The author compares American pragmatism with American psychoanalysis in an effort to place the existence of the many diverse schools and theories of psychoanalysis in a historical context. Pragmatism is seen as a theory of instrumentation or a collection of tools for accomplishing goals; it claims that many of our efforts to know and seek truth are based upon myths. Psychoanalysis, too, can be seen to pursue certain theoretical claims based on myths. The present climate of pluralism in psychoanalysis is not a phase, but an indication of our diverse ways of achieving in-depth understanding of another person.

History, 20th Century↗

PubMed2002

Enactment as understanding and as misunderstanding.

The author considers the concept of enactment as a ubiquitous event that is best seen as part of a sequence in the process of understanding a patient. As such, enactments are not unusual or special save as they are often subject to disavowal or to being singled out by the analyst as especially subject to scrutiny. Once recognized, enactments need to be interpreted: not so much in terms of their unconscious origins, but more with regard to the need to include them in the analytic dialogue.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Cavell, Friedman, and objectivity.

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Humans↗