Civilization in transition (ontological confrontation)

Abstract

This paper aims at understanding the reception of the new anthropology, in particular the perspective of Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, by psychoanalysis and analytical psychology. Native peoples in Brazil have acquired visibility nationally and internationally, thanks to their mobilization and political organization. Award‐winning books have been published such as A Queda do Céu (The Fall of the Sky) by Davi Kopenawa and Bruce Albert, and Ideias para Adiar o Fim do Mundo (Ideas to Postpone the End of the World) by Ailton Krenak. Freudian‐based psychoanalysis keeps silent about native peoples and the new anthropology. The Lacanian psychoanalyst C. Dunker appears more open about it and wrote many articles and one important book on the subject. Jungians are the most enthusiastic and speak out politically about these peoples through courses, study groups, articles, online debates, books and the presence of native leaders and shamans in their conferences. This paper discusses the different perspectives on the issue in the psychoanalytical community, which vary from silence to excitement, and their subjacent political alliances.