At the Edges of Change. Rereading Freud on Plasticity, Fluidity and Repetition ; Grenzen aan de verandering. Freud over plasticiteit, fluïditeit en herhaling herlezen.

The concept 'plasticity' sees wide application today. This concept is connected to an idea of the subject as adaptive and open to change. On the basis of the phenomenon of habit I wish to question this idea. The history of philosophy discloses habit as an ambiguous phenomenon, understood mechanically as automatised repetition or ontologically as constructive adaptation. Today, however, we can observe a tendency to focus on the transformative potential of habit, and thus to determine habit as an instantiation of human plasticity. It is the objective of this Ph.D. to investigate the limits of vital mobility, i.e. plasticity, in consideration of those ambiguous habitual phenomena that seem to suggest an automatised repetition rather than adaptive plasticity. With this Ph.D. I will investigate the possibility of taking a new approach to habit that contrary to the existing interpretations can provide an ontological account of the seemingly mechanic element in habit. I therefore want to examine if it is possible to draw a connection between Freud's concept of 'organic elasticity' - an original rebound effect - and habit. With the intention to challenge the determination of the individual as plastic, Malabou's work will serve as the backdrop for the first part of the Ph.D.; the second part will unfold as a critical dialogue between Freud and Deleuze with the objective of elucidating the weight of habitual repetition for the process of individuation and our understanding of life. ; status: Published