The Dangerous Liasions between Pragmatism and Psychoanalysis: Sex, Drives, and Impulses

This paper is a contribution to the discussion on the relationship between pragmatism and psychoanalysis. Specifically, I will contribute to the discussion by focusing on the concept of sex. Classical pragmatists – e.g., Dewey and Mead – criticize Freudian psychoanalysis for its exaggerated focus on sex. Yet, their criticisms lack a thorough discussion of what sex exactly means, according to Freud. In this paper, I would like to focus on Freud’s idea of sex as a drive in order to shed light on some important and hitherto partially neglected convergences and divergences between pragmatism and psychoanalysis.