La rivoluzione nella mente: sulla storia della psicoanalisi, 1870-1945

Abstract

- In opposition to the traditional historiography of psychoanalysis, based essentially on biographies, the creation of psychoanalysis is seen as both a body of ideas and a movement that can be better understood by focusing on the way this field constituted itself, broke apart, and then rebuilt itself prior to World War II. Outlining the argument of the author's book, Revolution in Mind: The Creation of Psychoanalysis (New York: HarperCollins, 2008), it is argued that a distinct Freudian theory emerged from Freud's engagements with three pre-existing fields: French psychopathology, German biophysics/psychophysics, and sexology. As Freud pulled them together in an new synthesis, followers from these fields found their way to him. But a series of schisms shattered Freud's fragile movement. After World War I, a new community emerged that was more "psychoanalytic" than "Freudian". It placed less emphasis on Freud's authority, and instead emphasized technique and professionalization. World War II led to the destruction of these communities and sparked battles for control in the two major centers that remained, London and New York.