[Psychoanalysis between archeology and history]. 1993

B Vichyn

Using the Freudian metaphor of psychoanalysis as archeology, we can identify several "archeologies" in the past of psychoanalysis: in the activities of non-analysts who, as practitioners, dug into the past of Freud, and of analysts who, as laboratory scientists, limited themselves to assembling concepts. We then compared these heterogeneous archeologies, be they scholarly, commonplace, or even scandalous, to the practice of the history of psychoanalysis initiated by Freud and continued by his disciples. The hagiography and more generally, the secrecy that surrounded certain parts of Freud's life and certain of his theories were demolished by the arrival of non-analyst historians, little concerned with preserving the aims that psychoanalysis, for self-preserving reasons, kept alive despite its ideal of a lack of purpose. The analysts, mediocre archeologists in the field, were compensated by their science of assembling piecemeal ideas. On the other hand, in the role of historian, of those who recount, the analysts were not well served by their techniques, coming as they did from the field of psychoanalysis. Thanks to this four-way comparison, archaeologist analysts, non-analyst archaeologists, analyst historians, and non-analyst historians, we can attempt to sketch several conclusions for a methodology of the psychoanalytical history of psychoanalysis.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D011572 Psychoanalysis The separation or resolution of the psyche into its constituent elements. The term has two separate meanings: 1. a procedure devised by Sigmund Freud, for investigating mental processes by means of free association, dream interpretation and interpretation of resistance and transference manifestations; and 2. a theory of psychology developed by Freud from his clinical experience with hysterical patients. (From Campbell, Psychiatric Dictionary, 1996). Psychodynamic Analysis,Analyses, Psychodynamic,Analysis, Psychodynamic,Psychodynamic Analyses
D006664 History Record and study of past events. Aspects, Historical,Historical Aspects,Aspect, Historical,Historical Aspect,Histories
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001106 Archaeology Study of the ancient and recent human or animal past through material remains. It analyzes the physical remains of the past in pursuit of a broad and comprehensive understanding of human culture. Archeology,Bioarchaeology
D049673 History, 20th Century Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era. 20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History

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