In this presentation, Stan Case revisits the timeless myth of Oedipus in which an autocratic force seeks to control social narratives, rewrite history, and stage the future accordingly. He asserts that Freud, by centering his theory on Oedipus as a single intrapsychic actor, excluded an entire cast of characters—who remain outcasts in King Oedipus’s world. These characters, treated as strangers by Oedipus, offered an unrealized vision of care and repair for an oedipal triad blinded by hubris.

In contemporary times, the Oedipal story has evolved into oedipal complexity; the lone Oedipus at the crossroads now confronts sociocultural intersectionality. As inherently group related beings, we are drawn to an ethic of care, yet we navigate increasingly difficult paths as we attempt to reconcile our group nature with an ethic of fairness. Signs of an emerging collective conscience are becoming visible in contemporary psychoanalytic theory and practice, as this presentation explores.

Learning Objectives: Upon completing this scientific meeting, participants will be able to:

1. Distinguish between a rules-based approach to psychoanalytic ethics and an ethics model grounded in lived experience.
2. Analyze the differences between moral systems and ethical reasoning.
3. Recognize key features of an emerging collective conscience in contemporary psychoanalytic thinking and practice.