Psychoanalysis as Biological Science

Psychoanalysis was once considered primarily a humanistic enterprise. The psychoanalyst was a philosopher and an artist, adept at deciphering the communications and intrapsychic behaviors of the unique individual. He or she could rely on intuition alone to obtain good results. In this provocative study, John E. Gedo asserts that biological information is essential to successful and comprehensive psychoanalysis.

Gedo presents his case in three sections. The first is devoted to the controversies surrounding psychoanalysis as a discipline. Beginning with an overview of Freud's enduring contributions to the field, Gedo discusses the importance of both mental contents and reliable, measurable psychobiological data―suggesting that hermeneutics alone cannot yield valid hypotheses. Part 2 addresses each of the major topics of a comprehensive theory of mind, focusing on the accessibility of biological information. This information, he believes, makes an educated exploration of principal questions about behavioral regulation a viable enterprise. The final section integrates these theories into a comprehensive biological hypothesis about behavior and psychoanalytic treatment.

Providing psychoanalysis with a tenable scientific framework, Psychoanalysis as Biological Science should be read by all professionals and students in psychoanalysis, psychiatry, and psychology.

John E. Gedo, M.D., now retired, was training and supervising analyst at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis and clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois School of Medicine.