| Wittgenstein Reads Freud: The Myth of the Unconscious: The Myth of the Unconscious Subjects: Psychoanalysis and philosophy; Wittgenstein Ludwig 1889–1951 -- Views on psychoanalysis; Freud Sigmund 1856–1939 -- Influence; Freud Sigmund 1856–1939; Did Freud present a scientific hypothesis about the unconscious, as he always maintained and as many of his disciples keep repeating? This question has long prompted debates concerning the legitimacy and usefulness of psychoanalysis, and it is of utmost importance to Lacanian analysts, whose main project has been to stress Freud's scientific grounding. Here Jacques Bouveresse, a noted authority on Ludwig Wittgenstein, contributes to the debate by turning to this Austrian-born philosopher and contemporary of Freud for a candid assessment of the early issues surrounding psychoanalysis. Wittgenstein, who himself had delivered a devastating critique of traditional philosophy, sympathetically pondered Freud's claim to have produced a scientific theory in proposing a new model of the human psyche. What Wittgenstein recognized--and what Bouveresse so eloquently stresses for today's reader--is that psychoanalysis does not aim to produce a change limited to the intellect but rather seeks to provoke an authentic change of human attitudes. The beauty behind the theory of the unconscious for Wittgenstein is that it breaks away from scientific, causal explanations to offer new forms of thinking and speaking, or rather, a new mythology. Jacques Bouveresse is Professor of Philosophy at the Collège de France and the author of numerous works on Wittgenstein. Vincent Descombes is Director of Studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. |