French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Boureau, En somme. Pour un usage analytique de la scolastique médiévale
Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Alain Boureau, En Somme. Pour un usage analytique de la scolastique médiévale

Lagrasse : Verdier, 2011

96 p.
Price 13EUR
EAN 9782864326366.

Publisher's overview

"For twenty-five years, I have stubbornly infused every possible psychoanalytic theme with scholasticism.
To explain my endeavor, I must first attempt to define a personal investment, which also runs through the enchantments and powers of medieval discourse.
Chapter III takes up the history of Thomas Aquinas. My investment and my subject matter coincide: it so happens that my admiring affection is directed toward a prominent figure of scholastic thought. Here, I hope to suggest an approach to unconscious mechanisms through an attention directed toward the very composition of texts, focusing on their formality rather than their content; my ambition is to show how such a corpus suggests new methods of analysis, potentially applicable elsewhere.
Next, I intend to show that collective stakes justify this resurgence of the scholastic past. Finally, I broadly sketch the scholastic landscape in order to situate my remarks."

Introductory note by Alain Boureau, opening En somme

"For twenty-five years, I have stubbornly infused every possible psychoanalytic theme with scholasticism, from the days of the Nouvelle Revue de Psychanalyse to the present of Penser/Rêver, via Le Fait de l'analyse. To explain my endeavor, I must first attempt to define a personal investment (chapter 1), which also runs through the enchantments and powers of medieval discourse (chapter 2). Chapter 3 takes up the history of Thomas Aquinas. My investment and my subject matter coincide: it so happens that my admiring affection is directed toward a prominent figure of scholastic thought. In this chapter, I hope to suggest an approach to unconscious mechanisms through an attention directed toward the very composition of texts, focusing on their formality rather than their content; my ambition is to show how such a corpus suggests new methods of analysis, potentially applicable elsewhere. Next, I intend to show that collective stakes justify this resurgence of the scholastic past. Finally, a final chapter (5) broadly sketches the scholastic landscape in order to situate my remarks."

Alain Boureau situates his inquiry within the rich intellectual tradition of medieval scholasticism, engaging closely with the foundational texts and rigorous methods developed by medieval thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas. By turning his attention to the intricate composition and formality of these historical writings rather than merely their surface content, the author proposes a novel methodological bridge between medieval philosophy and modern psychoanalytic approaches. This volume reflects upon decades of intellectual engagement, drawing connections across prominent journals and psychoanalytic forums while mapping out the broader landscape of scholastic discourse for contemporary readers interested in the mechanics of thought and textuality.

This concise study offers valuable perspectives for historians of philosophy, medievalists, and psychoanalysts seeking innovative tools for textual and unconscious analysis. By examining how the rigorous architecture of medieval discourse can illuminate modern psychic mechanisms, the book addresses fundamental questions regarding the persistence of historical structures in contemporary critical thought. Scholars and advanced students of intellectual history and cultural studies will find it a stimulating invitation to rethink the analytical potential of medieval scholasticism across diverse disciplinary frameworks.