The phenomenology of Sigmund Freud
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
The convergences in approach between Freud’s psychoanalysis and Husserl’s phenomenology are elaborated. These include philosophical roots in Brentano’s teachings; the primacy of direct observation over construction and theory; a conviction about the irreducibility of mentality to nature; the project of a “pure” psychology; the bracketing of theories, preconceptions, and the natural attitude; the necessity of self-reflection and empathy; a relational theory of meaning; receptivity to human subjects as teachers; and the methodological value of fiction for scientific truth. It is argued that divergences between psychoanalytic and phenomenological theory have obscured profound agreement in the approach, subject matter, and methods of these two schools of psychology.
Article Number
1275
Publication Date
1993
Recommended Citation
Wertz, F.J. (1993). The phenomenology of Sigmund Freud, Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 24(2), 101-129.
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