A transcendentalidade da consciência e o caráter intencional do inconsciente à luz da Existenzanalyse de Viktor Emil Frankl

Abstract

This dissertation revolves around Viktor Emil Frankl’s work “Der Unbewußte Gott: Psychotherapie und Religion”. The research aims to delineate the two primary metaphysical premises discussed in Frankl’s work: the transcendence of consciousness and the intentional character of the unconscious. It explores how Frankl intersects Husserl’s conceptualization of consciousness with the spiritual dimension, linking it to Freud’s concept of the unconscious. This approach leads to an interpretative hypothesis suggesting that transcending the boundaries of the unconscious through spiritual conscious acts establishes a relationship with emotional intuition within Max Scheler’s values. The dissertation unfolds in five chapters. The introductory chapter sets the stage, followed by the second chapter, outlining Frankl’s propositions and motivations for establishing his psychotherapy. The third chapter delves into understanding the psychic system through Freudian theory and Frankl’s Existenzanalyse. In the fourth chapter, Frankl’s perspective on the spiritual unconscious as a revealer of a pre-cognitive dimension of intuiting values from Scheler’s phenomenology is elaborated – a ‘strong reading’ of emotional intuition within Scheler’s values, encompassing both the conscious sphere and the realm of the spiritual unconscious. The fifth chapter analyzes the interactions between consciousness and human freedom, asserting that while consciousness illuminates paths towards higher values, it does not act as an irresistible force determining individual actions. It concludes that within a psychic system comprising consciousness and the unconscious, Frankl aligns closely with Husserl’s approach to consciousness without seeking to redefine it. Regarding the unconscious, aligned with Freud’s perspective, Frankl supplements Freudian unconscious contents with spiritual elements. This addition underpins an interpretation of Scheler’s emotional intuition of values, resulting in an approach that may be deemed a ‘strong reading’ where the intuition of superior values can, albeit unconsciously, guide human behaviour.