1Kant and Freud

Freud gave us not just two theories of the psyche but two kinds of theory of the psyche. One is about the structure and function of its subsystems. The other is about the nature and management of its contents. Freud’s model of psychic structure and function is closely parallel to Kant’s in a number of respects. (Equally, much in his theory of psychic content was anticipated by Schopenhauer. We have explored this relationship elsewhere (Young and Brook, 1994).) Even though not just Freud’s model of the mind but the model adopted in psychoanalysis long after Freud’s death, the model adopted for example by ego psychology, was deeply Kantian, this feature of Freud’s thought has never received much attention. The influences on Freud of German naturphilosophie and Helmholtzian mechanistic materialism has received attention (Holt 1963). Geisteswissenshaft (the intentional, teleological study of culture) has been discussed and so has Darwin. The role of Machian positivism in Freud’s thought has been explored. But Kant is seldom mentioned.1 Yet Kant’s models and methods dominated the German-speaking world in the nineteenth century. Moreover, Freud referred to Kant very frequently, more frequently in fact than to any other philosopher.2 In the form of 19th century Neokantianism, Kant’s views gained their maximu