Description
Book SynopsisBy way of a new reading of The Complete Works of Sigmund Freud, this book introduces the notion of a theory of practice to the psychoanalytic endeavour. Spelled out in terms of interdependent components, namely; aim, technique and theoretical premises, the author takes the reader through Freud's oeuvre so that he emerges as a relentless, theoretically grounded, practitioner.Frances Moran argues that the nub of the Freudian inheritance is the concept of human subjectivity. In the light of this finding and her reading of Freud, she presents the work of Paul Verhaeghe (On Being Normal and Other Disorders), anew and calls on Marie Cardinal, (The Words to Say It), to provide telling evidence of what it means to be a freudian subject. Given the objectifying processes at work in the contemporary culture, the relevance of Freud for our times becomes compelling.Here practitioners will find a clearly presented framework within which to operate and a way of organizing the material that informs their clinical pursuits. The exploration of an underpinning structure to the Complete Works will be of the utmost assistance to those who wish to embark upon a search for knowledge of the human condition through the highways and byways of the legacy of Sigmund Freud.
Trade Review'The Western world has tired of Freud. His propositions and methods are deemed outdated. I reject such sentiments and this book is an attempt to explain why. I will do this in two stages. First, I want to introduce a new reading of Freud and second, I want to expose the paradox that lies at the kernel of his life's endeavour.Once I have established Freud as a practitioner rather than a scientist I will explain the notion of a theory of practice with its tripartite components of theoretical premises, technique and aim.Freud's psychoanalytic theory of practice has as its kernel the etching out of the dimensions of human subjectivity. This I will explore through a brief presentation of the work of the contemporary academic and practitioner Paul Verhaeghe whose project I will show to be a direct inheritance of the Freudian theory of practice.Finally I propose that while the scientific enterprise may be seen to offer much to the contemporary way of life it nevertheless necessarily excludes the very notion of the human subject. Its focus is none other than the human object. Paradoxically, what many see as Freud's failure - to make psychoanalysis a science - is nothing less than his greatest success. He offers us a possible route to repositioning ourselves today.'- From the Author's IntroductionSelection from the Contents:Much Ado About ScienceEstablishing the Freudian FieldThe Fundamental Hypothesis of the Split PsycheThe Fulcrum of DiagnosisTechniqueSubject to ExclusionTelling EvidenceThe Paradoxical Legacy of Sigmund Freud
Table of ContentsForeword -- Much ado about science -- Establishing the freudian field -- The Masterplan -- The fundamental hypothesis of the split psyche -- The fulcrum of diagnosis part 1: Aetiology -- The fulcrum of diagnosis part 2: Mechanisms -- Aim -- Technique -- Subject to exclusion -- The Inheritance -- To be or not to be? -- Telling evidence -- The paradoxical legacy of Sigmund Freud
