Sergio Benvenuto “Why War? Freud’s Perspective and the Enjoyment of War”

The reading of Freud’s letter to Einstein in their correspondence about war and ways to avoid it is the focus of this report. The author criticises Freud’s notion that “cultural development” is anti-war and emphasises that war is a consequence of cultural development. The author describes his own perspectives on war, emphasising that he is the one who considers the enjoyment of horror, a profound fascination with conflict and inter-human warfare.

Sergio Benvenuto is an Italian psychoanalyst, researcher in the field of psychology and philosophy for the Italian National Research Council (C.N.R.) at the Institute for Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, president of the Institute for Advanced Research in Psychoanalysis, honorary professor of the International Institute of Depth Psychology, founder of the European Journal of Psychoanalysis and chief editor of its Italian version, and author of numerous books and publications.

This report, along with many others, will be presented at the International Psychoanalytical Forum “In the Spirit of the Times: Psychoanalysis and War.”

Frédéric Vinot is a doctor of psychology, a professor of clinical and pathological psychology at the University of the Côte d’Azur, the director of research in the field of clinical psychology (LAPCOS), the director of the master’s course M2 “Clinical psychology and therapeutic mediation with the aid of art,” and the director of the project “Interaction, art, psychotherapy.”

The event will be held in a hybrid (online and live) format in three locations: Kiev (Ukraine), Nice, and Strasbourg (France).

The programme consists of presentations, discussions, supervision groups, a round table, and other elements.

Speakers: S. G. Uvarova, T. Bisson, F. Vinot, S. Benvenuto, K. Shoder, D. Druzhinenko-Sylyan, V. V. Milotvorskaya, S. V. Bondareva.