In 1928, in his Critique of the Foundations of Psychology, G. Politzer presented the features of a psychology aimed at reformulating academic experimental psychology. Based on Freud’s theory of dreams, Politzer presents a concept of psychology that was completely new at that time. Lacan drew inspiration from his work for his thesis on paranoia and took part in a violent debate by the communist movement, which was divided between anti-Freudianism and Freudo-Marxism. By giving an essential place to speech, to narrative, Politzer claimed a concrete psychology. His refusal of Freud’s doctrine, which he thought depended on the metaphysical tradition of psychology, also included the hypothesis of the unconscious in a severe critique of realism, an inclusion which Lacan rejected and opposed with the premise that the unconscious is structured like a language. This orientation would logically impose a realism of structure that is related, in turn, to the lack of the empirical cause.
Key words:
Concrete psychology; unconscious; realism; object a