LEVIATHAN LECTURE SERIES
organized by the Center for Ethics and Law in Biomedicine, Central European University Vienna/Budapest
November 17, 2025 (Monday) at 4 pm CET
Venue: Quantum Room, CEU Budapest, 1051 Nádor utca 15.
Gábor Csikós
Neurosis and Society in the 20th Century – Whose Pathology Is It?
“My presentation examines neurosis not only as a psychopathological diagnosis but as an analytical lens for understanding 20th-century social history. Although the concept originated in psychiatry and described symptoms such as headaches, poor sleep, or anxiety as an interaction between the individual and their environment, it gradually moved beyond the medical sphere and began to explain social processes. In public and expert discourse, neurosis identified the causes of “nervousness,” constructed connections, and proposed solutions—thus shaping how social change was interpreted. I demonstrate this through two case studies: the so-called “cooperative neurosis” (téeszneurózis) that appeared after the establishment of large-scale agricultural cooperatives (1960–1980), and the “maternal leave neurosis” (Gyes-neurózis) that emerged in the context of extended maternity leave policies in the 1980s. I argue that neurosis functioned as a narrative framework through which societies interpreted social tensions and conflict.”
Gábor Csikós is a psychologist and historian (PhD), and teaches at the András Pető Faculty of Semmelweis University and at the Faculty of Education and Psychology of Eötvös Loránd University. His 2024 monograph examines the relationship between the Hungarian rural society and psychopathology.
Introduction: Judit Sándor (Director of CELAB)
This event is part of a LEVIATHAN project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. (Grant agreement No. 854503)
