Varn Vlog The Subject Unbound: Structuralism, Psychoanalysis, and Revolutionary Consciousness with Andrew Flores, Jr.
In a thought-provoking discussion, Andrew Flores, Jr., an independent scholar specializing in Lacanian psychoanalysis, highlights the interplay between psychoanalysis and Marxism. He argues that psychoanalysis tackles bourgeois subjectivity, challenging how we perceive our psychological conflicts as reflections of societal issues. The conversation covers topics like Lacan's theories, the effects of capitalism on consciousness, and contemporary social fragmentation, unveiling the relevance of psychoanalytic thought in understanding radicalization and collective paranoia today.
01:47:42
Psychoanalysis Targets The Bourgeois Subject
- Psychoanalysis addresses the bourgeois subject formed by capitalist social relations rather than a timeless human psyche.
- Flores argues Marx "invented the symptom," linking social contradictions to psychic formations.
Fanon, Freud, And Colonial Subjectivity
- Flores cites Frantz Fanon and debates around reading Freud through colonial contexts.
- He references José Gastón Bide's Putting Freud on Fanon's Couch as a relevant study.
Lacan’s Three Registers Explained
- Lacan frames subjectivity via three registers: Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real to avoid a philosophy of consciousness.
- These registers explain ego formation, language-structure, and what escapes symbolization (trauma).
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Intro
00:00 • 3min
Why Marxists Should Care About Psychoanalysis
03:01 • 3min
Tensions Between Psychoanalysis and Other Psychologies
06:03 • 6min
Psychoanalysis, Marxism, and the Bourgeois Subject
11:51 • 6min
Defining Structuralism and Lacan's Registers
18:17 • 2min
Structuralism Across Disciplines and Lacan's Use
20:17 • 10min
Discourse, Free Association, and the Clinic
30:12 • 5min
Althusser, Lacan, and Ideology
35:17 • 6min
Gramsci, Lucarelli, and Italian Marxist Influences
41:21 • 7min
Fanon, Decolonial Psychoanalysis, and Marxism
48:17 • 12min
Psychoanalysis, State, and Family as Institutions
01:00:20 • 8min
Bourgeois Subjectivity, Revolt, and Revolutionary Identification
01:08:34 • 2min
Applying Psychoanalysis to Contemporary Radicalization
01:10:32 • 5min
Narcissism, Mirror Stage, and Social Psychosis
01:15:40 • 7min
Debates on Foreclosure Versus Perverse Society
01:22:48 • 3min
Althusser’s Science, Ideology, and Limits
01:26:06 • 10min
Navigating Diverse Marxist-Lacanian Thinkers
01:35:56 • 10min
Where to Find Andrew Flores’s Work
01:45:32 • 1min
Outro
01:46:51 • 26sec
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What happens when the revolutionary fervor of Marxism meets the probing depths of the psychoanalytic couch? In this intellectually stimulating conversation, Andrew Flores (host of The Parallax Viewer) explores the fascinating and often contentious relationship between psychoanalytic theory and left politics.
The discussion begins with a fundamental question: why should Marxists care about psychoanalysis at all? Flores argues that psychoanalysis doesn't just treat individual symptoms but addresses the "bourgeois subject"—the psychological effects of living within capitalist social relations. As he eloquently explains, "What psychoanalysis does is deal with a bourgeois subject, the effects of bourgeois consciousness... Marx invented the symptom, not Freud." This provocative claim opens a pathway to understanding how our internal psychological conflicts might reflect broader social contradictions.
Delving into Lacanian theory, Flores unpacks the three registers—Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real—that structure our experience, showing how they relate to political formation and revolutionary potential. The conversation weaves through structuralism, Althusserian Marxism, and contemporary thinkers like Alain Badiou and Domenico Losurdo, revealing the complex theoretical lineages that continue to shape leftist thought.
Perhaps most relevant to our current moment is the discussion of social fragmentation, paranoia, and what might be called our collective psychosis. As conspiracy theories proliferate and ideological certainties dissolve, psychoanalytic concepts offer valuable tools for understanding how individual and collective delusions form in response to social trauma.
Whether you're a seasoned theoretical traveler or new to these intellectual territories, this conversation offers fresh insights into how we might understand the relationship between our inner lives and the social structures that shape them—and perhaps how we might transform both.
Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to Bitterlake
Crew:
Host: C. Derick Varn
Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.
Intro Video Design: Jason Myles
Art Design: Corn and C. Derick Varn
Links and Social Media:
twitter: @varnvlog
blue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.social
You can find the additional streams on Youtube
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