Social Science History #7: Sigmund Freud

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Obligatory

[politicus]

Major FF despite his flaws.

[traininthedistance]

Freud's project was fundamentally not about psychology as a science, but about the creation of a mythos for a post-God age. And, even in the absence of God, man needs his mythos-es.

His impact on literature and the humanities has been immense, and anyone who is interested in Modernism in any way needs to grapple with his legacy.

His actual theories, and the testability and/or truth-value they have?  Ludicrous, sexist dogs*t, but that's besides the point.  I've read my Joyce and Kafka, I have no choice but to vote FF.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Freud's project was fundamentally not about psychology as a science, but about the creation of a mythos for a post-God age. And, even in the absence of God, man needs his mythos-es.

The problem I would have that theory is that is definitely not how Freud saw his project. Also, the argument that it had no scientific implications is somewhat ruined by the role Quasi-Freudian theory played in, say, post-war American psychiatry (although a lot of the blame of its worst offenses came from the Neo-Freudians, not the man himself).

In saying that unlike some of the other subjects of these polls, this has much more ambiguous legacy.

[tik 🪀✨]

That dialogue is hilarious.

As for an opinion of Freud.. well, as a person, he was creepy and strange. As for his work.. it was creepy and strange, although he did set some important foundations.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Most of his theories were probably crap and had a lot of disturbing undertones. Still, he sparked a discipline (which, by any means, I obviously would not call "science") that, despite its flaws, has critically helped humans to understand themselves. To speak for myself, the ego/id/superego structure plays a key role in my philosophical thoughts.

Voted option 3.

[DemPGH]

Probably the first really good example of modern quack science (psychoanalysis, et. al.). Plus, I think he had some deep-seated issues himself. Pretty easy HP vote for me.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Leszek Kołakowski once wrote a jocular little piece about the future in which (amongst other things) Sigmund Freud's name had been misremembered as Sigmund Fraud. This strikes me as about right.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Wrong, but his wrongness was very important.

[Deus Naturae]

I feel like the people saying he was just a quack aren't actually aware of all of the stuff that they're dismissing as "quackery" by extension.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I have attempted to repress all memories of Freudian psychology from my mind.

[Georg Ebner]

"'Psychoanalysis' applies. But only to its proponents." (E.Friedell)

[compson III]

Certainly no worse than ostensibly "empirical" modern psychology.

[AutumnLeaf]

malinowsky and the theory of the necessities