Voluntary Servitude. Masochism and Morality

Judith Le Soldat, Andjela Samardzic, Vaia Tsolas , Michael Civin

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English

Routledge
23 December 2024

Psychoanalytical theory (Freudian psychology); Psychotherapy

Le Soldat’s Voluntary Servitude. Masochism and Morality presents an extraordinary analysis of masochism, the subject, death drive and sexual discourse inspired by Freudian drive theory, philosophy, gender theory, political science and mythology.

This book will certainly evoke the reader’s curiosity, but even more than that it will encourage readers critical reflection on the clandestine defensive formations between the psyche and reality that, in the author’s view, obscure pleasure principle by corrupting the death drive and the body. Le Soldat presents an unprecedented formulation in psychoanalytic literature to date, one of incomparable significance not only for our clinical work, but also for critical theoretical reflection on society and its vicissitudes. As a result of their defensive stances, we encounter ‘masochistic subjects of servitude’ enclosed in a world of wars, economical rivalries, regressive brutality of consumerism, religious dependency and political mania.

Drawing on the work of Freud and Adorno, and balancing theoretical and clinical material, this is essential reading for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and anyone who seeks to understand the concept of voluntary servitude.

By: Judith Le Soldat
Edited by: Andjela Samardzic, Vaia Tsolas, Michael Civin
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 610g
ISBN: 9781032666259
ISBN 10: 1032666250
Pages: 314
Publication Date: 23 December 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Judith Le Soldat (1947-2008) was a Swiss psychoanalyst, researcher, lecturer and author. She was born in Budapest and lived in Zurich, where she studied psychology and ran her own psychoanalytic practice from 1974. Her first monograph Voluntary Servitude. Masochism and Morality was published in 1989. In her second monograph (1994), she presented an exciting, completely new understanding of Oedipal conflicts (see the critical edition of the book published in 2020 under the title Raubmord und Verrat - Robbery murder and betrayal). She worked on a third monograph on male homosexuality, but left it unfinished. The book was published posthumously in 2018 under the title Land of No Return. The lectures Judith Le Soldat gave at the University of Zurich in 2006/07 were also published posthumously. They appeared as the first volume of Le Soldat’s Collected Works in 2015 under the title Grund zur Homosexualität (Grounds for Homosexuality). Grounds for Homosexuality contains an introduction to both her theory of the Oedipal Conflicts and her theory of homosexuality and is therefore well suited as an introduction to her entire oeuvre. - Further publications by Judith Le Soldat, in German, s. www.lesoldat.ch

Reviews for Voluntary Servitude. Masochism and Morality

""In her brilliant monograph, Judith Le Soldat investigates and clearly distinguishes the clinical phenomena of individual masochism as well as the symptoms of socially produced masochism. In her lucid and profound analysis, she reveals the destinies of the individual’s inner drive-defence dynamics, but also traces different mechanisms of interplay between sociopolitical power and individual psyche. This masterpiece is an indispensable contribution to the psychoanalytic investigation of the intermediate realm (Zwischenreich) that connects the individual and society."" PD Markus Fäh, Ph.D., Zurich (Switzerland), Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna and Berlin. ""With impressive acumen, Le Soldat’s Voluntary Servitude, Masochism and Morality lays bare the intricacies of psyche and society as both reflect the Triebhaftigkeit (pulsionality) of the unconscious and its ever-robust survival in disguise of voluntary servitude. The death drive - an axiom of life, alongside Eros, doesn’t stay immune against social amnesia as it partakes in bolstering voluntary servitude. In dialog with Freud, La Boétie and Adorno the author raises fundamental questions on foundations of human cruelty, warfare, capitalism, populism, Nazism – uncannily reverberating from therapist’s consulting rooms to global crises. Intriguing and captivating - this book stands out as an absolute imperative in today’s psychoanalytic and sociopolitical discourse."" Elisabeth Geiger und Dr. Christoph Kappeler, analysts in their own practice, trained by Judith Le Soldat from the beginning of her career until 2008; both are faculty at Psychoanalytic Seminar Zürich.