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Psychoanalysis as a human science: Critique and reformulation
Author(s) -
Fielding R. G.,
Llewelyn S. P.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
british journal of medical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.102
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 2044-8341
pISSN - 0007-1129
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1982.tb01476.x
Subject(s) - structuring , karl popper , epistemology , psychology , process (computing) , scientific method , psychoanalysis , sociology , philosophy , computer science , law , political science , operating system
This paper continues the debate opened by Will (1980), concerning the scientific status of psychoanalysis. A critique is made of Will's paper, on the grounds that it misrepresents the scientific method, and fails to consider appropriate criteria for evaluating psychoanalysis. A defence of Popper, and the importance of prediction as a tool in structuring understanding, is sketched out, and an alternative view of the scientific process which can more adequately encompass the enterprise of psychoanalysis is suggested.