THE INFLUENCE OF NARCISSISM ON THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SCOPOPHILIC DRIVE IN FREUD

• Grant number: 25/05936-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - History of Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Ana Carolina Soliva Soria
• Grantee: Marina Zupiroli de Almeida
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sexuality is present in Freudian work in various contexts, ranging from the psychosexual development of the child to the processes of family and civilization formation. The gaze is integrated into this dynamic as it represents the path through which libidinal excitation is most commonly aroused. In this regard, Sigmund Freud dedicates himself to theorizing about the drive of the gaze, using the exhibitionism/voyeurism dyad, emphasizing the destinations of this drive and dividing it into the phases of autoerotic, active, and passive development. In doing so, he also proposes, in 1915, an associative relationship between the phases of the scopophilic drive's development and the stages of the Ego's development: primary narcissism, object love, and secondary narcissism. This association allows for thinking of voyeuristic and exhibitionistic manifestations as expressions of the libido marked by the narcissistic organization of the individual. Thus, the present work aims to investigate, based on Freudian theory, the relationship between the exhibitionism/voyeurism dyad and the narcissistic formations of the individual. The hypothesis underlying this project is that the active and passive forms of the gaze drive manifest according to-and under the influence of-the structuring of the Ego, a period in which libidinal investments are directed either toward the Ego or external objects, depending on the phase, and during which specific libidinal fixations may occur, influencing the sexual expression of the adult individual. To this end, an exploration and analysis of Freudian work and its propositions will be conducted, seeking to find evidence that contributes to the construction of the proposed argument. (AU)