ABSTRACT
As with the trauma and Oedipal theories, positivistic and counter-positivistic tendencies are co-present in Freud’s writings on religion. When Ricoeur, in discussing Freud’s views on reality and the concomitant critical analyses of religion, concludes that “Freud’s view is positivist,” he is conveying only one side or one dimension.1 In fact, Freud’s treatment of subjective and objective realities, and their connection with religion and other cultural forms, is in a state of unresolved tension, mirroring the wider tensions in his work. My task will be to amplify these points of tension, showing that alongside the manifest arguments there are seminal latent dimensions to these writings. Finally, after elucidating such counter-positivistic trends, I will develop the implications of this other Freud.
