Psychoanalytische Erkundungen der Gesellschaft: Möglichkeiten und Grenzen einer psychoanalytischen Sozialforschung

The psychoanalytic exploration of social phenomena goes back as far as Freudʼs writings on cultural theory. In this article we aim at delineating how critical scholars following Freud sought to make psychoanalysis fruitful for social analyses and, based on this, develop contours of psychoanalytically oriented social research. This school of thought does not simply “apply” psychoanalytic knowledge but traces the social production of psychological conflicts. Moreover, we introduce Alfred Lorenzerʼs methodology and method of in-depth hermeneutic cultural analysis and from this theoretical perspective provide insights into recent research on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) protests.