Trauma freed of the concept of determinism: is it possible to have a dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience around the question of singularity?
This article introduces a model of dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience that is based on an account of the economic dimension of trauma. From the outset Freudian theory took into account the singularity of each subject’s response to traumatic events, setting aside any linear paradigm in...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1529698/full |
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| author | Jessica Tran The Jessica Tran The Emeric Saguin Emeric Saguin François Ansermet François Ansermet |
| author_facet | Jessica Tran The Jessica Tran The Emeric Saguin Emeric Saguin François Ansermet François Ansermet |
| author_sort | Jessica Tran The |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article introduces a model of dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience that is based on an account of the economic dimension of trauma. From the outset Freudian theory took into account the singularity of each subject’s response to traumatic events, setting aside any linear paradigm in the causality of symptoms. In 1980, the introduction of the nosographic category of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) within the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) contributed to an increased social recognition for sufferers. Yet, it also resulted in a form of standardization in a clinical picture that hitherto had been heterogenous. The result was a deterministic and linear epistemological paradigm whose effects could be normative. Once we have defined the opposition between these two paradigms, we propose demonstrating that a dialogue is possible between psychoanalysis and neuroscience around the concept of ‘trauma’. To do this we will introduce an interdisciplinary approach that is free of the pitfall of determinism, and that seeks to promote the consideration of singularity in clinic practice. From that perspective, the post-traumatic symptom is no longer viewed as the consequence of a particular event, rather it is a construct produced by the subject in their effort to manage what overwhelms them. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4aba145b8c9c4fd8912d2fd439b7e82c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-4aba145b8c9c4fd8912d2fd439b7e82c2025-08-20T01:52:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-05-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15296981529698Trauma freed of the concept of determinism: is it possible to have a dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience around the question of singularity?Jessica Tran The0Jessica Tran The1Emeric Saguin2Emeric Saguin3François Ansermet4François Ansermet5INSERM 1077, Neuropsychology and Neuroimaging of Human Memory, University of Caen, Caen, FranceAgalma Foundation, Geneva, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychiatry, Bégin Military Teaching Hospital, Saint-Mandé, FranceURP 7330 VIFASOM, Hôtel-Dieu, APHP, Paris, FranceAgalma Foundation, Geneva, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, SwitzerlandThis article introduces a model of dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience that is based on an account of the economic dimension of trauma. From the outset Freudian theory took into account the singularity of each subject’s response to traumatic events, setting aside any linear paradigm in the causality of symptoms. In 1980, the introduction of the nosographic category of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) within the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) contributed to an increased social recognition for sufferers. Yet, it also resulted in a form of standardization in a clinical picture that hitherto had been heterogenous. The result was a deterministic and linear epistemological paradigm whose effects could be normative. Once we have defined the opposition between these two paradigms, we propose demonstrating that a dialogue is possible between psychoanalysis and neuroscience around the concept of ‘trauma’. To do this we will introduce an interdisciplinary approach that is free of the pitfall of determinism, and that seeks to promote the consideration of singularity in clinic practice. From that perspective, the post-traumatic symptom is no longer viewed as the consequence of a particular event, rather it is a construct produced by the subject in their effort to manage what overwhelms them.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1529698/fullneurosciencetraumaFreudpost-traumatic stress disorderinterdisciplinarity |
| spellingShingle | Jessica Tran The Jessica Tran The Emeric Saguin Emeric Saguin François Ansermet François Ansermet Trauma freed of the concept of determinism: is it possible to have a dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience around the question of singularity? Frontiers in Psychology neuroscience trauma Freud post-traumatic stress disorder interdisciplinarity |
| title | Trauma freed of the concept of determinism: is it possible to have a dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience around the question of singularity? |
| title_full | Trauma freed of the concept of determinism: is it possible to have a dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience around the question of singularity? |
| title_fullStr | Trauma freed of the concept of determinism: is it possible to have a dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience around the question of singularity? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trauma freed of the concept of determinism: is it possible to have a dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience around the question of singularity? |
| title_short | Trauma freed of the concept of determinism: is it possible to have a dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience around the question of singularity? |
| title_sort | trauma freed of the concept of determinism is it possible to have a dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience around the question of singularity |
| topic | neuroscience trauma Freud post-traumatic stress disorder interdisciplinarity |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1529698/full |
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