The struggle of the soul and the return to goodness
: a new proposal for Freudian psychoanalysis based on Kantian theory

  • Maria B Lopez Rios

Student thesis: Doctoral ThesisDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Abstract

Most ethical theories focus on the study of the moral behaviour of human beings, on those human beings who are considered adults. However, there is no consistent account of what an adult is in moral terms, or of how we become adults with moral responsibilities. In this dissertation I interrogate the Kantian moral theory and I propose to complement it by incorporating a model of moral development inspired by Freudian psychoanalysis. The purpose of this dissertation is to depict a model, based on the observation of the dynamics of guilt, capable of explaining the moral transition from childhood to adulthood in order to reflect on what goodness means, how we can take care of our moral goodness, and how we can recover it if we lose it.
Date of Award21 Jun 2022
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • University of Bristol
SupervisorKurt W Lampe (Supervisor) & D S Morgan (Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Moral Development
  • Kantian ethics
  • Freudian psychoanalysis
  • moral conscience
  • superego
  • Chilean dictatorship
  • unconscious
  • consciousness
  • Beatrice Longuenesse
  • Alfred Tauber
  • Sebastian Gardner

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