O projeto para uma psicologia científica de Sigmund Freud

Abstract

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is well known as the founder of psychoanalysis. However, the subject of this research is to study a contribution produced by Freud before psychoanalysis, named A psychology for neurologists (1895). This study was only published after Freud´s death and its English version was entitled Project for a Scientific Psychology (1954). It is a very complex and unfinished study where Freud propounded to furnish a psychology that shall be a natural science . The aim of this dissertation is to elucidate whether Freud´s Project was well grounded on the scientific knowledge of his time, and if the Project represents a break in relation to the other works published by Freud before and after 1895. This dissertation contains an introduction and three chapters. Chapter 1 discusses Freud and his context and situates the Project in relation to the other works published by Freud. Chapter 2 provides a description of the Project analysing some of this relevant features and tries to elucidate whether there is a relationship between the concepts and ideas presented in the Project and Freud´s ideas presented in his other works before and after the Project. Chapter 3 provides some final remarks on the subject as well as answers to the questions presented in the Introduction. This study led to the conclusion that although Freud´s purpose in the Project was well grounded in some respects, there were several crucial features which were devoid of empirical foundation. On the other hand, there is a relationship between Project and some others of Freud´s publications. Although Freud employed a different terminology in those works, he also improved some of the concepts and ideas which were already present in the Project