La psychanalyse est-elle scientifique ?

Abstract

ContextThe article readdresses the question of the scientificity of psychoanalysis. AimsFreud insisted on founding psychoanalysis as a science. Despite the difficulty linked to the non-phenomenal nature of the unconscious and the failure to found a positive science, he maintained the requirement of a reference to science. MethodFreud maintains both the necessity of the unconscious but keeps it in the status of a hypothesis insofar as no direct experimental proof can be brought about. ResultsIn line with Freud's questioning, Lacan takes up the decisive character of the reference to science and claims the identity of the subject of science and the subject of the unconscious. Drawing on the work of epistemologists (Dilthey, Canguilhem, Bachelard, Stengers), the article attempts to identify the singular epistemological regime of psychoanalysis. ConclusionThe conclusion it reaches is that even if psychoanalysis has historically failed to meet the criterion of scientificity, the stakes of the epistemological requirement are no less crucial. In particular, they serve as a salutary bulwark against the potentially mystifying drifts associated with the handling of transference.