Einstein wrote to Freud on July 30th 1932 “Is there any way of delivering mankind from the menace of war.” (The discourse of the master: man at a certain distance from himself).
Freud replied with his usual subtlety and nuance “I would like to linger for a moment on our destructive instinct” (The discourse of the analyst: putting knowledge in the dock).
Freud’s response obliges us to ask just how necessary our lives are to ourselves and others. As Lacan reminds us, every relationship of man with himself and others radically changes perspective if we take the Freudian discovery into account.
This day hopes to examine the implications of Freud’s “Copernican Revolution” (Lacan).