The Discovery of the Unconscious

The Discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry is a 1970 book about the history of dynamic psychiatry by the Swiss medical historian Henri F. Ellenberger, in which the author discusses such figures as Franz Anton Mesmer, Sigmund Freud, Pierre Janet, Alfred Adler, and Carl Jung. The book was first published in the United States by Basic Books. The work has become a classic, and has been credited with correcting older estimates of Freud's level of originality and encouraging scholars to question the scientific validity of psychoanalysis. Critics have questioned the reliability of some of Ellenberger's judgments.

The Discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry

Cover of the first edition
Author	Henri F. Ellenberger
Country	United States
Language	English
Subject	Dynamic psychiatry
Publisher	Basic Books
Publication date	1970
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	932
ISBN	0-465-01672-3
OCLC	68543

Summary

Ellenberger presents a history of dynamic psychiatry, providing discussions of figures such as the doctor Franz Anton Mesmer, Sigmund Freud (the founder of psychoanalysis), the psychologist Pierre Janet, the psychotherapist Alfred Adler, and the psychiatrist Carl Jung. He discusses "the personality of the pioneers, their environment, and the role of certain patients."[1]

Publication history

The Discovery of the Unconscious was first published by Basic Books in 1970.[2]

Reception

The Discovery of the Unconscious is the book for which Ellenberger is best remembered.[3] The psychologist Frank Sulloway described the book as an "impressively erudite if also much-disputed" work. He credited Ellenberger with doing "more than any other student of Freud's life" to question false claims about Freud's achievements.[4] The psychoanalyst Joel Kovel described the book as "useful because of its encyclopaedic nature", but nevertheless concluded that it has "little critical value or real historical analysis."[5]

The psychologist Hans Eysenck called The Discovery of the Unconscious a "classic" and an "excellent book which unveils many of the myths which have accumulated around Freud".[6] The critic Frederick Crews considered the book part of a body of research demonstrating that Freud "was misled by his drive toward heroic fame." Crews wrote that the Ellenberger reveals "the derivative and curiously atavistic position of psychoanalysis in nineteenth century psychiatry", adding that "No one who ponders the entirety of Ellenberger's subtly ironic narrative can fail to come away with a sense that psychoanalysis was a high-handed improvisation on Freud's part."[7] Crews also credited Ellenberger with a biographical understanding of Freud that "set a standard that contemporary scholars are still trying to match",[8] and with revising older estimates of Freud's level of originality and encouraging subsequent scholars to question the scientific validity of psychoanalysis.[9]

The historian Peter Gay described The Discovery of the Unconscious as useful despite Ellenberger's lack of sympathy for Freud.[10] Gay called the book a "thoroughly researched" volume that was far more comprehensive than Lancelot Law Whyte's The Unconscious before Freud (1960). Gay added that, "Though far from elegant, though opinionated and not always reliable in its quick judgments (such as its verdict that Freud was the quintessential Viennese), it is a rich source of information."[11]

The psychiatrist Anthony Stevens made use of Ellenberger's concept of "creative illness", a rare condition whose onset usually occurs after a long period of intense intellectual work, in his account of Jung.[12] The historian Paul Robinson wrote that The Discovery of the Unconscious paved the way for much of the criticism of Freud that followed in the 1980s.[13] The historian of science Roger Smith called the book "a magisterial - and readable - historical study".[14] The psychologist Louis Breger considered the book "extremely valuable". He credited Ellenberger with placing Freud's work in context, as well as with providing illuminating discussions of Adler, Jung, and Janet.[15] The philosopher Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen and the psychologist Sonu Shamdasani called the book a "monumental work".[16]

See also

• Decline and Fall of the Freudian Empire

References

1. Ellenberger 1970, pp. v, 53.
2. Ellenberger 1970, pp. iii–iv.
3. Micale 1993, p. vii.
4. Sulloway 1979, pp. 5–6.
5. Kovel 1991, p. 349.
6. Eysenck 1986, p. 213.
7. Crews 1986, p. 91.
8. Crews 1996, p. 310. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFCrews1996 (help)
9. Crews 1996, pp. 63–68. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFCrews1996 (help)
10. Gay 1986, p. 459.
11. Gay 1995, p. 754.
12. Stevens 1991, pp. 178, 267.
13. Robinson 1993, p. 2.
14. Smith 1997, p. 988.
15. Breger 2000, p. 384.
16. Borch-Jacobsen & Shamdasani 2012, p. 19.

Bibliography

Books

• Borch-Jacobsen, Mikkel; Shamdasani, Sonu (2012). The Freud Files: An Inquiry into the History of Psychoanalysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-72978-9.
• Breger, Louis (2000). Freud: Darkness in the Midst of Vision. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-31628-8.
• Crews, Frederick (1996). "Missing the Point about Freud". In Keddie, Nikki R. (ed.). Debating Gender, Debating Sexuality. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-8147-4655-1.
• Crews, Frederick (1986). Skeptical Engagements. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-503950-5.
• Ellenberger, Henri F. (1970). The Discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry. New York: Basic Books.
• Eysenck, Hans (1986). Decline and Fall of the Freudian Empire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-022562-5.
• Gay, Peter (1995). Freud: A Life for Our Time. London: Papermac. ISBN 0-333-48638-2.
• Gay, Peter (1986). The Bourgeois Experience Victoria to Freud. Volume II: The Tender Passion. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-503741-3.
• Kovel, Joel (1991). A Complete Guide to Therapy: From Psychoanalysis to Behaviour Modification. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-013631-2.
• Micale, Mark S. (1993). "Preface and Acknowledgements". In Micale, Mark S. (ed.). Beyond the Unconscious: Essays of Henri F. Ellenberger in the History of Psychiatry. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08550-1.
• Robinson, Paul (1993). Freud and His Critics. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-08029-7.
• Smith, Roger (1997). The Norton History of the Human Sciences. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-31733-1.
• Stevens, Anthony (1991). On Jung. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-012494-2.
• Sulloway, Frank J. (1979). Freud, Biologist of the Mind: Beyond the Psychoanalytic Legend. New York: Burnett Books. ISBN 0-233-97177-7.

Journals

• Crews, Frederick (1996). "The Verdict on Freud". Psychological Science. 7 (2). doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1996.tb00331.x.  – via EBSCO's Academic Search Complete (subscription required)

External links

• Complete online text (membership required): Questia
• Preview at google books