Las raíces de la violencia en la obra de Cornelius Castoriadis

Abstract

Cornelius  Castoriadis  (1922-­‐‑1997)  faces  the  study  of  human

nature   from   the   perspective   provided   by   the   conflict

between   psyche   and   society.   To   the   extent   that   the   very

notion   of   individual   is   regarded   as   a   social   creation,   there

could   not   be   opposition   between   individual   and   society.

And  yet,  it  is  necessary   to  view  socialization  as  a  process  of

radical   violence   against   the   native   psyche.   The   purpose   of

this   paper   is   to   consider   the   contributions   of   Castoriadis   to

the  discussion  about  the  problem  of  violence.  In  so  doing,  I

will   highlight   the   links   between   heteronomy   and   social

violence   while   analyzing   to   what   extent   a   project   of

autonomy,  as  Castoriadis  proposes,  can  be  coupled  with  the

original  violence  of  the  human  psyche  itself.