An Intuitive Relationship Between Existential Psychoanalysis and Evolutionary Biology via Empirical Psychoanalysis

Abstract

This paper is an exploration into an (intuitive) relationship between the existential psychoanalysis of Jean–Paul Sartre and the contemporary neurobiological approach in evolutionary biology. Sartre argues that the source of normative behavior lies in the nothinging activity of consciousness which necessarily has its neurobiological correlate. We argue that their relationship can be explained when considered together with Freudian psychoanalysis. After the introduction, the article explicates the relationship between Sartre’s existential psychoanalysis and Freud’s empirical psychoanalysis. The latter provides an intuitive ground for the former. The last part of the article focuses on the neurobiological account of the sublime emotions and motivations which influence the social behavior of human beings. It is found that group formation is an evolutionary product which plays a vital role in determining social behavior. It is concluded that existential psychoanalysis is compatible with empirical psychoanalysis and neurobiological analysis of the human psyche, and together they can present a comprehensive picture of human existence. Sartre uses the intuition developed by Sigmund Freud and connects it with phenomenological ontology so as to understand human affairs, and evolutionary biologists seek a neurobiological basis for the Freudian psyche. Thus, they are compatible.