Hypothesis and Evidence in Psychoanalysis
9780226184364
Hypothesis and Evidence in Psychoanalysis
A scholar, psychologist, physician, and experienced psychoanalyst, Marshall Edelson is uniquely qualified to respond to questions about the scientific status of psychoanalysis. He has written this book both for psychoanalysts and for philosophers of science, intending to bridge gaps in communication between them. It is also a book for anyone interested in the nature of psychoanalytic knowledge.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1 - The Challenge
1. Can Psychoanalytic Hypotheses Be Empirically Confirmed?
2. Can Psychoanalytic Hypotheses Be Falsified?
3. Can Evidence Obtained in the Psychoanalytic Situation Test Psychoanalytic Hypotheses?
Part 2 - Preparing to Respond
4. Psychoanalysis and Single Subject Research
5. The Objective-Propensity Interpretation of Probability in Single Subject Research
6. A Strategy Based Upon the Nonstatement View of Theory for Formulating the Theory of Psychoanalysis
7. An Examination of the Supposition That Testing Psychoanalytic Hypotheses Is Ultimately Dependent Upon Developments in Neural Science
Part 3 - The Response
8. Does Adherence to Scientific Canons Necessarily Require an Experimental Methodology?
9. Are the Data Obtained in the Psychoanalytic Situation Really Irretrievably Corrupt?
10. How Might Achievement of the Objectives of Psychoanalytic Treatment Be Assessed?
11. Psychoanalytic Hypotheses Can Be and Have Been Tested in the Psychoanalytic Situation
Conclusion
12. A Research Program for a New Generation of Psychoanalytic Investigators
Technical Notes
References
Index
Introduction
Part 1 - The Challenge
1. Can Psychoanalytic Hypotheses Be Empirically Confirmed?
2. Can Psychoanalytic Hypotheses Be Falsified?
3. Can Evidence Obtained in the Psychoanalytic Situation Test Psychoanalytic Hypotheses?
Part 2 - Preparing to Respond
4. Psychoanalysis and Single Subject Research
5. The Objective-Propensity Interpretation of Probability in Single Subject Research
6. A Strategy Based Upon the Nonstatement View of Theory for Formulating the Theory of Psychoanalysis
7. An Examination of the Supposition That Testing Psychoanalytic Hypotheses Is Ultimately Dependent Upon Developments in Neural Science
Part 3 - The Response
8. Does Adherence to Scientific Canons Necessarily Require an Experimental Methodology?
9. Are the Data Obtained in the Psychoanalytic Situation Really Irretrievably Corrupt?
10. How Might Achievement of the Objectives of Psychoanalytic Treatment Be Assessed?
11. Psychoanalytic Hypotheses Can Be and Have Been Tested in the Psychoanalytic Situation
Conclusion
12. A Research Program for a New Generation of Psychoanalytic Investigators
Technical Notes
References
Index