FreudFreud
A concise portrait of the founder of psychoanalysis discusses his advocacy of the "talking cure" method of therapy, his pioneering role in establishing modern understanding of the human unconscious, and his enduring influence on modern psychiatry. By the author of Listening to Prozac.
Taking a position in the no-man's land between the irreconcilable pro- and anti-Freud camps, Kramer approaches Freud both critically and sympathetically. Kramer, a practicing psychiatrist, asserts that, although much of Freud's thought is now archaic, the discipline he invented has become an inescapable part of our culture. Kramer sees Freud as a myth-maker, a storyteller and a writer whose books will survive among the classics of literature. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Often referred to as "the father of psychoanalysis," Sigmund Freud championed the "talking cure" and charted the human unconscious. But though Freud compared himself to Copernicus and Darwin, his history as a physician is problematic. Historians have determined that Freud often misrepresented the course and outcome of his treatments'so that the facts would match his theories. Today Freud's legacy is in dispute, his commentators polarized into two camps: one of defenders; the other, fierce detractors.
Peter D. Kramer, himself a practicing psychiatrist and a leading national authority on mental health, offers a new take on this controversial figure, one both critical and sympathetic. He recognizes that although much of Freud's thought is now archaic, the discipline he invented has become an inescapable part of our culture, transforming the way we see ourselves. Freud was a myth-maker, a storyteller, a writer whose books will survive among the classics of our literature. The result of Kramer's inquiry is nothing less than a new standard history of Freud by a modern master of his thought.
Often referred to as "the father of psychoanalysis," Sigmund Freud championed the "talking cure" and charted the human unconscious. But though Freud compared himself to Copernicus and Darwin, his history as a physician is problematic. Historians have determined that Freud often misrepresented the course and outcome of his treatments&;so that the facts would match his theories. Today Freud's legacy is in dispute, his commentators polarized into two camps: one of defenders; the other, fierce detractors.
Peter D. Kramer, himself a practicing psychiatrist and a leading national authority on mental health, offers a new take on this controversial figure, one both critical and sympathetic. He recognizes that although much of Freud's thought is now archaic, the discipline he invented has become an inescapable part of our culture, transforming the way we see ourselves. Freud was a myth-maker, a storyteller, a writer whose books will survive among the classics of our literature. The result of Kramer's inquiry is nothing less than a new standard history of Freud by a modern master of his thought.
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- New York : Atlas Books : HarperCollins, c2006.
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