The present study is guided by the hypothesis that the different clinical matrices found by Freud in his practice, which provided him theoretical additions, directed his different perspectives about culture, making him privilege some ethical elements over others. Therefore, we will indicate: (1) how hysteria was responsible for bringing Freud the issue of conflict between sexuality and morality in civilization; (2) the obsessive neurosis enabled the entering of the aggressiveness and hate themes as obstacles against which the culture strives to fight, as well as the outstanding presence in the psyche of the moral conscience and the sentiment of guilt; (3) at last, the so called narcissistic conditions brought to Freud the role of selfishness and destructiveness as enemies of culture. In this way we will approach the issues related to the ethical problematization in Freudian "psychology" and, thereafter, the prominence that the moral dimension will have in Freudian conception of the subject.
clinical matrices; Freud, Sigmund; culture; ethic; subject