On Friday May 17th, Prof. Mario Binasco, psychologist analyst, gave his professorial inaugural lecture at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, on the occasion of the opening ceremony of his professorial inauguration in the Roman section of the Institute. The title of the lecture was: “The Delirium of Science and man's existence. What does Psychoanalysis say about it?”.

 

On behalf of the Pontifical Council for the Family, H.E. Msgr. Jean Laffitte, the Dicastery’s Secretary, who has been teaching at the same Institute, made an intervention.

Starting from a reflection about science of the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prof. Binasco developed the idea that a society that claims to be perfect and imposes a canon of perfection ends up abolishing what is human. Humanity is imperfect and, therefore, the imperfect is necessary. Extending this to the consideration to the family institution, the psychoanalyst pointed out that the family is one of the places designated to receive and love the imperfect. Therefore, it’s not surprising that there is a will to destroy it, precisely as an institution, on the basis of an ideological a priori, which sees humanity and society as ideas to be realized rather than concrete and accomplished facts that should be accepted and accompanied with love.

Psychoanalysis offers, according to Prof. Binasco, a realistic viewpoint of the human being and his existence. The essence of the arguments in support of this theory can be found Prof. Binasco’s recently publication book: “La differenza umana. L’interesse teologico della psicoanalisi” (Cantagalli: Siena, 2013).