freud's theory's nature

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How we describe the nature of FREUD's psychoanalitical theory i.e. is we say it a scientific or an mere analitical? what are the more scientific steps taken by JUNG over freud?

-- anoop k jha (anoopk_jha@rediffmail.com), February 19, 2002

Answers

I think it is fair to say that Freud's attempts to empirically demonstrate the truth of his theory fell squarely within the norms for the medical research of his day -- the clinical case study being the primary mode of investigation. Medicine did not develop and use the randomized double-blind clinical trial until later; nor did psychology for that matter. The clinical case study is still ocassionally used in medicine, esp. for rare conditions in which obtaining multiple cases would be difficult or impossible. Jung did cary out some "Experimental Studies", using the "association method" (see http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/ for an on-line edition). I don't know that modern scientists, in the main, consider them to be particularly successful instances of the application of "scientific method" to psychoanalysis, but they are instuctive to read nevertheless.

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), February 25, 2002.

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