The matter of time

Abstract

This lecture, delivered at the 20th Conference of the Sigmund Freud Associação Psicanalítica, examines the transformations of anxiety in contemporary society through a dialogue between psychoanalysis, art, and culture. It explores how historical and social changes shape the ways anxiety is manifested, linking psychoanalytic concepts to contemporary forms of subjectivity. By addressing the transition from solid modernity to gaseous ultramodernity, the author argues that, despite contemporary attempts to silence anxiety through medicalization, consumerism, and the acceleration of life, anxiety remains a central element of human experience and a fundamental organizing principle of psychoanalytic clinical practice.