‘Bound in a nutshell’: Thoughts on complexity, reductionism, and ‘infinite space’

Gabbard, Glen O.

doi:10.1516/e8u0-g516-98g4-11p7

Cited by 27 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Deferring the questions of psychoanalytic epistemology and subjectivity opens the door to a kind of pluralism, sponsored by the guiding principle of “what works,” without explaining how one determines what “working” means, and then how it might be measured and/or interpreted (by what rules, organized by what assumptions?). Although Gabbard's () views on the issue of orthodoxy and reductionism are sophisticated, the relationship between these ideas and his empirical commitments is unclear to me.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Epistemology Behind The Curtain: Thoughts on The Science of Psychoanalysis

Clarke

2017

The Psychoanalytic Quarterly

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This essay is concerned with the epistemological complications of the interface between psychoanalysis and "scientific" disciplines and methodologies-in particular, with respect to theories of knowledge and conceptualizations of subjectivity appropriate to psychoanalysis. The author suggests that there is in such interface the potential for an untheorized scientism in empiricist prescriptions for the reform and rescue of psychoanalysis, and revisits the notion that subjectivity as conceived psychoanalytically, grounded in lived experience, is irreducible in ways that are unique and existentially abiding. The author explores the problem through the lens of philosophical hermeneutics and cautions against merging psychoanalysis, under the guise of a salutary pluralism, with disciplines guided by a systematized empiricism and its attendant epistemological commitments.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Epistemology Behind The Curtain: Thoughts on The Science of Psychoanalysis

Clarke

2017

The Psychoanalytic Quarterly

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“…The dynamics he described are probably witnessed in all psychoanalytic societies. To give an example: the British Psychoanalytical Society's scientific meetings are at their best when there is a recognition of the difficulties of psychoanalytic work, when there is a thoughtful acknowledgement of the fact of over‐determination in psychic functioning (Gabbard, ) so that no one means of understanding a problem is conclusive. The conservatism of the basic material encountered in the work, namely human character, is recognized and personal limitations and the limitations of the psychoanalytic endeavour are accepted.…”

Section: The Normal and The Pathological Superegosmentioning

confidence: 99%

The psychoanalyst's normal and pathological superegos

Sedlak¹

2016

The International Journal of Psychoanalysis

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The first section of the paper explores a number of differing views regarding the concept of the superego, essentially in terms of its formation and its functions. Two broad theories of superego development, both of which were introduced by Freud, are described. The first takes the superego to be principally oedipal in origin; the second traces the superego to an earlier period. The controversy about the usefulness of the concept of the death instinct is also implicated in the different views. It is then suggested that it is worthwhile to distinguish between a normal superego and a pathological superego and that these two distinct models of the superego are implicit in the work of both Freud and Klein. Strachey's (1934) views on the nature of the mutative effect of psychoanalytic treatment are briefly reviewed in the light of this distinction. It is suggested that Strachey was hesitant in clarifying the full implications of his views, particularly regarding the reasons for the difficulty the psychoanalyst will experience in making a transference interpretation. It is argued that the difficulty will relate to the psychoanalyst's anxiety about having sufficiently worked through the countertransference, particularly in relation to superego functioning. Two brief clinical vignettes are considered in support of this view. The last section of the paper offers some comments on the emotional development of the psychoanalyst and the ways that maturing as a psychoanalyst will involve a certain mellowing of the analyst's stance and a greater tolerance of the patient's prerogative to bring the full range of his or her personality into the treatment.

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“…The development of an “analytic style” (Ogden, 2007, p. 1185) that is experienced as fully authentic is part of an ongoing effort on the part of every analyst to become an analyst in his or her own right. One can achieve this sense of having become ‘original’ only through a painstaking effort to shed, over time, the shackles of orthodoxy, tradition and one’s own unconscious irrational prohibitions (Gabbard, 2007). The analyst’s struggle with theory as master or servant may be an integral part of this effort.…”

Section: Maturational Experiences Of the Analystmentioning

confidence: 99%

On becoming a psychoanalyst

Gabbard

Ogden

2009

The International Journal of Psychoanalysis

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One has the opportunity and responsibility to become an analyst in one's own terms in the course of the years of practice that follow the completion of formal analytic training. The authors discuss their understanding of some of the maturational experiences that have contributed to their becoming analysts in their own terms. They believe that the most important element in the process of their maturation as analysts has been the development of the capacity to make use of what is unique and idiosyncratic to each of them; each, when at his best, conducts himself as an analyst in a way that reflects his own analytic style; his own way of being with, and talking with, his patients; his own form of the practice of psychoanalysis. The types of maturational experiences that the authors examine include situations in which they have learned to listen to themselves speak with their patients and, in so doing, begin to develop a voice of their own; experiences of growth that have occurred in the context of presenting clinical material to a consultant; making self-analytic use of their experience with their patients; creating ⁄ discovering themselves as analysts in the experience of analytic writing (with particular attention paid to the maturational experience involved in writing the current paper); and responding to a need to keep changing, to be original in their thinking and behavior as analysts.Keywords: development, history of psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic education Few of us feel that we really know what we are doing when we complete our formal psychoanalytic training. We flounder. We strive to find our 'voice', our own 'style', a feeling that we are engaging in the practice of psychoanalysis in a way that bears our own watermark:It is only after you have qualified [as an analyst] that you have a chance of becoming an analyst. The analyst you become is you and you alone; you have to respect the uniqueness of your own personality -that is what you use, not all these interpretations [these theories that you use to combat the feeling that you are not really an analyst and do not know how to become one].

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‘Bound in a nutshell’: Thoughts on complexity, reductionism, and ‘infinite space’

Cited by 27 publications

References 20 publications

The Epistemology Behind The Curtain: Thoughts on The Science of Psychoanalysis

The Epistemology Behind The Curtain: Thoughts on The Science of Psychoanalysis

The psychoanalyst's normal and pathological superegos

On becoming a psychoanalyst

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