Collective Violence and Social Traumata from a Psychoanalytic Perspective: Recognition, Testimony and Moral Third

Evening lecture with Psychoanalyst Jessica Benjamin at IPU Berlin on Friday, 1 November 2024. We are pleased to invite you to the final event of our cooperative series with the Hans Kilian and Lotte Köhler Center for Social and Cultural Psychology and Historical Anthropology (KKC) in Bochum.

People who have experienced war, torture, persecution and expulsion usually suffer from these injuries and post-traumatic stress disorders for the rest of their lives. Based on analyses of the history of violence in the 20th century, Jessica Benjamin develops the outlines of a psychoanalysis rooted in social and cultural science as well as intersubjectivity theory. With her theory of recognition and the “moral third”, she sharpens awareness of the complex dimensions of the suffering experienced. Benjamin advocates expressing empathy and social support to the victims of collective violence in order to enable all people to live together better.