Since its initial publication this critique of Freud's methods for gathering and evaluating evidence has become a classic in Freud scholarship. foreword by Frederick Crews Psychoanalysis: science or belief system? Since its initial publication this critique of Freud's methods for gathering and evaluating evidence has become a classic in Freud scholarship. Malcolm Macmillan's exhaustive analysis of Freud's personality theory describes the logical and other assumptions on which Freud's work was based and shows how these assumptions interacted with his clinical observations to produce all-embracing but faulty methods for gathering and evaluating evidence. Macmillan provides a meticulous account of the historical evolution of Freud's thought and its background in Freud's contacts with the books and people that influenced him and evaluates the entirety of the Freudian system. Included is a compilation of major criticisms of the methodology and assumptions of Freudian theory and a new comprehensive afterword by the author surveying the relevant literature published since 1989. (cloth published by Elsevier-North Holland in 1991)

How did psychoanalysis attain its prominent cultural position? This book reconstructs the early controversies surrounding psychoanalysis and shows that rather than demonstrating its superiority, the Freudians rescripted history. This was not incidental, but formed the core of psychoanalytic theory. The Freud Files reveals how psychoanalysis is vulnerable to its past.

Combining approaches from literary studies and historical sociology, this book provides a groundbreaking cultural history of the strategies Freud employed in his writings and career to orchestrate public recognition of psychoanalysis and to shape its institutional identity.

Freud's Paranoid Quest is an exceptionally broad-ranging and well-written book....Whether or not one agrees with certain of his arguments and assessments, one must acknowledge the remarkable intelligence that is displayed on nearly every page. --Louis Sassauthor of Madness and Modernism and The Paradoxes of Delusion John Farrell's Freud's Paranoid Quest is the most trenchant, exhilarating and illuminating book I have encountered in many years. [The book] should be pondered not just by all students of Freud's thought but by everyone who senses that 'advanced modernity' has by now outstayed its welcome. --Frederick CrewsUniversity of California, Berkeley In Freud's Paranoid Quest, John Farrell analyzes the personality and thought of Sigmund Freud in order to give insight into modernity's paranoid character and into the true nature of Freudian psychoanalysis. John Farrell's Freud is not the path-breaking psychologist he claimed to be, but the fashioner and prisoner of a total system of suspicion. The most gifted of paranoids, Freud deployed this system as a self-heroizing myth and a compelling historical ideology.

Psychology means the study of the soul; it is the social science concerned with investigating who we are, why we have certain feelings, and why we do the things we do. Are we no more than a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules? Is biology (our genetic inheritance) destiny, or does social upbringing play a crucial role? What are the roles played by Nature and by Nurture? Are we purely physical beings, or is there an aspect that can be called spiritual? This thought-provoking novel takes you on a journey of intellectual and emotional exploration, considering along the way questions that weve all asked ourselves, such as: Is it true that we only use 10% of our brains? Does playing classical music for infants increase their intelligence? Do crime rates go up during a full moon? Can hypnosis, or post-hypnotic suggestions, make us do something we wouldnt normally do? Does subliminal advertising influence us to buy products? Are our memories stored indelibly, almost like a tape recorder? What causes memory lapses as we age? Can repressed traumatic memories be recovered through hypnosis? Do some people have multiple personalities? How can I tell if someone has a neurosis, or a psychosis? Do men have an inner feminine side, and women an inner masculine? Are there innate psychological differences between males and females? The four main characters in this book will guide you through a diverse and sometimes bewildering world of differing approaches to answering such questions, such as Freudian, Jungian, and Adlerian; Humanistic, Existential, and Transpersonal; as well as Cognitive, Emotive, and Behaviorist. Along the way you will learn about the developmental stages proposed by psychologists such as Erikson, Kohlberg, Piaget, and Fowler, and even explore some of the questions currently being asked by both neuroscientists, and philosophers of the mind. Start reading, to begin your study of our innermost selves...

The Fractured Self in Freud and German Philosophy examines Freud's transformation of German philosophical approaches to freedom, history, and self-knowledge; defends a theory of situated knowledge and agency; and considers the relevance of Freudian thought for contemporary cultural issues.

Renowned Freud scholar Barry R. Silverstein presents in a historical context an overview of the development of Freud's theories. What was Freud thinking, when, and why and what were the major influences which shaped his ideas? We follow the inner movement of his theory construction, its meaning and coherence, as well as his conceptual logic and personal directions concerning his evolving views of the reciprocal interactions between mind and body, the motivational force of instinctual drives, and the dominant role of sexuality rooted in evolutionary biology in human development, behaviour, and the creation of neurotic disturbances. We follow Freud's construction and sequential reconstructions of his theoretical models concerning the nature, dynamics, and principles of unconscious mental functioning, including his changing concepts on the nature and purpose of dreams. We trace his changing views on the role of deferred action of early childhood experiences and the determining role of unconscious fantasy, psychic reality, in the formation of adult character structure and neuroses. Through such historical analysis this book provides grounding for a meaningful understanding of Freud's familiar concepts: id, ego, superego, and the Oedipus complex. We explore what these concepts meant to Freud, why he conceived them, and what functions they served in his theory of mind. This is the perfect book for students and trainees wanting to learn more about the development of Freud's ideas, as well as for established psychoanalysts and psychotherapists interested in expanding their knowledge of Freud's theories.

In Western culture, the psychoanalysis that has guided popular psychology for almost a century is now on the retreat. Better equipped with proven results, cognitive and evolutionary psychology has driven psychoanalysis out of the spotlight. In cultural and film studies, however, the debate between cognitive sciences and psychoanalysis remains contentious. This volume explores this state of things by examining criticism of 18 films, juxtaposing them with cognitive-based films to reveal the flaws in the psychoanalytical concepts. It pays particular attention to simulation theory, the concept that narratives "learned" from films could work in human minds as simulations for solutions to particular problems. By introducing the idea of narrative stimulation to film studies, this work argues for a different method of film critique, encouraging further research into this nascent field.

Intended as a follow-up to the author's earlier work, Maelzel's Chess Player: Sigmund Freud and the Rhetoric of Deceit (1994), this text looks at how Freud carried out his research and medical duties in the early years. Wilcocks (modern French literature, U. of Alberta, Edmonton) finds the picture to be less than flattering. His contention is that Freud's great influence may be attributed to his mastery of language, rather than his insight into human beings, and that he was "frequently dishonest and mostly incompetent" (from the introduction). Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Freud’s Theory of Dreams: A Philosophico-Scientific Perspective evaluates Freud’s theory of dreams in light of the many philosophical and scientific criticisms that have been brought against it. Michael T. Michael addresses the validity of Freud’s method of dream interpretation, the scientific nature of the theory, and how Freud’s ideas bear up to modern research on dreams, engaging on the way with critics such as Ludwig Wittgenstein, Clark Glymour, Karl Popper, Adolf Grünbaum, and J. Allan Hobson. Michael reaches beyond the traditional “for” and “against” polarity to offer a more balanced perspective on Freud’s theory. He argues that reports of the demise of Freud’s theory have been greatly exaggerated, and instead the theory is a live hypothesis fully deserving of continued scientific exploration.