| "This
book makes an important contribution to understanding the nature and
status of psychoanalytic theory by showing how a Wittgenstein-inspired
clarification of Freud's original work dissolves commonplace misunderstandings
about the unconscious mind. Its detailed analysis of various aspects
of the metapsychology represents an important contribution to deconstruction
of empiricist claims on behalf of psychoanalysis. Elder's apt adaptation
of Wittgenstein's grammatical method to psychoanalysis addresses questions
at the core of the debate between hermeneuticists like Ricoeur and
Habermas on the one hand and philosophers of science like Grunbaum
and Edelson on the other. Elder argues convincingly that the value
of psychoanalytic theory lies primarily in its innovative conceptual
framework, set of terms, images, and models for the description of
human experience. Whether or not one accepts Elder's conclusions,
one must be grateful for his careful and thorough treatment of the
subject."—Ernest Wallwork, Syracuse University
"The Grammar of the Unconscious reads and queries Freud's
understanding of psychical reality using Wittgensteinian 'grammatical
analysis.' I am convinced that this use provides original and important
critiques of Freud's scientific self-understanding and of influential
misreadings of Freud. As it does so, it exemplifies grammatical
analysis in lively, moving, and clear language. The reader is invited
to think with the author, who becomes a conceptually rigorous, meditative,
lyrical, amusing, and honest guide, through the different uses of
foundational psychoanalytical terms. In my judgment, this study
should define the terms in which the status of Freudian theory is
henceforth discussed."–Judith Van Herik, Pennsylvania State
University
The Grammar of the Unconscious
is both an inquiry into
certain long-standing conceptual problems and the exemplification
of Wittgenstein's grammatical method. The problems are for the most
part those that surround the question of the status of psychoanalysis
as a theory of symbolism, psychosexual development, and culture.
Using the method of grammatical analysis, Elder clarifies the distinctive
features and conditions of the language of psychoanalysis—conceptual,
logical, and grammatical—thus showing both the validity and
the limits of its truth. |
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