PGC2020
Athanasios Marvakis: Security as Pacification – the Trap of Psychologizing Social Phenomena
“The almost insoluble task is to let neither the power of others, nor our own powerlessness, stupefy us” Theodor W. Adorno
My intention - in one sentence – with this presentation is to address the endemic (or pandemic) psychologization of social phenomena in the discipline of psychology (the social sciences generally). Psychologization contributes actually to the ‘pacification’ of the population. Franco Basaglia (1975) speaks in this context even about “crimini di pace” (“crimes of pacification”) as functional moment of psychology (and the social sciences generally) as its ‘disciplinary’ contribution to “securing the insecurity of capitalist order” (Neocleous 2011). I want to deploy my argument in four steps:
- Factuality of crisis and crisistalk
- The presence of psychology (and social sciences) in crisistalk
- Psychologization as business foundation of psychology (and social sciences)
- Solidarity is not just an act of individual ‘ethics’
Back to the list of keynote speakers
Register for the conference to receive email invitations to the talks