Critical Theory's Approach to Psychoanalysis: Anthropology and Primary Processes

The interplay between primary and secondary processes in ego formation has been a subject of debate for the interpretations of psychoanalysis made by Criti-cal Theory. While the first generation of the Frankfurt School maintains a natural moment in the ego-formation process, the second generation, from Habermas to Honneth, traces the individuation process entirely back to social dynamics. Doing so, however, also eliminates the critical moment that the reference to the first nature may assume.