The missing moment: Freedom or trauma?

Neuroscience has become a popular source of metaphors and images for political and social theorists. Among the most popular is the “missing moment,” used to characterize the delay between an unconscious experience and the subject’s reaction. The goal, several authors suggest, is to come closer to th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychoanalysis, culture & society culture & society, 2016-06, Vol.21 (2), p.109-127
Main Author: Alford, C., Fred
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropology
Consciousness
Cultural Studies
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Neurosciences
Original Article
Psychoanalysis
Psychotherapy
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Neuroscience has become a popular source of metaphors and images for political and social theorists. Among the most popular is the “missing moment,” used to characterize the delay between an unconscious experience and the subject’s reaction. The goal, several authors suggest, is to come closer to the original non-conscious experience, wherein resides real freedom. If one follows this argument very far, however, it begins to look a lot like a popular theory of trauma. More troublingly, it leaves no room for either a psychoanalytic or narrative account that stresses the role of human relationships and human community in confronting trauma. In opposition to this account, this article sets the work of Stern, Segal, and Winnicott.
ISSN:1088-0763
1543-3390
DOI:10.1057/pcs.2015.54