Psychoanalysis in Focus

by David Livingstone Smith

This is a thought provoking and passionately argued book, it is recommended as a thought provoking introduction to some of the key debates' - "Journal of Analytical Psychology "Psychoanalysis in Focus provides an excellent introduction to the basic problems besetting psychoanalytic theory and practice. David Livingstone Smith's lucid survey of the major strands of the critical debate about psychoanalysis fills an important gap in the literature of a discipline not renowned for examining its own shortcomings at a fundamental level' - "Allen Esterson, Author of Seductive An Exploration of the Work of Sigmund Freud (Open Court Publishing, 1994)"David Livingstone Smith's clearly reasoned iconoclastic account convincingly demonstrates the illusory, quasi-religious status of psychoanalysis unsupported as it currently is by any objective evidence to underwrite the vast bulk of its propositions. If it is to ask meaningful questions about the human mind and find ways to answer them, it will need to evolve into an interdisciplinary science and thereby create links with evolutionary biology, anthropology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience and linguistics' - "Ann Casement, Analytical Psychologist, Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Author of "Carl Gustav Jung "(SAGE Publications 2001)"No responsible practitioner or scholar of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy can ignore this intellectually outstanding and grittily honest book. David Livingstone Smith brings together many of the themes that he has done so much to place on the agenda of contemporary the philosophical and scientific standing of the discipline; the nuanced impact of developments in related research fields; the oft-neglected role of the analyst in terms of communication between analyst and patient. What impresses me is the way in which Smith functions both as an educator, helping the reader to understand the significance of the challenges psychoanalysis faces, and also as a major protagonist in the debates inspired by those challenges' - "Professor Andrew Samuels, University of Essex and Goldsmith's College, University of London"Psychoanalysis in Focus is a much-needed introduction to the major criticisms of psychoanalysis as a theory and as a practice. The book encourages psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and counsellors to adopt a more balanced view of their own discipline and aims to help students engage in critical debate during their training.Outlining the main criticisms from outside the world of psychotherapy, David Livingstone Smith explores the contentions of philosophers such as Karl Popper and Adolf Gr[um]unbaum. He assesses the scientific credibility of psychoanalysis, explaining the difficulty in obtaining evidence, using the experimental methods of research favoured by the scientific community. Against this he sets the opposing view that psychoanalysis is not, and should not strive to be, a science and highlights the philosophical and ethical shortcomings which accompany this view.The book also examines the contemporary issues facing practitioners and the validity of key psychoanalytic concepts such as the unconscious, free association, transference and countertransference.The future of psychoanalysis depends on the ability of practitioners to analyze its flaws and to answer its critics. Psychoanalysis in Focus provides a highly readable and accessible introduction which will help trainees and practitioners grasp the key debates.

158 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2001

About the author

David Livingstone Smith is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of London, Kings College, where he worked on Freud's philosophy of mind and psychology. His current research is focused on dehumanization, race, propaganda, and related topics. David is the author of seven books and numerous academic papers. His most recent book Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Others (St. Martin's Press, 2011) was awarded the 2012 Anisfield-Wolf award for nonfiction. He is also editor of How Biology Shapes Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2016) , and he is working on a book entitled Making Monsters: The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization, which will be published by Harvard University Press.

David speaks widely in both academic and nonacademic settings, and his work has been featured extensively in national and international media. In 2012 he spoke at the G20 summit on dehumanization and mass violence. David strongly believes that the practice of philosophy has an important role to play helping us meet the challenges confronting humanity in the 21st century and beyond, and that philosophers should work towards making the world a better place.g