Abstract
Modern science has been object of idealizations since its appearance, which persist even after revisions and criticisms present in the contemporary philosophy of science. This indicates that many attempts of readjusting the image constructed about science - and the discourses about it - seem to have no effect. Thus, we propose in this article that these difficulties result, in part, from the complexity of dealing with libidinal investments of the idealization processes. This is indicated based on psychoanalytic theory and philosophy of science, being followed by a conceptual work on the mechanisms that act in identification processes and on the possible effects of the loss of an ideal, sustaining the need for mourning. Therefore, we affirm that “de-idealizing” science is, above all, a way to strengthen it.
Keywords:
mourning; science; psychoanalysis; ideal