The history of the psychoanalytic movementFreud, Sigmund
History
The history of the psychoanalytic movement
Freud, Sigmund
Psychoanalysis -- History
The task to which I am unequal, namely, that of reproaching the
opponents “suaviter in modo” for their injustice and arbitrariness, was
taken up by Bleuler in 1911 and carried out in most honorable fashion in
his work, “Freud’s Psychoanalysis: a Defense and a Criticism.” It would
be so entirely natural for me to praise this work, critical in two
directions, that I hasten to tell what there is in it I object to. This
work appears to me to be still very partisan, too lenient to the
mistakes of our opponents, and altogether too severe to the shortcomings
of our followers. This characterization of it may explain why the
opinion of a psychiatrist of such high standing, of such indubitable
ability and independence, has not had greater influence on his
colleagues. The author of “Affectivity” (1906) must not be surprised if
the influence of a work is not determined by the value of its argument
but by the tone of its affect. Another part of this influence—the one on
the followers of psychoanalysis—Bleuler himself destroyed later on by
bringing into prominence in 1913, in his “Criticism of the Freudian
School,” the obverse side of his attitude to psychoanalysis. Therein he
takes away so much from the structure of the psychoanalytic principles
that our opponents may well be satisfied with the assistance of this
defender. It was not new arguments or better observations that served
Bleuler as a guidance for these verdicts, but only the reference to his
own knowledge, the inadequacy of which the author no longer admits as in
his earlier writings. Here an almost irreparable loss seemed to threaten
psychoanalysis. However, in his last utterance (“Die Kritiken der
Schizophrenie,” 1914) on the occasion of the attacks made upon him owing
to his introduction of psychoanalysis into his book on “Schizophrenie,”
Bleuler rises to what he himself terms a “haughty presumption:” “But now
I will assume a haughty presumption, I consider that the many
psychologies to date have contributed mighty little to the explanation
of the connection between psychogenetic symptoms and diseases, but that
the deeper psychology (tiefen psychologie) furnishes us a part of the
psychology still to be created, which the physician needs in order to
understand his patients and to heal them rationally; and I even believe
that in my ‘Schizophrenie’ I have taken a very small step towards this.”
The first two assertions are surely correct, the latter may be an error.
Since by the “deeper psychology” psychoanalysis alone is to be
understood, we may, for the present, remain satisfied with this
admission.
III
“Cut it short!
On doomsday ’twon’t be worth a farthing!”
_Goethe._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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