Neurosis as Negative of Perversion: A Study of Perversions in Freud

Abstract

From the Freudian claim that neurosis would be the negative of perversion, this article seeks to bring back to the academic context this nosological entity that pays such a high price because of its name. This article seeks to discuss perversion in the course of Freud’s work, besides demystifying details of the perverse dynamics, little explored at present. Moreover, the texts of Lacan will be approached, from which the French psychoanalyst criticizes the Freudian proposal with another famous expression in the psychoanalytic environment: the unconscious in the open. A detailed research was conducted in texts in which the Freudian and Lacanian expressions appear, paying attention to the original terminology proposed by these authors. Having said this, and based on the Freudian assertion, negative perversions were constituted by fantasies of perverse contents, sometimes causing neurotic symptoms, as opposed to positive perversions, that is, when these fantasies are put into practice without the presence of feelings of disgust, shame or indecency. It was sought, therefore, to understand the dynamics of the perversions in Freud and understand the delimitating criteria between perverse traits and actual perversions, which gained a clinical status in the course of his work, serving as base for the development of other theories in respect theme.

Keywords:
Neurosis; Negative; Perversion; Open Sky; Psychoanalytic Nosology